A Shimmering Intellect

by DungeonMiner

Chapter 7

Night Silk sat in his office, reading over the report of the training regime he set up. So far, the Inquisitors were gaining the martial skills they were expected to have, but their infiltration skills still needed work. The unicorns selected from the best of the guard were being trained in Image spells to perform illusions but wouldn’t be ready to use them for years yet. The others, Earth ponies and Pegasi likewise selected, proved to be a little slow to pick up the skills needed to creep through a dark warehouse without being spotted.

Or heard, like the one earth pony that insisted on keeping his Guard armor on.

It seemed that Night’s trainers were not meeting his expectations. He shouldn’t have been too surprised. In a desperate attempt to delegate the responsibility of training the new Inquisitors, Night pulled some of the best sneak thieves and pick-pockets from the prisons, promising they’d get some time off their sentences if they taught them the best they could.

Of course, in hindsight, all of the trainers had been caught.

He sighed.

It seemed like he’d have to take this on himself, which he wasn’t looking forward to.

Someone knocked on his door, and he looked up to see Spike staring into the office. “Night? You got a second?”

“Sure,” he said, setting the report aside. “What can I do for you?”

“Nothing, really,” the dragon said. “Just checking in. I told you I would.”

Night nodded and smiled despite himself. “Yeah, you did. I can’t fault you on that.”

Spike nodded. “And don’t you forget it. So what’s been up lately?”

Night held up his report. “Training Inquisitors is not going as well as I’d hoped.”

“What’s the problem?”

“We have plenty of guards that know how to fight, which means we have plenty of ponies that can train them to fight. We have almost nopony that can teach them how to sneak.”

“We have you,” Spike noted.

“Yes, but I’m one pony, and I can’t train them all while keeping my ear to the ground,” he said, tapping his reports for the Princess. “There are already whispers of someone trying to fill in the power vacuum Gleaming left behind when we broke up her little Triad. That needs my attention.”

Spike nodded. “I can’t argue that.”

“So, I can’t train the new Inquisitors, but our trainers aren’t good enough to get them where they need to be.”

Spike nodded. “Okay. So what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I’m stuck,” Night grumbled.

“Well, that’s not great,” Spike said, sitting beside Night’s desk. “So, I guess my question is, what do we do?”

“That’s my question,” he said, sounding exhausted. “I can’t do both, but I can’t let the other slip.”

Spike nodded before he began staring off into the distance, obviously thinking. “Do you need to do both things right away?”

“What? Yes, of course, I do.”

“Are you sure? When Twilight had problems like this, I typically had to remind her to prioritize a specific job and go from there. Is there any way you can do these jobs one at a time?”

“Only if I’m okay with not building the Inquisitors into the force that Twilight wants.”

“We still can,” Spike said. “We’re just focusing on the crime first.”

Night sighed. “Alright, we’re focusing on crime. So, I need to drop this right now and get out there and figure out who’s stealing things again?”

Spike’s eyes glittered. “You can, and you can train somepony simultaneously.”

“I can’t bring the hopefuls with me.”

“You can’t bring all of them with you,” Spike corrected, “but you can bring one of them.”

Night blinked. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at.”

“Bring one with you and train him on the job,” Spike said. “Then, once you think he’s ready…”

“I can send him back to train the others,” Night said, catching on.

Spike nodded, smiling the whole way. “There, see. We just had to figure out which job to do first.”

Night opened a drawer and began sifting through the roster. “I need to pick the one that’s doing the best at sneaking and also has the best skills for teaching the other inquisitors.”

“Do you have anyone like that?”

Night placed a folder on the desk and smiled. “I just might.”

---♦---

Ardent Rush sighed.

When he heard that guards were being selected to join the Inquisitors, a new branch of the EUP, Ardent imagined something a little more informal. He should have guessed as much, he supposed. Joining the guard meant he got the opportunity to protect ponies, but it came at the cost of having to live one of the most disciplined lives in Equestria.

The Inquisitors, unfortunately, had many of the exact requirements on the discipline front. He still had to get up at five in the morning, and he had to report to PT at six, and then work on training for the next four hours. After that, they had free time unless you were unlucky, in which case you had meetings.

Ardent, if given the choice, would never make it to a meeting on time. The EUP did its best to beat that out of him, but his free spirit remained unbroken. He would arrive exactly four minutes late, enough to be late but not enough to get too many push-ups for discipline.

As he approached the Spymaster’s office, he slowed down, stopping just before he turned the corner. He waited in his dark blue Inquisitor uniform, counting down the second as they passed.

It was hard to rebel against the Mare when you were the guards that gave her power, but he still found a way to get the job done.

Finally, with his time up, he turned the corner and walked into the Spymaster’s office.

The room was empty.

He glanced around the room and wondered if he remembered the location correctly. For a moment, Ardent wished he hadn’t because if his superiors were catching on to his little act of rebellion, they might be scheduling the meetings four minutes later than they told him.

The earth pony was about to turn and leave when he glanced back at the overstuffed chair.

The leather on the chair looked pressed, somehow. It looked like someone was pushing into the back of the chair, squishing the leather beneath. Almost as though, well, almost as if someone were sitting in it.

Ardent narrowed his eyes and slowly walked around the desk before he pushed at the chair. The resistance it gave let him know all he needed. “Sir?”

Night Silk appeared in the chair. “Ardent Rush. You have a good eye.”

“Uh, thank you, sir,” he said, backing up.

Night pointed him over to a seat opposite him. “Sit down, please.”

Ardent Rush sat, slowly regaining confidence in the meeting. He had arrived just late as he wanted to, and not even the Spymaster’s weird test could take that from him. He needed to act nonplussed, and the boss’s bluff would fall flat.

“I have your file here,” the Spymaster said. “It’s an…interesting read for a guard.”

Ardent nodded. “I’ve heard.”

Night placed the file out front. “I also have your training reports.”

Ardent shifted slightly. His usual method of rebellion always counted on him being a perfectly respectable soldier with no other blemishes on his record. He knew that his new training was not going well. If the boss wanted to get on his case, he could try on the training front.

“You’re doing exceptionally well,” Night said.

Now Ardent didn’t know what the point of the meeting was.

“You’re currently the best Inquisitor we have right now. The problem is that you’re nowhere near where we need you to be.”

“So…” Ardent began, “what’s our plan?”

Night smiled. “Quick on the uptake, that’s also good. Well, let me put it to you this way, Ardent. You’re looking at a promotion in the near future.”

“A promotion?” Ardent said, with a sinking feeling starting to grow in his stomach.

“As lead instructor,” Night said with a nod.

Ardent didn’t like that.

“However, before you can become a proper instructor, I’m going to train you personally so that you’ll actually know what you’re talking about before you have to start teaching everyone.”

Ardent slowly nodded. “Well, I can tell you, I’m not a good teacher.”

“That’s alright. We just need to get you good enough to teach the first generation of Inquisitors. After that, we’ll re-evaluate as necessary. Regardless, you have the most skills in sneaking.

Ardent still wasn’t thrilled about it. “It’s only a temporary position, Ardent,” he said to himself. “I’m still not sure it’s the best idea, sir, but I’ll do what I can.”

“And make it difficult for me every step of the way?” Night asked with a smile.

“Never, sir.”

Night tapped the folder.

“Maybe a little, sir,” Ardent, a small smile growing on his face.

Night smiled likewise. “Good. So here’s how we’re going to do our training. A group of criminals are trying to fill the space of Gleaming Coin’s crew. They’re trying to push into smuggling, racketeering, and grand theft. They call themselves the Scarlet Hoof, and they’re trying to be everything Gleaming was and more.”

Ardent nodded, following along. He’d been there for the raid on the Triad that doubled as Night’s rescue mission. He’d seen firsthoof what the Triad planned on getting out on the black market, and he didn’t even want to think about what damage those shoddily made artifacts could do if they exploded. The earth pony nodded his understanding.

“We can’t let them get close to that kind of thinking. Currently, there’s a power and service vacuum in the criminal underworld. We want to make sure nopony big enough slips into that spot. If they do, then we haven’t fixed the problem, only changed its name.”

“So we need to move against them sooner rather than later?” Ardent asked when the conversation hung for a fraction of a second too long.

Night nodded. “And I hope you understand that ‘we’ isn’t the collective, inquisitorial ‘we.’ You and I are going. It’ll be your chance, your chance to train, and my chance to get ahead of the Scarlet Hoof before they get too much steam.”

“Are we going to be able to do that?” Ardent asked. “I won’t slow you down any?”

“You might,” Night said, “but it’s the best way to get you trained to the new Inquisitorial standard. Besides, I’m a Master Thief. If I can’t keep a rookie hidden from idiots like them, then I might need to turn in my credentials.”

Ardent nodded. Despite the Spymaster’s confidence, some of him didn’t like this. His “forget-the-rules-that-I-want-to-ignore” attitude wouldn’t work if he became a teacher with a still spotless record.

But at the same time…

“When do we start, sir?” Ardent asked.

“Tomorrow. I have to attend the Council of Friendship tonight for a previous engagement. Once that’s done, we head to the Inquisitorial Headquarters in Manehatten.”

“We have an Inquisitorial headquarters in Manehatten?”

“By Headquarters, I mean an apartment I’ve used for years with a blackboard and a cot. Pack some supplies.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

Ardent stood and left, thinking about how best to be a minor pain to the Spymaster.

---♦---

The Council of Friendship took place in the usual circular room. Everything had been set up correctly, including the boxes of various board games, drinks, snacks, and everything else they might need. Everything was perfect as far as Spike was concerned.

Night arrived first, partially out of habit to ensure the room was secure, partly because he didn’t want to walk in with Twilight. Spike wasn’t sure why their relationship had slowly gotten on the rocks, but he hoped whatever happened would fix itself soon enough. At the very least, they were still officially “together.”

Twilight, as hostess, came next. She tried to give a warm smile to Night, and while he returned it, he still kept his distance.

Obviously troubled, Twilight fussed over the board games to find something to distract her.

And then Rarity arrived.

Every time she walked into a room, she made it brighter. Almost literally, considering how much light diffused off her coat. “Hello, Spike,” she greeted.

“Hello, Rarity,” he said.

“I must say, you are looking well. Have you grown taller lately?”

“It’s possible,” Spike said with a smile.

“Well, you’ve certainly been filling out. You’re putting on some serious muscle there, Spikey. Have you been exercising?”

“I have to do something around here,” he said. “Since the servants would do everything for me if I’d let them.”

Rarity rolled her eyes and smiled. “What a terrible existence.”

“I appreciate your pity.”

The others filed in, pony by pony.

“Pinkie Pie, it’s so good to see you, my dear! Fluttershy, darling, how have you been? I trust your animal sanctuary is keeping you busy. Rainbow Dash! It’s been a while, we must catch up when I’m in Ponyville next. Well, yes, this is where we catch up together, but I want to catch up with you! Applejack, how is the farm?”

Spike gave his own hellos and hugged his friends, ensuring they were served and comfortable.

Twilight began with some business. She spoke of the Intellect Crystal and how she’d sent Sunset after it. She told them of the Scarlet Hoof and Night’s plan to move against them, and she spoke of the economic boom that might hit Equestria, given that Griffonstone was preparing for war against the Minotaurs and needed additional imports that Equestria could provide.

“That seems so ghastly,” Rarity said. “Profiting off of the misery of the Minotaurs.”

Night explained that while Equestria needed the economic influx, they certainly didn’t want to have Griffonstone go to war. They would offer trade agreements, and then, when Equestria “discovered” what Griffonstone intended, Twilight would send an emissary to broker peace before things got too far, as was her divine right as Princess of Friendship.

“That’s a rather dangerous gamble.”

Twilight agreed but insisted that the trade was needed to help with the payments of new programs to reduce crime. It could drastically help those in need. It was a risky play, but if things went in their favor, it could help everyone.

“I suppose. It doesn’t sit well with me, but then again, I’m not the Princess. Is there any other business on the docket?”

Night told her there wasn’t.

“Then let’s begin the party side of this council in earnest. Before Pinkie positively explodes.”

The poor earth pony did look like she desperately wanted to party.

Twilight agreed, and the games and talk began. Conversations flowed around them, and games were played. At one point, Applejack suggested playing Fore and Back, a card game where every player had two hooves, a “forehoof” and a “backhoof.” Twilight read about it in The Big Book of Equestrian Games and instantly agreed before getting into an argument not twenty minutes later about whether a complete book could be added.

Applejack insisted that the book was closed and no more cards could be added. Twilight argued that surely you can, simply because of the existence of appendixes. That and the Big Book told her she could.

The argument was broken up before it could go much further, and the game finished with Twilight’s team winning, despite using Applejack’s rules.

The night dragged on, and the council concluded.

Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow all set off, leaving Rarity behind.

“Would you mind if I escorted you to the train?” Spike asked before feeling Night’s gaze level on him.

“I would love that, Spike,” Rarity told him.

He walked beside her, taking a forehoof in his claw, as they slowly made their way down the hallways toward the Princess’s Stair, the private passageway to the lower city directly from the castle.

As he walked, he tried to steel himself, to ready his mouth to say those words. Those awful, beautiful words would either crush him or make him.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” the logical part of him said. “It’s not like this is a death sentence.”

His heart told the logical part of him to shut up because it obviously didn’t know any better.

“Look, we both know she’ll probably say no. We’ve been readying ourselves for that for years now. We won’t die if she turns us down, but we have to say it now.”

His heart couldn’t take the stress. It didn’t want to tear off the bandaid; it just wanted to stay here, quiet in this place of not knowing better. It could live here forever.

“No we can’t,” Logic said. “Staying here, in this place will only hurt us more, because if we wait, she can find someone else. Someone that will love her back. We’ve seen it almost happen twice now. Do you want to see that without giving ourselves a chance to move on?”

Heart didn’t. He couldn’t. Mustn’t. Wouldn’t.

“Then we need to say it. Because if she doesn’t want this, then we need to be ready to move on.”

“You’re being awfully quiet, Spike. Is something the matter?” she asked.

“No,” he said automatically. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Bit for your thoughts then?”

“This is a great time to tell her,” Logic said.

“I’m just concerned about the Intellect Crystal,” Spike said. “I mean, having a war is bad, but if that gem gets into the wrong hooves, things are going to be so much worse than that.”

“That was a perfect chance,” Logic growled.

Heart pretended not to hear.

“Well, from what Twilight’s told me, Sunset is a perfectly competent pony. She should be able to get the job done.”

Spike nodded. “Still, there’s a lot to hang in the balance there.”

Rarity nodded. “They are quite dire stakes, yes. However, I believe in Twilight, so despite the fact that I have reservations about her plan for the war, I also will believe in her trust in Sunset.”

Spike smiled. “You’re the very picture of a radiant friend, Ms. Rarity.”

She rolled her eyes. “And you are the very picture of a charmer, Mr. Spike.”

Twilight’s private train station loomed ahead of them, his deadline.

“I’ll make sure they take you to the next station over, where your ride to Manehatten awaits,” Spike said, though they had already done this so many times he hadn’t bothered to count.

Rarity nodded.

The train waited for them.

Rarity loaded herself in while Spike spoke with the guards, and they prepared the train. She poked her head out of the car window and smiled at him. “It was wonderful to see you again, Spike.”

“Always a pleasure,” he said.

“Do it now,” Logic demanded.

“Um, Rarity,” Spike said.

“Yes, Spike?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Always.”

“Do it,” Logic screamed.

“Would—” he began before his mouth went dry. Heart panicked, jumbling all the words in Spike’s throat. “Would—” Again, the words wouldn’t come. “Would—,” he tried again before sighing. “Would you like my help at one of your boutiques? For old-time’s sake?”

Rarity smiled. “I would love to Spike, but only when you coming by wouldn’t interfere with your job. After all, you’re a royal advisor these days, I can’t just pluck you out of the library like I did back in the old days.”

Spike nodded. “Well, you’re right, as usual.”

“Don’t worry, Spike. I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it work. So long, for now.”

“Goodbye,” he said with a wave as the train began to pull away, chugging along the line.

He stood on the platform until the train turned around the bend, disappearing from view, and once it had, Logic came screaming back. “You coward.”

Heart didn’t reply.

“You had the chance, in your hands and you let slip by for some half-hearted comfort.”

Heart didn’t reply.

“It was right there, and you let go. There has not been a more wasted opportunity in our entire life!”

Heart finally spoke up. At least they had Night to cheer us on.