Manehattan's Lone Guardian

by Curtis Wildcat

It's Only A Model (sssh)

Bastion frowned inside his helmet. With Quarter's elites reduced in number from nine to four, the room's mood wasn't what it had been before.

He himself had gotten used to his new armament, and had reported his satisfaction with it. He'd also taken the time to make sure his old skills from his years with the Royal Guard were rust-free. Gates was becoming increasingly antsy with his desire to introduce his upgraded knives to Leviathan's neck, and stated as much.

Bushwhacker seemed more upbeat, and considering that he had been the friendliest of the group already, that was saying something. When Ignition questioned him on it---after the changeling refuted any claims from Gates that he had seduced somepony---he'd claimed that Gray's challenge was "enlightening". He then requested first crack at Leviathan when it came time to resume their mission, and Ignition promised him that he'd see what he could do. Bastion wondered exactly what he'd experienced over the week.

Calico was a sharp contrast to them all, being the source of the downer atmosphere. She answered when she was spoken to, but otherwise she paid little attention to what Ignition was saying. She was leaning forward against the table, her chin and forelegs resting on it. There was little life in her eyes. The clincher to it all was that she was the only one of the four who had attended without any armor and weapons equipped.

And if Bastion had asked Ignition, he would've learned that Calico had left most of her breakfast untouched. Given the kirin's voracious appetite, that was a red flag.

"The doctors have reported that the cancer has almost been completely dealt with," Ignition reported as the meeting continued. "There will be one more treatment tomorrow, followed by several days of analysis and testing to confirm that it's gone before Lady Quarter will be able to return to HQ. Even then, she will need to rest for a day or two before resuming active duty."

The group was silent as they processed this. Trifecta, Metallium or Statuette might have had something to say about this situation, Bastion thought. Glintlock might have remarked that he didn't understand how the treatments worked on account of his isolation from civilization, and we would receive exposition on the topic. Illudere would say something off the wall just to spice it up.

"I have received word from our lesser agents in the bureaucracy," Ignition continued. "The MRPD has been undergoing standard procedures in preparation for searching Mocha HQ for evidence of our crimes. Our agents are doing everything they can to hinder them, but Quarter agrees that it's only a matter of time before the Police turn up here with a warrant in hoof. Efforts are already underway to transfer out anything and everything that would implicate us."

"How'd they find out where we were based?" Gates wondered, though Bastion suspected he already knew.

Ignition confirmed it for them. "Agent #4 cracked under pressure. She informed them that the late Mr. Mocha gave the okay to carry out the jailbreak. Our only saving grace is that she did not tell them of his true identity, on account of her not being present when Lady Quarter outed herself."

"Mmf," Calico mumbled.

"I'm assuming that if they get in, we're not going to let them into the sub-basement, right?" Bushwhacker pointed out, silently reminding them that the Crown Jewels and Project Ashes were down there for safekeeping. And without Illudere to protect them, they couldn't be hidden in plain sight anymore.

Ignition nodded. "Correct. And regardless of what the authorities decide to do, the Jewels will be relocated to the facilities off of the entry tunnel in preparation for installation. Project Ashes already has measures against detection and possible attack, so no action will be taken where that is concerned."

"Speaking of the tunnel, you're going to want forces there to guard it," Bushwhacker advised. "Sooner or later Leviathan's going to find it, and she's the only one of our enemies who can access it without help."

"Noted. We will keep a detachment down there," Ignition agreed, jotting down the recommendation. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Calico spoke up. "I'm quitting."

"...!"

The statement was entirely out of the blue, jarring everypony into surprised silence. "...And you're saying this now, why?" Bastion asked, breaking it after some time. "When we're all struggling against somepony that can fight back?"

"I finally figured it out," Calico explained, one hoof tracing a circle on the desk. "Why everypony was making a big deal over that fridge. They were right all along. I was just too dense to realize that the price tag was malformed. And that throws my entire rationale for joining this group into question." She sighed. "Don't try to keep me here with your dashing good looks, Ignition. I'll be leaving soon. Heading for home. Living the high life... it doesn't appeal to me like it used to."

Reading between the lines, Bastion came to the conclusion that Gray's challenge had adversely effected her. It was done to a lesser degree than the rest of them had dealt with, but it was enough. The rest of us had been impacted in some way, so it would be strange if she had escaped unscathed.

Ignition parsed this before nodding in acceptance. He was disappointed that she'd decided to quit this late, but Quarter's rules were set in stone. "What we said at our first conference still stands. You're allowed to leave the group at any time as long as you don't oppose us in the future. Be sure to turn your equipment over to us before you go."

"I didn't say I was ready to turn over my suit just yet," Calico declared heatedly, just barely keeping her transformation in check as she sat upright. "I'm taking my shot at Leviathan before anything else. You can be assured of that. After that, though, I'm gone whether I win or lose."

"Lose the fight, lose your freedom," said Gates. "You know about those little squarish rooms called 'prison cells'? Yeah. They actually make those things. Can you believe it?"

"Choke on your own sarcasm, divorcee," Calico snarled, having learned that little detail about his past from the published interview with Ocean Guard in the Minutes. "Between your old crimes and our new ones, you'll be paying rent in Tartarus when Leviathan crushes you. You just watch."

Gates leaned forward and pointed a hoof at her, the kirin's statements successfully getting under his skin. "Listen here, wig model---"

"That's enough," Ignition cut him off sharply. "Quarter and I were under the impression that all of you would be able to cooperate in pursuing our goals. Were we wrong?"

"Oh, I'm willing to cooperate. Just not with him," Calico bit out, not giving a chance for additional silence to settle in. "My race has always been big on justice, Ignition. Can you honestly tell me that there's justice in leaving your spouse entirely because somepony with a prettier muzzle and tail wanders by? Tell me to my face that I'm wrong."

"You know, it's probably for the best that you want to leave," Gates retorted. "That way you can seek out all of the non-existent stallions that want to throw themselves at your hooves. When you get yourself a house that isn't made out of glass, then you can start throwing stones."

The room temperature rose rapidly. Bushwhacker raised a hoof, quick to see that he probably shouldn't be here. "Um, Ignition? Permission to leave the room while this argument runs its course?"

Bastion did the same. "I share his sentiments."

Ignition sighed in disappointment at the direction the meeting was going, but didn't protest. "Granted. I will notify you both when we are ready to continue."

Being the nearest to the exit, Bastion was the first to leave. Bushwhacker shifted into a blue jay and followed him out. The door quickly closed behind them, the soundproofing cutting off the noise of an argument exploding into high gear.

Bushwhacker fluttered down near the floor and shifted back to his default form. "Are you starting to get the feeling that this alliance is falling apart?" he asked Bastion quietly as he walked, concerned.

"Always be thankful that you're a solo operative," Bastion advised him. "I've been putting up with him since the day we enlisted in the Guard. I intend to see this assignment through no matter where it takes us, but you're right in that we need to watch our steps from now on."

"I'm not going to lie and say that I haven't been tempted into leaving myself," Bushwhacker confessed. "But Chrysalis is still out there somewhere. Her shadow's still hanging over me and my future. If Celestia won't be the one to defeat her, then it's going to have to be Quarter." In a rarity for him, his eyes and tone turned steely. "I want to at least see the Queen removed before I go, and that means staying on board for the long haul."

No more words were spoken as they returned to their quarters. Leviathan and Gray were dangerous, but they were hardly the only threats to Quarter's potential reign. And as friendly as Bushwhacker was, Bastion knew that his usage of "removed" was a euphemism for something deadlier.

...

Twenty minutes later, Ignition summoned them back to the conference room. Thanks to Gates' helmet there were no outward signs of his mood, but Calico's was easy to discern on account of the half-melted chair she was awkwardly sitting in (and her blushing, but nopony was paying attention to her face). For his part, Ignition was about as close to truly angry as they'd ever seen him get.

Very little of note was accomplished in the meeting after that.

Gray's added some color to her all-but-empty wardrobe. She's turned up for one of Sally's evening shows with an orange-yellow scarf around her neck.

I recognize it immediately: it's the same scarf I had found during my unwanted stay at the Golden Bell. I shouldn't have noted it that quickly, but...

...

Alexandrite, that foolish pony who had hired the Midnight Castles all those nights ago, was in town this morning. Since she still owns the Golden Bell, the MRPD had sent her a letter informing her of the damage done to her property and the circumstances thereof. She turned up to judge the damage for herself and hire somepony to repair the building.

I was patrolling the area when Coffee notified me of Alexandrite's presence, and despite the latter's apprehension she agreed to let me stick around. I gave her a watered down rundown of my recent experiences there, and she bemoaned the fact that a "curse" had befallen the property. Maybe she's feeling a little bit better now that she's not the only one scarred by things that happened. I don't know.

Anyway, she gave me a bit of history about these back rooms. When her husband Moissanite was still alive, this was where they lived and entertained the odd guest. When he was killed, the memories became too much for her, so she had the hall leading to the rest of the building blocked off before finding a new home elsewhere in the city. She left behind that newspaper clipping I'd read for reasons she didn't bother explaining.

In her haste to leave, she hadn't taken everything with her. The Police investigators had found them in their search, but had concluded that they weren't relevant to the case. As such, the scarf I'd found was still where I'd left it.

Alexandrite gave it a longing look for a time before telling me that it had been Moissanite's favorite clothing item. I asked her what she was going to do with it, and she told me that since it hurt just to hold it, she might as well give it to somepony else. When I left her a short time later, she was taking the scarf to a thrift store that she had been familiar with.

Coincidentally, the same thrift store that Gray went to later for unrelated reasons.

...

I nod in approval at her new attire. Now that I'm thinking more about it, I like it: it reminds me of the scarf that adorned Proto Man's holographic model in that false life.

You know what? Just for fun... "Looking nice. I'll bet with a good pair of sunglasses, you'll look perfect."

"Didn't we already establish that neither of us are fashion experts?" Gray asks skeptically.

Turkey Bowl, who's on hand for the show tonight too, agrees with me. "Nothing to lose by trying, is there? And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. It's not a big deal."

Gray stays unsure, but she's not in an argumentative mood this time. "I guess. Any special shades, or am I just supposed to pick at random?"

I tap my chin, smiling as Proto Man's mental image solidifies. "How about..."

...

The next day...

"...Okay, why's the hobo making a legitimate fashion statement?" somepony wonders in the background.

Rude, but not entirely inaccurate. Gray's wearing the sunglasses I'd suggested. She's also frowning, which tells me that she's not happy. It's hard to tell with her sometimes. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know how it happened," Gray admits, sounding completely lost and confused, "but I think I managed to become a model." She pivots to give us a better look at her. "Is this scarf-and-shades combination really that much of a hit? I'm not seeing it."

Did I hear that right? "What drove you to that conclusion?"

"Okay, so I'd finished our morning workout, right? While Mav and Mag are eating lunch, I'm napping on the bench. Then this photographer blitzes me from out of nowhere, snaps a bunch of pictures at every angle, and all but orders me to attend a photo shoot across town tomorrow morning before she takes off."

I did hear that right. "Kya---"

Gray's immediately in my face, a hoof pressed against my mouth. "If you laugh, I'm dragging you to the shoot with me."

...Alright. Fair.

Author's Note:

Just one music link for this chapter: "Mood Matrix ~ Commence the Psychological Analysis!", from Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies.

This would've been up on Wednesday, but I forgot to take my USB drive to work with me. Then it would've been up on Thursday, but... well, yeah.

Anyway, this is a smaller chapter this time. I wasn't in the mood for anything bigger. Primary purpose was to establish Calico's eventual break with the group.

I've got to be honest: I haven't felt much like working on the story recently. Part of it's because I've been doing some more walking recently to try and lose weight, and that tends to leave me tired. The other part of it has to do with the standard array of RL issues and responsibilities: they've been weighing more on my mind as of late. So if this latest addition feels lackluster in any way, that's probably why.

Anyway, the time for Quarter to take the reins from Ignition is fast approaching. I've got a rough idea of how I want the fights between Leviathan and the remaining agents to play out; it's just a matter of setting them up. And I've got an idea for how to get Gray and the Cedar Point ponies (Maverick and Magnum) involved in the action, but putting them in the required situation is going to be the tricky bit. I'll need to think this over, and as I've just established, my mind's not firing on all thrusters at the moment.

(As a side note I'd been toying with the idea of establishing a group for this story, but I ultimately shut the idea down for the above reason. I don't feel it's likely to get off the ground, and even if it did, I wouldn't be able to spare the time and energy to administrate it.)

Ko-Fi Tip Jar!

Trope Page!

Comments

[tsaukpaetra]

Unsurprised Calico is departing, we half expected her fight to wax into solidarity, but with her justification effectively eliminated we're not confident she'll really try now.
Fortunately their leaders aren't really ones for pep talk, otherwise we might be concerned about them starting to actually align to the rhetoric.
Neat confirmation on Chrysalis, let's hope Bushy is satisfied with the result...

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Fairy, i would have kept laughing, worth it

[Silvris]

... Considering the Protoman-look is out now, I am half expecting someone to randomly start Whistle Concierto without ever being aware of the fact it's connected to him.