CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence

by GanonFLCL

Chapter Three: Casualty

As Flathoof escorted his group of parolees through the city streets, he gave them a rather thorough rundown on what they could expect while they'd be living here. Twilight, who was determined to soak up all the information she could in hopes of hearing something useful, listened with rapt attention as details and tidbits poured from the stallion's mouth; the others, thankfully, mostly kept quiet and let her do her thing.

The Mid-South District had the best conditions out of all of the Mid Districts in New Pandemonium City. That wasn't saying much, but it was still worth noting; in Flathoof's words, it was like saying that this pile of rusted cans was better than all the other piles just because you stacked everything up neatly. Twilight wondered how bad the rest of the city was if this was considered the best.

Mid-South's skyscrapers were smaller and dirtier than the gleaming spires of the Inner Districts which towered over the rest of the city; those were composed of high-rise lofts and penthouses that housed the rich and famous, high-class office buildings and corporation headquarters, and where most of the ponies that worked for the government lived to avoid mingling with the common rabble.

Central Plaza, the busiest sub-sector in Mid-South, was as close to those conditions one could hope for; Twilight couldn't decide if that was a complement for Central Plaza or an insult to the Inner Districts. It was expensive to live here, even though it was ridiculously cheap compared to the Inner Districts' glitz and glamour.

What made it so expensive was that all—not some, all—of the most important organizations had their headquarters or their best-equipped centers here in this sub-sector. The New Pandemonium Police Department's Central Station was here, as was the headquarters for the New Pandemonium Registration Department. New Pandemonium Medical also had its largest clinic here and the same could be said for General Goods and Groceries and the New Pandemonium Fire Brigade.

There was also the Central Database Holdings, which at Flathoof's description sounded an awful lot like a library to Twilight and was where she'd be going to look for work according to Snapshot—and for research, but she didn't tell him that.

All of these structures were conveniently within relative walking distance to anypony that happened to live in any of the four domestic complexes that made up the borders of Central Plaza. If you didn't live in Central Plaza, then the horrendous travel time to get to the best service in the city, Inner District excluded, was considered shockingly inconvenient.

Exacerbating the issue were the police and fire brigade response times, which were simply atrocious. Flathoof explained that on average, it took about fifteen minutes or less for officers from his precinct to respond to a call from within the Central Plaza itself. Considering that the sub-sector was a few dozen miles square, this was a typical expectation if slightly slow. If you lived elsewhere in Mid-South, then anywhere between thirty and fifty minutes could be expected even in a severe emergency, perhaps sixty minutes if you lived closer to the borders of the other districts.

If you lived in either Mid-East or Mid-West, the NPPD Central Station's record time for responding to an emergency call was ninety minutes, and they'd been known to take twice that long on average. Mid-North? Two hours on average. The fire brigade was apparently just as bad, and entire neighborhoods had burnt down in the past because of similar pathetically-slow response times.

Luckily, the medical professionals did not have the same problem. The only issue there was whether the clinic in a sub-sector had the proper equipment or experienced personnel that was needed to handle whatever somepony's health issue was. Otherwise, a patient had to make the trip to Central General, which had the best equipment and staff in the city. If the patient was going on their own accord, this was usually fine. In the case of a severe emergency, however, an ambulance would take about the same amount of time the police or fire brigade would take to get to their patient, then double it due to the return trip.

Flathoof explained that back when he'd just been a rookie, he'd arrived at the scene of a riot in Mid-North nearly thirty minutes after it had ended. Some twenty ponies had needed to be hospitalized, and because of the severity and nature of their injuries they had to go all the way to Central Plaza to get treatment. Several of them died en route.

"That day completely changed my outlook on the way the city works," Flathoof said with a heavy sigh, "or rather how it doesn't. It made me rethink the way I need to work to make a change. It baffles me to no end. It's almost like the city doesn't want to be organized."

"Why don't they have any smaller stations in the other districts?" Twilight asked. "Surely that would help, wouldn't it?"

"Oh, they do have other stations, but they're so understaffed and overworked that Central often responds to more calls from their districts than they do themselves. I've considered transferring to another precinct, but I'd be just as overworked and wouldn't be able to contribute enough to make much difference."

"Surely it would be better than nothing at all, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I know every little bit counts, but I think I'm doing more good being here than anywhere else. I can't just up and leave that, not without a really good reason."

"How 'bout that other officer that helped us with all that there paperwork?" Applejack asked.

Twilight noted that Applejack still seemed slightly miffed as she looked at her ID photo—she couldn't blame her, given her own photo. How Snapshot had been able to take the picture at just the precise moment needed to make her look like a drunkard back from a night on the town just baffled her. Applejack's made her look like some country bumpkin, upper teeth exposed and eyes half-lidded just so. That kind of precision timing seemed impossible, but there it was.

Flathoof raised an eyebrow. "Snapshot? She's a good mare."

He smiled at the incredulous looks Twilight and Applejack were giving him, and shook his head.

"Okay, she's a bit testy, I'll admit, but she means well, plus she's reliable, trustworthy, and knows her way around paperwork. That's why I went to her instead of going to the other clerks, or worse, the Registrations Department. It would've taken days to get through all the roundabout nonsense they'd put you through."

"It's perfectly normal to call in favors from friends in the workplace," Rarity noted. "I'm sure we all appreciate the hoops you two had to go through to help us out of our predicament."

"True, though I typically try to avoid working the system to my advantage. But you six needed help, and Snapshot knows all the loopholes to go through in order to ensure your files get registered by tonight. You'll be documented citizens in under an hour, I'd imagine. Probably already are, actually."

"Is there any particular reason for the rush?" Twilight asked. "Not that we don't appreciate it, but I'm curious."

Flathoof gave a concerned frown and shook his head. "If you all didn't have a place to live and such by the end of the day and no notarized documents, our policy is to escort you out to the slums of the Outer District and set you loose until your documents clear, which might take days. Weeks, even, if you're unlucky."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "That seems irresponsible."

"Oh, I'm not done. See, after the documents clear, policy is to go looking for you for maybe a few hours, and if we can't find you, you're presumed dead or missing. Most of the time the assumption turns out true, but nopony really knows."

"Good heavens, you'd just… abandon ponies like that? Atrocious! Simply atrocious!" Rarity snorted with disgust and stuck her nose in the air. "How does your department live with themselves? And you work for ponies like that?"

The accusation made Flathoof wince. "Look, I don't make the rules and I certainly don't like a lot of them. If I had the ability to ensure that everypony that didn't get their affairs in order quickly enough was still taken care of, believe me, I would. Besides, it's rare for anypony to end up in a situation similar to yours."

He scratched his head. "I'm still confused how you girls managed to get all the way into the Mid-Districts looking like you did without anypony noticing you sooner. You should've been caught in the Gate District well before you got this far into the city."

The six mares shared nervous glances, but let him continue.

"Anyway, it's only in the Inner Districts that anypony really cares about what happens to one another, and that's because they have the money to afford the luxury. Even then, from what little I've seen of the upper crust I think it's all for show and social bravado."

He sighed with a great deal of dejection. "Sorry if I'm worrying any of you. I really don't mean to. It's hard to see at a glance since this city is difficult to live in, but it's still home. I'm going to do the best I can for you while you're under my care. It's my duty as an officer of the NPPD."

"And we appreciate it, don't we girls?" Twilight asked, looking to the others and receiving nods of approval.

Flathoof smiled and returned the nod. "At any rate, we're here."

He gestured to the massive domestic complex that would hold their new home, Southeast Point, so named because it marked the southeastern corner of Central Plaza. It was a great metal building one hundred stories tall and covering the entire city block. Twilight and her friends looked up in awe at the sheer size of it. She'd thought it was other buildings they'd been walking alongside for the past minute, not part of one.

While the place certainly looked habitable, it didn't look like it was in the greatest shape, and had little that lent to the image of "a decent place to live" as they'd been promised: the rust-colored metal looked more like actual rust; several of the windows were cracked or broken; all the awnings were faded and some were even a different color. It didn't look dilapidated, but it didn't look high-rise either by any means.

Considering the size of the place, Twilight calculated quickly in her head that this building—already far larger than the Royal Palace back home—likely housed as many ponies as the entire city of Canterlot if not more. If this was just one building then how big was the rest of the city? The sheer magnitude of such a population, far greater than she had first predicted from walking the streets of what had turned out to be just the outskirts of this large sub-sector, made her head spin.

More ponies living in this one city than lived in all of their own Equestria? Including their own big cities like Manehatten and Canterlot?

Impossible.

Large double doors led into the building, so it wasn't until they entered that they could see just the kind of place they'd be living. Twilight frowned as she quickly tried to readjust her earlier calculations. If the rest of the floors were organized anything like the lobby, then perhaps more ponies lived here than she initially thought. It was packed tight, and there was barely enough breathing room for everypony in the group as they walked down the main corridor past tiny crowds of other ponies coming and going from the building.

Flathoof directed them to follow him single-file, and at his guidance it didn't take long to locate the management office. At the reception counter sat an aged earth pony mare with a graying mane and tail. Her large, horn-rimmed glasses reminded Twilight of Rarity's pair back at home.

She barely bothered to turn her head up from the book she'd been reading to look at the newcomers. "Can I help you?"

Flathoof removed his hat and nodded. "Yes, I phoned earlier to see about speaking with Mister Lockwood. I spoke with a Spring Blossom."

"That would be me, sonny." She sighed and put her book down. "I'm assuming you're Captain Flathoof then? And these are the parolees you mentioned?"

The aging mare eyed the newcomers with what seemed like mild aversion. Twilight knew that she and her friends looked like they'd just picked their clothes out of a bin and walked out the door, which of course was exactly what had happened. They seemed all fitting enough but none of them looked particularly fashionable according to Rarity, even Rarity herself. Especially Rarity herself.

Twilight had picked out a cape and a sequined vest. The cape wasn't even fancy or decorated, just a dull blue like the vest, and it was much too tight for her liking. She didn't need to be reminded that it was a little too much like Trixie's—though not nearly as colorful or grandiose—but there weren't many other options.

Applejack had of course kept her stetson, and had picked out a plaid, brick red work shirt—which wasn't exactly clean—to go with it. It was a good fit. She looked like she belonged in a western, like the ones they sometimes filmed out of Appleloosa.

Rainbow had picked out a flight jacket, though it was a size too big for her and the sleeves nearly dragged along the floor as she stood there, and had been while they were walking. She was even wearing slightly-cracked goggles to complete the image.

Rarity had picked out a frilly, pale pink dress and accented it with a lilac ribbon that made her look the most traditionally-dressed in the bunch. It would possibly even be considered elegant were it made of a nicer material. They'd waited nearly half an hour for her to piece it together from different outfits, but that was just so Rarity that nopony really minded; of course, Rarity had still complained the whole time about how unacceptable it was.

Fluttershy had picked out a cute baby blue blouse and matching skirt that attracted a lot of attention for some reason, at least from what Twilight could tell, what with the way ponies through the streets had been looking her way with stunned expressions. Seeing as Fluttershy had been a model back home, perhaps it just accentuated her figure?

Pinkie's outfit was… unique. She'd leapt into the pile and taken a collection of utterly random articles that didn't match. The green propeller cap did not mesh with the black denim jacket with the popped collar, which did not work together with the gaudy yellow t-shirt with a logo that Flathoof said belonged to a comic series intended for foals, and then there were the red roller skates. Yes, unique. That was really the only way to describe it.

Spring Blossom, having looked over the outfits herself and clearly finding them just as odd as Twilight felt wearing them, cleared her throat and turned her attention back to Flathoof.

"I spoke with Mister Lockwood earlier," she said. "He's just finishing up a meeting with some other tenants and should be done in a few minutes, then he'll be right down. He asked me to inform you that he regrets any inconvenience caused by making you wait."

"That sounds like him," Flathoof chuckled.

She pointed off to the side, towards a room with a glass door with plenty of seats. "You can wait in the reception area until he gets here."

"Much obliged ma'am." Flathoof turned back to his entourage. "Come along, ladies. If I know Lockwood, he'll be down before too long."

He held the door to the reception area open for the six mares to enter, then followed them in.

"So, who is this Lockwood fellow?" Rarity asked as she fluffed the cushion of the seat she was taking. "An owner of this establishment perhaps? He must be a friend of yours."

"Just the landlord, but we go back a ways, yes," Flathoof said. He tugged at his collar and straightened his uniform again for the second time since they'd entered the complex. "We went to school together a long time ago, and he's been pretty close with my family since then."

"Well ain't that somethin'," Applejack said. "We lucked out in meetin' y'all then, I s'pose."

"Yes, I suppose you did. Anytime I've ever needed a favor, he's been the pony I went to see first. I don't know how much help he can give me here, but if he can't do anything directly he'll at least know somepony else who can. He's usually pretty good about that sort of thing."

"He sounds decent enough," Twilight said. "Any friend of yours can't be too bad, right?"

Applejack snorted. "Pfh, tell that to Snapshot. I ain't never met a pony with such an attitude before, but if Flathoof says she's on the level, I suppose we owe her some thanks."

Pinkie bounced rapidly up and down next to Rainbow, who was trying to take a nap on a pair of seats since Pinkie wasn't using hers. "I just hope he's not a super stuffy fuddy-duddy or anything! Then we'd have another guest for the party! Ooh! Does he like chocolate cake, or vanilla? I prefer strawberry myself, because it's pink and super duper tasty, just like me! Right, Dashie?"

"Yeah yeah, right Pinks." Rainbow paused a second, then bolted upright, wings slightly flared. "I mean, right, it's pink! You're pink!"

"I just hope he's nice…" Fluttershy mumbled. "I've had my fill of the other kinds of ponies for more than one day, I think."

A few moments passed, then a knock came at the reception room door and a pegasus with a rich gray coat walked in. He wore a brown rain jacket and fedora of a lighter shade than his mud-brown mane and tail, which were neatly combed and short. He wasn't particularly well-built, a little on the scrawny side actually, but had good posture and was neat and tidy.

The one thing—two things, really—that Twilight noticed most were his eyes, mostly because they were a rather odd shade of gold; she was reminded of the wall-eyed mailmare that serviced Ponyville, whose eyes were of a similar color.

"Ah, Lockwood!" Flathoof smiled, trotted over, and greeted his friend with a sturdy hoofshake. "So glad I was able to get a hold of you. I'm sorry I was so hasty on the phone, I was—"

"Yes yes, Flathoof," Lockwood replied, his smile wide and friendly. "Don't fret over it. I'm always willing to do a favor for you, you know that. Now then, these are the six mares you told me about?"

"Eyyup."

Lockwood looked out over the six mares briefly, giving them each a polite smile. "Utopia, eh? Fancy stuff. I'm surprised they even wanted to come here out of all the places in Equestria. I suppose I should feel honored."

"What kind of options are we looking at here, buddy? Please tell me you've got some good news for me."

"Hmm…" Lockwood tapped his chin, then gave a light-hearted shrug. "Well, you're in luck. We have some vacancies right now, actually. A few ponies here and there failed to pay their rent again, and there's only so much I can do when other ponies aren't willing to cooperate. Sad to say, but there it is."

"Eviction, huh? Can't be helped."

"Indeed. So, one of our larger rooms should accommodate them, but it wasn't actually designed for six so it might be a little… cozy, but it's the largest I've got available. Now then, as to the issue of payment—"

Flathoof made to interject, but Lockwood stopped him with a hoof. "I wouldn't ask right away, but I do have obligations to the owner. Gotta treat this completely legit, you understand? The building is only ten years old and he’s not even the original owner, so he's really watching the numbers to make sure it's a good investment."

Flathoof coughed and tugged his collar. "Well, not only are they new in town, but they don't exactly have any bits on them either. I always thought Utopia used bits too, but maybe I'm mistaken. I was hoping we'd be able to work something out here."

Lockwood pat Flathoof on the shoulder. "Say no more. There are enough loopholes in the city's tax code that I can probably work out something to get them their first month's rent reduced, at the very least until they find work. I'd suggest they start looking for jobs right away though. Does that sound reasonable?"

"Incredibly." Flathoof turned to the mares and grinned. "Right, ladies?"

"Oh, most definitely," Twilight said. "Thank you for your help, Mister Lockwood. We really appreciate it."

"Please, just Lockwood will do," Lockwood said. "I'm only 'Mister' when I'm doing real business, and this is a favor for my good friend Flathoof. I always take great pride in helping those I care about, and there's no exception here."

He clasped his hooves together. "Now then, before I show you all to your new abode and let you get adjusted and all that, I believe some introductions are in order. Seeing as I'll be your landlord for the next… however long you're at my fine establishment, I feel it'd be good to get to know you all a little better. As has been established, my name is Lockwood." He offered his hoof to Twilight. "And you are?"

"Introductions, yes, of course." Twilight nodded and politely shook his hoof in return. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Applejack—"

"Howdy," Applejack said, grabbing and shaking Lockwood's hoof.

"Rarity—"

"Charmed." Rarity smiled and offered her hoof to Lockwood first. He smiled back and gave it a very dainty shake.

"Rainbow Dash—"

"Hey." Rainbow grabbed and shook Lockwood's hoof very briefly.

"Fluttershy—"

"Um, hello." Fluttershy nodded politely, but did not offer her own hoof and instead scuffed it nervously on the carpet.

"And—"

Pinkie pouted. "Heeey, why'd I have to go last this time?" Then, the pout turned into a huge grin. "Wait, that means I'm the grand finale! Woo!" She bounced a few times and pointed at Twilight triumphantly. "Saving the best for last, I like your way of thinking, Twilight!"

Twilight balked. "Uh…"

"Hiya, super-cool new friend!" Pinkie said, grabbing Lockwood's hoof with both of her own and shaking it—and him—vigorously. "I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm the bestest best party pony this side of the moon, and probably the other side too!"

As soon as Lockwood was back on solid ground, he straightened his jacket and laughed. "Such a colorful group. A pleasure to meet all of you." He smiled and pushed open the reception area door to usher them out. "Now then, let's go see your room, shall we?"

They followed Lockwood out of the reception area with Flathoof taking up the rear, and after a short trot down the entry hallway they entered the main stairwell and began the climb up several flights of steps to their new home.

Several floors later, Twilight and her friends were totally exhausted; Twilight didn't think anypony could keep climbing. Stair after stair, after stair, after stair, it seemed to go on forever and ever. The stairs were dusty, musty, and not at all pleasant, it was cramped and dry, and it was a long climb. Her appreciation for the generously given home was slowly beginning to diminish, as much as she hated to admit those kinds of thoughts.

Eventually it got to the point where her friends couldn't hold their tongues and clearly had to say something.

"Geez, what are we on, the eight-billionth floor?" Rainbow fluttered just barely above the stairs, and had been doing so for the past thirty floors. "I can't believe we're probably gonna have to do this every day. No wonder all the ponies around here look so fit."

"Are we there yet?"

"It is good exercise," said Lockwood, who seemed none the worse for wear. His stride hadn't diminished at all, and by now he was several steps ahead of the rest of them. "You'll get used to it soon enough. At least once you know where your room is, if one of your friends is home you can always just fly up to the window and they can let you in."

"Are we there yet?"

"Golly, I ain't had this kind of a work-out in ages." Applejack removed her hat and briefly fanned herself with it when they got to the top of the next flight, losing her position in the line to Twilight. "Doin' a lap or two up 'n' down should be the same as buckin' near half of Sweet Apple Acres in one go."

"Are we there yet?"

Rarity wheezed, completely out of breath. "I hate stairs…" She'd fallen totally behind, with Flathoof purposefully trailing just behind her to help her. "Hate… stairs… I'm going to… take out all the stairs… in my boutique… so many cobwebs… dust… stairs are dirty… hate stairs…"

"Are we there yet?"

"Um, phew…" Fluttershy definitely kept her response short not out of shyness but of desire to conserve breath.

"It's not so bad," Twilight said, huffing and puffing with every stair. Applejack had caught back up by now and passed her again. "I know I needed the exercise, that's for sure. Maybe not this much, but Spike was always saying I should get out more."

"Are we there yet?"

"I wish you'd told me they were this high up, Lockwood." Now, even Flathoof began to complain as they ascended yet another flight. "I don't get out as much as I did when I was on the beat. I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

"Are we there yet?"

"Me?" Lockwood chuckled. "I believe it was you who were calling in asking for a favor. Don't tell me you're getting tired back there, Mister 'Roughest Toughest Lawpony in Pandemonium'. Heh heh."

"Are we there yet?"

"PINKIE PIE!" Rainbow belted, snapping her head around to face the pink pony that had been literally bouncing up every single stair and wasn't showing any signs of stopping or tiring. "If you ask one more time—"

"We're here!" Lockwood exclaimed as he held Rainbow in place. He pointed at their door, where he read from a little gold plaque that read 84-5:00. "Room eighty-four and five. Those first two numbers are your floor number, the eighty-fourth. The third is your room position on the floor, which means you're in the five o'clock position."

"Well that's a pretty orderly numbering convention," Twilight said. "Though it's a little confusing with that last bit. You use a clock face to determine room numbers? Makes it easy to figure out your room if you forget the number I suppose."

"If only all the rooms were as neatly positioned as yours." Lockwood pointed at their neighbor's door, which read 84-6:30.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Eighty-four and… six thirty? That's a bit confusing."

Lockwood shrugged. "The superintendent lives in room two and four twenty-eight. Not four thirty, not four twenty-five, but exactly twenty-eight, because that's where the door plaque is. Somepony made a mistake when they put it in, but the numbering scheme is what it is."

"That don't make a lick o' sense, if ya don't mind me sayin'," Applejack muttered.

"Oh goodness no, there's no rhyme or reason at all in it. I mean, they almost didn't even come to agreement on how to decide the twelve o'clock position in the first place. Somepony wanted the room closest to the stairwell on each floor to be the twelve o'clock room. Can you imagine? Every floor would be different!"

Twilight shook her head in disbelief. "Well why don't they just name the rooms by a simple numerical system?"

Lockwood shrugged. "Because nopony could agree on which room got to be room one, or if maybe it should be called zero-one, or if maybe we should start with zero-zero, or if we should call that double-zero, etc. A lot of things in this city don't make a lick of sense when you really look at them. So, either you just grin and bear it, or you save up the money to get a flight to Utopia or Hope's Point."

He looked at Twilight and raised an eyebrow. "Well now hang on, aren't you from Utopia? Why in heaven's name would you all want to leave? I've been trying to save up for a trip there for about five years now; it's everypony's dream destination. Warm beaches, sunny fields, clean air, you name it."

"My theory is they're actually refugees from the Wastelands. We just used that Utopia cover story to get through the paperwork," Flathoof explained. "Sorry for not mentioning it earlier. They don't look dangerous or anything, and they seemed like they needed a good home. I had to help, you understand."

"Hmm, yes, though they look a little too healthy to be refugees, in my opinion," Lockwood said, running his hoof under his chin.

Twilight gave him a nervous smile as he looked at her particularly. If only these two knew the truth, she thought. She couldn't exactly tell them without making her group sound like total lunatics.

Lockwood then shrugged and waved the thought off. "Well, if they are refugees, I'm more than willing to help them get back on their hooves and into a safer environment. At any rate, you all look tired. So ladies, without further adieu, your castle awaits."

He placed a key into the lock and pushed the door open, gesturing for them to enter. Their new home was… well, Lockwood had called it “cozy”, and he had said it wasn't really built for six ponies. That seemed all the more accurate once they got in. It was a fairly decent-sized apartment if two ponies were to share it, and even with three or four it would likely seem a little cramped but still very liveable. With six, it seemed more like a hovel than a home.

Still, it was free for now if Lockwood came through on his promises, and it was being generously given simply because they happened to meet the right two ponies. Luck was a finicky mistress, but sometimes she worked in mysterious ways.

"Ech…" Rarity blanched, still trying to catch her breath and shake cobwebs and dust from her mane and tail. "Ponies live in this filth? Please tell me this room just hasn't been cleaned recently… or ever. At least then I'll believe the mess I'm seeing here."

"Actually, that's true," Lockwood said. He took on a solemn tone and gestured towards one of the bedrooms. "We weren't allowed to clean up after the murder. The police wouldn't let us. I mean, it's already been a full day. We should be allowed to clean up, right Flathoof? Twenty-four hours is the policy, isn't it?"

The mares just stared at him in disbelief, jaws dropped. Fluttershy audibly whimpered and hid behind Applejack, clearly hoping the bigger, stronger mare would protect her from whatever might be lurking around the nearest corner.

Twilight couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Death was a natural thing in their world, of course, and even though she knew there were bad creatures back home that might inflict it upon others out of malice, she certainly didn't exactly expect that to be a common occurrence around here, at least not one that popped up in a casual conversation.

"Kidding!" Lockwood chuckled, waving his hooves defensively in front of him. "Just… just kidding. A joke! Ha ha? Oh come on, as if I'd give you a room that somepony'd been murdered in only a day before. Ha ha! Ha?" He frowned. "Okay no really, why isn't anypony laughing?"

Twilight gulped and tried to smile, finding it tremendously hard to do. "Is that something you have to deal with around here? We, uh, aren't really accustomed to that sort of thing."

"What, murder?" Flathoof frowned and adjusted his hat. "I wish I could say we never had to deal with it at all, but in fact it's quite the opposite. I think we've had maybe seven equicide calls this week, and that's a pretty low number. Sure, it's not the weekend yet, but— I'm not helping things am I?"

Lockwood interjected, as the whole group was looking more and more distressed. "Listen, this is the safest District in the whole city apart from the Inner Districts, but that's cheating to compare us to them. We haven't had anything like that happen at Southeast Point in months. And it wasn't anything like— wow, okay I'm not helping matters either."

Fluttershy sniffed and huddled in closer to Applejack and Rarity. "This place is s-scarier than I thought…"

Rarity rubbed Fluttershy's back and held the trembling pegasus close. "Now now, darling, I'm sure it'll all be okay. Come on, let's focus on getting our new home cleaned up a little, hmm? Take your mind off all those scary things."

Pinkie bounced excitedly around the room, sending up clouds of dust wherever she landed. "Yeah! We need to get all the decorations set up for our housewarming party! Let's see, I need streamers, balloons and, uh… hang on." She reached a hoof into her mane and pulled out a small notepad. "Streamers, balloons, and… aha! A cake, some ice cream, and soda pop. And then there's the candy, and the cookies, and a jukebox, and—"

"Pinks, we've got more important things to worry about. Besides, this place doesn't look like it would have room for one of your parties anyhow," Rainbow said, gesturing around the room.

Pinkie tapped her hoof to her chin and bit her tongue. "Hmm, are we talking about one of my Super Duper Awesome Big Birthday Bash Parties, or my Ultra Fun Best Friends Forever Parties? Because then well duh, I know we don't have room for either of those, silly. This feels more like an Everypony Welcome Home Party, though depending on the area of the room and the dimensions I have to work with, I might be able to fit in a Totally Amazing Radical Party, assuming that the room is a perfect square and that we have enough pi to go around."

Pinkie waggled her eyebrows at Dash as if expecting a laugh. Rainbow groaned loudly instead.

"Did Pinkie just invoke mathematics in party planning? And a math pun?" Twilight's eye began twitching. "How would that— what could you— is there even—" Her eyes crossed. "Oh dear, I think I'm getting a headache…"

"Besides, where am I gonna find a break-dancing floor at this time of night? Day? Whatever time it is." Pinkie laughed as she sidled up close to Rainbow and gave her a big hug. "Anyway, even if I can't fit in enough room for just a Little Itty Bitty Teeny Tiny Just Us Friends Housewarming Party, we can always have our own little private party later, Dashie! Always plenty of room for one of those!"

Rainbow turned red, wings puffing out just a little. "Pinkie, geez!" she hissed through clenched teeth.

Lockwood looked between the two of them. "What's all this talk about parties?"

"The pink one's special talent is throwing parties," Flathoof replied. "So, she likes parties. A lot. And singing. And dancing. And games. And parties, did I mention parties? Yes, we went over this a lot back at the station." He subtly twirled his hoof in a circular motion around his ear, taking care not to let her or her friends notice.

Twilight saw it.

And she agreed.

"Ahhh…" Lockwood nodded in total understanding. "Well, ladies, what say we start getting your home all spruced up, hmm?"

*****

Today had probably been the most stressful and tiresome day Snapshot had ever had to endure in her two years as a desk clerk for the NPPD. If Flathoof weren't such an eligible bachelor, she'd have passed the load on to a co-worker. All that work and hassle wasn't really worthwhile, but doing little favors like that here and there for Flathoof? She hoped it might get her in his good graces, so that maybe he'd want to get in her "good graces".

Snapshot sighed dejectedly as she eyed the clock on the wall. One more hour. That's how much longer it was for her to finish her shift at this droll job. Then she could get back home where she could relax, have some much-needed alone time, and try to get some work done on her reading. Specifically, a rather steamy novel she'd picked up at Blazing Saddles—a completely reputable establishment, by the way—by the name of Fifty Shades of Hay.

She eyed the mare working at the desk to her right, a pink pegasus with a tacky dye job that gave her silvery white mane streaks of gold. Firecracker.

Snapshot wished the blasted mare would just up and fly away and never darken these halls again with her bow-legged, hip-swaggering, eyelash-batting, obviously-had-a-wing-job self. The hussy was always stealing all the good-looking stallions in the department, letting them rut her, getting them to put some good words in with higher-ups to get a pay raise, then leaving the saps behind.

It wasn't fair. Snapshot knew that she had seen Sergeant Goldenstar first, that she had been flirting with him so casually in the breakroom, and that she had asked him out! Firecracker had even been sitting just a table or two away in the cafeteria when she did it! And then the jerk went and broke it off at the last second, after Snapshot had gone through hours of making herself look presentable, attractive, nay, desirable.

The next day, he was over there at Firecracker's desk, playing with her mane and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Just the first in the long line of stallions she'd seen at that desk, and it was always a different one!

Snapshot sighed in dejected disapproval. It was her own fault, really. Ever since she made it on the force she'd been trying to get the attention of one of the stallions around the department, and learned the hard way that most of them were really not worth her time: crooks, liars, cheats, sneaks, and perverts, the lot of them! She was desperate, but not that desperate.

There were only a few stallions left on the entire force that were worth any attention, at least physically and mentally, but they just had to be in relationships already. That was just the way things worked, wasn't it though? That all the good-looking, well-mannered stallions were the ones taken?

Except one. And he didn't seem interested at all in anypony, and hadn't been for as long as she'd known him. Of all the rotten luck, that the most good-hearted and certainly broadest stallion in the entire force was just not looking for a special somepony.

Snapshot would give anything for Flathoof to look at her the way she looked at him, and cursed the fact that she'd probably drifted so far into the friend zone by now that she'd need a map and three weeks of supplies just to find her way back out.

"Oh Captain, my Captain…" Snapshot muttered to herself, pressing her face into her desk.

As much as she wanted him to be hers, she knew that being hopeful and ignoring other opportunities was worse than trying to find love elsewhere. Flathoof did have that good-looking brother after all, crippled though he may be, and he always seemed to give her these little looks whenever she was invited over for dinner that let her know he noticed her as well.

The family had good genes, which just sent all sorts of signals to her brain that she had to push down and remind that it was too early to start thinking of foal names. Though she liked the sound of Jazzhoof if it was a colt, in keeping with their family tradition.

The doors of the office slid open, and a pegasus strode into the room, his steps measured and confident. With each stride, his lithe muscles pressed against his impeccable black suit. A perfectly straight, black tie tucked neatly into his jacket. His sleek, pale blue coat caught the light of the room just right causing it to almost ripple in the glare.

With a single smooth motion, he slicked his dark-blue mane back with a hoof and flexed his long wings. He took one brief look around the room, eyeing the two mares in front of him.

Then, by stepping forward towards Snapshot's desk, he quite literally walked into her life. Was her hair straight? No smudges on her glasses? Her breath was okay, wasn't it?

"You must be Officer—" The well-dressed pegasus looked at a report file he had open, then glanced back at her. "Snapshot, correct?"

"Uh-huh," she murmured dreamily. She quickly shook her head. "I mean, ahem. Y-yes, that's me. How can I help you, Mister…?"

He showed her his badge, which had his name on it with a badge number and everything. Snapshot knew she'd recognized that uniform. If all of the CIA's agents looked this good, maybe she'd consider applying sometime after she had more to work with on her resume. She certainly had the broad knowledge of the system's inner workings that she knew was one of their requirements. All she lacked was experience.

"Sparkwalker. Agent Sparkwalker," he said. "I'm with the Committee Investigation Agency. I need to speak with you about a recent registration you filed in regards to some suspicious information."

"Oh? Which one?

"Which six."

Sparkwalker plopped the report file on her desk, allowing her to see all the contents. Snapshot's eyes widened. Wow, the CIA sure works fast.

It felt as though those six mares had just left; the paperwork had literally been teleported to the NPRD not more than three or four hours ago. Snapshot had never heard of anything that made the CIA this interested, and that worried her. What if Flathoof was in trouble, and these six mares were criminals? Terrorists? Spies?

"I recognize them, yes," she said, mirroring his quiet tone. "What kind of information do you need?"

"Is there somewhere more private we can talk?" he asked.

She couldn't be positive, but she was certain he had darted his eyes to look at Firecracker to be sure she hadn't heard anything. The sunglasses he was wearing prevented Snapshot from following his gaze clearly. Why was he wearing sunglasses indoors? It wasn't that bright in here. Maybe that was part of the uniform?

But why was she worrying about that? He wanted the two of them to be alone. Sure, okay, it was part of an investigation, but she still got the feeling that this was going to be her lucky day.

Ah, opportunity, how loud your knock can be, she thought.

"Certainly. Follow me."

She waved for him to follow her towards the back of the clerk office. The pegasus followed her into the staff room, and after making sure nopony was coming this way, she closed and locked the door behind them.

The room was meant for lunch breaks and such, but it felt more like a private office, and it was certainly used for more than just lunch breaks. Firecracker sometimes forgot to lock the door when she and one of the other officers were… filing a report together. Luckily the room was soundproof and had tinted windows, so Snapshot had only accidentally walked in a few times.

Ah, privacy.

"So, what's this all about?" she asked, taking a seat in the cozy chair on one side of the office.

Agent Sparkwalker remained standing for the moment, near enough that she could actively drink in all his features as he reached into his suit pockets. He took out a small notepad, set it on the table just out of her sight, then sat a pen upon that.

Business before pleasure.

Sparkwalker took a seat directly across from her and picked up his notepad with one wing, his pen with the other. Snapshot found herself impressed that a pegasus could do something so delicate with his wings.

Hopefully that's not the only thing he can do with those.

"The Committee is concerned about the status of their case file," he said, shaking her out of her thoughts. "It would seem that Police Chief Smokestack applied for a bonus that arrived barely five minutes after these six forms came in. Normally, this wouldn't be too troubling. He does this kind of thing all the time, does he not?"

She pointed a hoof at herself. "Are you asking me? I don't get involved much with the Chief's financial affairs."

"Hmm." Sparkwalker nodded and jotted down a short note. Snapshot was suddenly nervous that that piece of information had been important. "No matter, this is about these six Ponies of Interest anyway. Our department is concerned with the speed at which their forms were filed, and we suspect that perhaps Chief Smokestack was rushing things along and may have overlooked things concerning them."

"Oh dear…"

"Now, your name is on the form as the Identification Photographer and as their File Clerk, so I believe it's safe to assume you had some interaction with them?"

"Ah, yes, I did." She was now extremely nervous that he would learn that she'd sped the paperwork along at Flathoof's request, not the Chief's. Would he get in trouble?

"If it's okay with you then, I'd like to ask you a few questions about them. You can tell me some details about them, yes?"

"I hope so. What's this all about anyway? I mean, not to pry—"

"Committee business. Classified."

"Please? A fellow officer that I know is their parole officer. I want to make sure he'll be okay, sir. Anything you can tell me will do."

Sparkwalker stared at her, but with those sunglasses on his face it was hard to tell. "His name?"

"Flathoof. Captain Flathoof."

"I'll make sure to take care of him should the need arise." He cracked his neck before continuing, "Now then, let's start at the top according to the order you filled the forms out, based on your time-stamps. First, Twilight Sparkle. What can you tell me about her?"

"Real bossy, seemed well-educated," Snapshot said. She didn't bother hiding a slight sneer. "Probably the brains of the group, if you ask me." She put a hoof to her lips. "Oh, I'm sorry, I know I'm not supposed to figure my personal opinions into this."

Sparkwalker smiled and nodded appreciatively. "While I didn't ask, your information is invaluable and could help our investigation. Please, feel free to relax and speak candidly. It may help us understand the psyche of these six, you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"And drop the 'sir' nonsense. Just Sparkwalker, if you please, Snapshot."

She turned pink and tried to hide her smile behind a hoof. "R-right. Sparkwalker."

They were already on a first-name basis. She wasn't used to the idea of a CIA agent being so informal. That was supposed to be a major part of their job, being rigid and uncooperative. But maybe this one liked her? Maybe if she played her cards right she'd have plans tonight.She absently started to wonder what he looked like out of the uniform.

Snapshot continued, more candidly as asked. "Well, she was kind of a busybody, asking all sorts of questions about the city. I mean, sure, I guess that makes sense if you're not from around here, but the others weren't quite as interested. They just left the work to her."

"So in your opinion, she might be the ringleader?"

"If I were to have a guess, yes. She also said she used to work as a librarian, so she'll probably look for work at the CDH or something similar." A brief pause, then: "I put in a recommendation at, uh, the Chief's request," she lied.

Sparkwalker nodded and jotted down more notes. "Hmm. Go on then, the next pony, Rarity. She appears to be posing for this picture?"

"Yeah, she insisted on making it a glamour shot," Snapshot said. "I'll be fair, it weren't for the stupid jumpsuit she'd look great. Really snooty though, and she seemed like a neat-freak. She insisted that she was a fashion designer back home which struck me as odd."

"How so?"

"Well, they weren't wearing any clothes when they got arrested according to the report. I mean, who ever heard of a fashion designer wandering around naked? Contradictory, right? You'd think she'd be wearing something at all times even if they don't usually wear clothes where they're from. Self-advertisement, that kind of thing?"

"A keen observation and a valid critique. Let's see, next is Fluttershy. She looks like she didn't want to take the picture at all. Did she give you a hard time?"

Snapshot laughed and waved her hoof playfully. "Oh brother, was she ever uncooperative."

"She was rude?"

"Oh no, I just had to ask every question at least twice to be able to hear her responses. She was really quiet and always tried to avoid making eye contact."

"Not somepony I'd expect to be a threat. But then you know the saying? 'It's always the quiet ones'?"

Snapshot nodded, worried that it might be true and Flathoof might be in danger.

He gestured for her to continue. "Go on then, tell me more about her."

"Well, she was kind of cute in a way, so she probably gets a lot of lookers back where she comes from. Said she was a veteran-arian, whatever the hay that is. Something to do with military veterans? Does Utopia even have a military?"

"Animals."

"An army of… animals?" Snapshot raised an eyebrow and nervously smiled. "Please tell me you're kidding."

Sparkwalker blinked, then laughed. "Oh, no no, she's a veterinarian. They're like doctors, but for animals instead of ponies." He jotted that all down. "Moving on then. Pinkie Pie. Is she doing the crossed-eyes on purpose, or does she have some sort of condition?"

"Yes, on purpose. And what a mouth that one's got. Just would not shut up." She lifted a hoof and started shaking it around. "Yap yap yap yap yap. Not right in the head that one, but she made me a little suspicious, and not just because she seemed a few cards short of a full deck."

Sparkwalker leaned forward. "Oh? Go on."

"Well, while everypony else in the group said they were from Utopia right away, and Twilight Sparkle even added their ridiculous district or village or whatever into it. Pfft, Ponyville. Still makes me laugh."

"Ponyville is pretty ridiculous, isn't it?"

"Anyway," she continued, "Pinkie Pie kind of hesitated a little. It was a really subtle pause, so I wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't been such a motor mouth otherwise. Now that I think about it, so did that orange one, Applejack was it?" Snapshot asked.

Sparkwalker nodded.

"Well, she didn't say Utopia right away either. Makes me think maybe their story isn't as true as they claim. Nothing gets past my sleuth sense." She smiled, crossed her hooves, and leaned back in her chair, feeling very proud of herself.

"Very astute. I'll make note of your suspicions." Sparkwalker gave her a polite smile. "You've been very helpful so far Snapshot, thank you."

She frowned. "Oh, are we done?"

"Oh no, not quite yet, just thought I'd thank you for being so helpful to my investigation."

He tilted his sunglasses down slightly so that she could see him wink. Snapshot turned red and coughed into her hoof. She felt rather embarrassed that he was pushing all the right buttons, and a little nervous that he knew what buttons to push. For half a second, she felt anxious about this whole thing. Was this the right thing to do?

"Now then, the next one. Rainbow Dash?"

"Really full of herself, big ego, took everything I said as a challenge," Snapshot said, trying to regain her composure. "The fastest flier in Equestria? Really? That I find difficult to believe. When I said as much, she got a little riled up like she wanted to prove it right then and there."

"Well, looks can be deceiving."

"I suppose, but her response to my asking about it was to say that she's the only pony to ever pull off a 'Sonic… Rainboom'? What the hay is that? Some sort of sonic boom mixed with a rainbow or something? How would you even do that? Seems physically impossible to me, and kind of convoluted."

"Cool name though."

"I guess. Anyway, if you look under her aliases I noted 'Dashie' as a nickname rather than a preferred name. The pink pony kept calling her that, and was the only pony doing it that I could see. I got kind of a weird vibe from the two, like maybe they're more than friends?"

Sparkwalker nodded intently at that point and jotted extra lines. "Possible sexual interrelations. Interesting. Did any of the others exhibit similar attachment?"

"Not that I could tell."

"Well, one more then. Tell me more about this Applejack."

"Don't even get me started on her," Snapshot said, sticking her nose in the air. "Urgh, I saw the way she was looking at Flathoof, n-not that that matters," she added so that Sparkwalker wouldn't get the wrong idea.

Even if it was the right idea, she didn't want him to think it was.

"He's my friend is all, so I don't want to see him get hurt because some Utopian jezebel gives him that look and thinks she can just waltz in and flutter her eyelashes and land the most prized stallion in the NPPD in her bed when I've been—

"Anyway," she continued, coughing into her hoof again, "she seemed honest enough and looked pretty tough. She didn't have any problem answering everything straight away, except that Utopia bit I mentioned earlier."

"Yes, very good." He nodded appreciatively as he wrote down the last few notes, then glanced into the folder of reports again. "I understand they also filed domicile registration forms? You wouldn't happen to have a copy of them anywhere, would you?"

"Oh, sorry, I don't have one." She frowned and rubbed her temple. "They didn't get that to you yet? That must mean it's still in processing. Your department should get it by tonight, I hope. I'm surprised the other forms got to you guys so soon, actually. I've never heard of paperwork being processed so quickly."

"I was hoping I could get a copy sooner than that," he said. "We are in hot pursuit of these mares, you see. The faster I can find out where they are or where they may be headed, the faster I can find out what exactly they're doing here."

Snapshot frowned. If Agent Sparkwalker was delayed, it might be putting Flathoof at risk, and she didn't like the fact that she would be partly responsible. As much as she was attracted to this new pony, she still cared for Flathoof dearly and wanted to make sure nothing happened to him.

She nodded. "I can remember some of the things on the forms I filled out. Not every detail, but I assume anything would help, right?"

"Most assuredly," he said. "Any assistance you can give me in my investigation will be greatly appreciated."

"Well, I remember a name. Southeast... P-something. Park? Place?"

"Point?"

Snapshot pointed a hoof at him in acknowledgement.

Sparkwalker jotted the name down on his notepad. "Southeast Point. I recognize the name. Suspicious that they would be able to get a room so quickly in the busiest, most expensive part of the District, and with an arrest record even."

Snapshot frowned again. She had to come clean on this one. "Well, Captain Flathoof is the one who helped them get it. He said he had a friend who was the landlord. Lockwood, I think. He was just trying to help, so I don't think he suspects anything about them."

"Hmm, perhaps they've fooled your good friend better than you thought. I have just a few more questions. First, apart from what you mentioned specifically about them individually, did you notice anything suspicious about them as a group?"

"Well, like I said, their home sounded a little odd. I mean, Ponyville? Has to be a made-up name, and a really lame one at that."

He gave her a knowing smile. "So you don't think they're from Utopia?"

She nervously tapped her hooves together. "Well, I mean… no, I don't. But where else could they be from? The Wastelands? Like refugees or raiders?" she said, though she was still suspicious and knew that appearances could be deceiving. "They seemed healthy enough, at least physically.

"Still, I mean, how could they be from Utopia? They'd have had to take an airship, and they would've been told they needed clothes. Plus, I know we don't just give out identifications, but the NPRD has a station at the Gate. How'd they get past it and into the city? It's right by the airport; you have to walk through it to get into the city."

"Valid observations." Sparkwalker smiled as he wrote down additional notes, then replaced the notepad and pen into his pockets. "Our department was thinking the same; we just needed confirmation. You'd make a fine addition to the CIA one day, were you ever so inclined," he added with a wink. "Anything else you can tell me?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid I've given you all I can."

"Very well. So, one final question."

"Yes?"

Sparkwalker leaned forward in his chair and smoothly reached out a hoof to take hold of her own. She looked briefly at the point of contact, then swiftly back to him. He tilted his sunglasses, exposing his eyes fully at last, and gave her a smoky look and a flirtatious smirk. "When do you get off?"

"I… beg your pardon?"

She must have misheard that. No, he still had that coy grin on his face, like he was trying to remove her uniform with his eyes. It made her feel anxious. Vulnerable. Wanted.

He leaned further forward and wheeled his chair along with him so that their faces were close together. "You must get lonely, working these late nights here at the police station day after day. Exhausting work. You must crave the feeling of release when your shift is up."

"I… s-suppose."

She blushed a deep red, trying her best to keep her cool. Too fast. This was happening too fast. Should she feel worried? Relieved? She'd given up opportunities worse than this for dumber reasons, and she was not about to pass up this stallion just because she felt it was a little too impulsive.

Sparkwalker smiled and removed his sunglasses, neatly placing them into the jacket of his tidy black suit. She became slightly distracted by getting to see his eyes in full. A vivid green, very pretty. She almost didn't hear him speak, but then again she wasn't paying much attention to his words so much as his actions.

Was she daydreaming again? Had all that flirting been real? She was worried she was looking for signals that weren't there, or that he was just using the advances to try and weasel more information out of her, a tactic she admitted worked even if it wasn't intentional.

"You look so pent up," he said, his breath hot on her neck. "So tense. Please, allow me to help ease that tension, even if for just a moment."

Strong hooves on her shoulders, keeping her in place. A tender caress. This was so sudden, too sudden. But she didn't want it to stop, he was so perfect and she was so willing. She chose to forgo any sense of worry. Any sense of wondering, "why would a stallion like this be interested in me?" was completely gone. She couldn't care any less.

He was doing so much with those hooves of his that she'd completely fallen out of her reality and became entranced in this living fantasy, such that nothing mattered anymore. It was not her first kiss, but it may as well have been. He was so delicate, not at all rough, sloppy, or dulled like some of her previous coltfriends had been. She barely even noticed him unfastening his tie, or unbuttoning her uniform. Things were moving so fast. They'd only just met.

It was just like one of her steamy romance novels. The suave spy flies in and sweeps the bookish secretary off her hooves, rescuing her from her tedious, bored life and bringing her to new heights of excitement. Right from beginning, to the now-middle, and she was hoping soon, the end.

"Mmph~" She moaned into his kiss. "B-but… I hardly even—"

"If you want to think of this as your dream come true, then by all means," he whispered, giving a low laugh that made her heart flutter.

It's like he knows.

Sparkwalker roughly pulled her out of her chair, and she found herself pinned heavily on the floor of the office on top of the rounded floral-patterned rug. She'd never been more glad that the door was locked and that the windows were tinted. Her glasses fogged at his hot breath, and for a moment she forgot herself and found she was unable to resist pleading for his advances, her own hooves gripping at his mane and chest.

She could feel his smile on her neck. Taste his voice.

"One last thing, Snapshot."

"Y-yes, w-what?"

"Have you told anypony else what you've told me here today?"

"N-nopony. Please, b-be gentle…"

"No promises."

First, she felt the tenderness of a kiss upon her neck.

Then, a blade abruptly pierced her carotid artery.

Now, a severe, blinding pain. A hoof over her mouth silenced a muted scream. She looked up into his heartless green eyes, into his sadistic smile. His coat and mane colors dulled. No, that was her vision doing that. It started to fade into black. The blood loss was making her woozy. She tried to buck out of his grip, but she couldn't find the strength. She tried to cry out for help, but no sound came. The agony was unbearable. It bled far beyond physical pain.

She felt like she'd just committed some great sin. And, by thinking she was helping him, she felt she'd likely just endangered the one pony she now wished she'd never been distracted from.

Flathoof… I…

"Shhhhh." He cooed into her ear and stroked her mane. "It'll allll be over soon, my little shutterbug. Shhh. Now, be a sweetheart for me, and just close your eyes. That's a good girl."

Snapshot's eyes dimmed as the last of her life drained away in a pool of blood on the rug, staining it a deep, dark red.

Comments

[KazuoLucas]

Poor Snapshot

[Crimson Dawn]

It appears some things do not change, in this case sadly (in terms for the character).

[RoboRed]

Ohh...I remember this...poor Snapshot.

[Alphamon_Ouryuken]

Sheesh, Snapshot gets the shaft in every timeline...

[Teraunce]

why couldn't she survive this time?

[TheCommunistDog]

Hmm so this still happens...

[My name is R]

Hmm. I wonder who owns the apartment these days. Don Offbrand Fancy Pants used to, but didn't he get run out of town a year or so back? Clearly Lockwood doesn't, so who inherited the estate?

"I wouldn't ask right away, but I do have obligations to the owner. Gotta treat this completely legit, you understand? The building is only ten years old and he’s not even the original owner, so he's really watching the numbers to make sure it's a good investment."

I see. I'm guessing that his rivals sold off many of the Don's properties, such as the apartment, after the... issue.

Any sense of wondering, "why would a stallion like this be interested in me?" was completely gone.

Ya ever heard the saying: 'If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't'? Yeah, that was an important sense.
I never liked Snapshot, but she wasn’t a bad pony.

And so, the hunt begins. Let's see what comes of it.