The Great Escape!

by Wheller

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kelso needed coffee.

That was all it took of course. She locked her computer terminal and got up, trotting over to the break room. She hoped that one of those bastards from the Criminal Investigation Department hadn’t drank it all.

She stepped into the breakroom, she watched as a unicorn mare clad in detective’s coat stood before the coffee maker, mumbling under her breath. ‘I swear, I’m the only one who ever makes coffee in this damn office,’ she grumbled.

Kelso studied the mare for a few moments. Cobalt blue coat, with cyclamen mane, done up with long, elegant curls. Her electric blue eyes had bags under them, and she looked to be barely able to keep herself standing, Kelso frowned and walked up beside her. The mare was a head taller than she was, and seemed to be in a sort of trance as she blinked at the coffee maker.

‘With respect sir? You look like hammered shit,’ Kelso commented.

The mare couldn’t help but smirk and looked over at her. ‘Yeah, Ponyville will do that to you. Unlike you Soggies, CID actually has to work for a living.’

Kelso chuckled back at her, playing it off that she actually did plenty of work, almost all of it unofficial these days though. Detective Inspector Yuco Stark was a member of one of the CID’s most effective Murder Investigation Teams, along with her partner, Detective Sergeant Ymiria Yaxley, Stark had the highest closure rate of any of the Ponyville Police Service’s detectives.

‘Late night?’ Kelso asked, making pleasant conversation.

‘Early morning,’ Stark admitted. ‘Got called to the scene of a murder. Dark alley, no witnesses. CCTV camera across the street had a full holostate and didn’t record the murder. Probably going to be one of the endless cases that get tossed in the unsolved box for forever.’

Kelso frowned. That was simply the fact of life, little more than half of murders remained unsolved, and while Stark and Yaxley were able to close sixty per cent. of their cases, it still left hundreds unsolved. That was just how things were. True, the unsolved rate had dropped significantly in the last one hundred years, from 99 per cent. in Year 5 of the Republic, to 51 per cent. in year 100. An improvement, but tell that to the families.

‘And then there’s this case, missing filly from Fillydelphia—’ Stark added. CID was responsible for coordinating with other departments on cases such as these, usually runaways from outside PPS jurisdiction who get reported as being seen in town. ’13-year-old filly vanishes without a trace after a class visit to the FutureTec Whitetail Industrial Complex, to see the space control centre I believe—’

Red alerts went off in Kelso’s head. Young filly? Vanishes after visiting FutureTec? Stark might not haved realised it, but she’d made quite an impact on a casual remark.

‘That’s horrible! Those poor parents must be so worried,’ Kelso said. This was her way in.

Stark nodded her head. ‘Yeah, doubt anything will ever come of it though. Filly was a troubled girl from a broken home. Had a record for juvenile delinquency six metres long. My guess? She ran off when she got a chance when nobody was looking, probably doesn’t want to be found.’

‘Maybe—’ Kelso said, her voice trailing off. ‘Would you mind terribly if I looked into it?’

Stark raised an eyebrow. ‘I mean, if you want—’

‘After all, as you said, us Soggies have nothing to do. One case off your workload can’t hurt right?’ she asked.

Stark smirked and nodded her head. ‘I suppose so, alright Kelso, I’ll shoot the files over to your desk if you really want them.’

…

Kelso had chugged three cups of coffee. She was back at her desk, looking over the files that DI Stark had sent over.

She’d been right to be concerned.

Aurora Lightfall, born March 3rd, Year 87 of the Republic, aged 13. The file on this filly had been quite extensive. The youngest daughter of journalist Australius Lightfall, and his wife, Aurelan. Older sister, Summer, declared MIA in 95 YOR during service in the Fillydelphia Regiment. She'd been an honour student at the Cheerilee Academy. Verifiable intelligence quotient of 210.

Kelso frowned, it got worse. After her sister going missing in 95, her grades declined, and she’d been arrested several times for petty theft, vandalism, assault. This poor filly, her life had completely fallen apart after her sister went missing. She’d been in and out of therapy, and reports indicated that she had not spoken a word to her parents in nearly three years.

Worse still, she’d run away from home multiple times. This was probably the reason that DI Stark had been so quick to dismiss the case. There was only so much you could do for someone intent on running away.

Kelso had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, and turned to her computer terminal and tapped at the holographic keyboard.

‘Station BRIGHTHOUSE— Oh hello Kelso,’ said the voice of Sparky Starlight, as a glowing orange hologram of her head appeared on the desk before her.

Kelso smiled. ‘Hey Spark, how’s tricks?’

‘Busy as always, you heard the announcement I take it? About X57?’ she asked.

‘Yes, I’ll say this about FutureTec, certainly no lack of ambition. You’ll have to tell me all about it sometime—I’m calling on business. I understand you had a class of students visit recently.’

Sparky nodded her head. ‘Indeed, a class of eighth years from the Cheerilee Academy in Fillydelphia, why?’ she asked.

Kelso frowned, ‘Are you aware that one of the students went missing shortly after the visit? An extraordinarily brilliant student?’

Sparky was taken aback. ‘No… I did not. If it happened off our grounds, security wouldn’t have taken an interest.’

‘Unless they did,’ Kelso said.

Sparky immediately picked up on what Kelso was implying. She then smiled warmly. ‘I should doubt that very much. I will check with security to see if they have anything that could help you.’

Kelso raised an eyebrow.

‘Also, I’m most certainly glad to accept your invitation to dinner. It’ll be nice to get everyone together again, see you at seven!’ she said and shut off the line.

Kelso blinked. She realised that someone must have come into the room, forcing Sparky to speak in code. She dropped the holographic display of her PIP over her eyes, flashing them back and forth through the menu to send a text message to Dizzy, Viola, and Hopely, explaining the situation, and for them to all meet up for pizza at 1900.

Hopely was the first to respond. Asking if she should bring Felicity.

Kelso paused as she read the message. ‘Who the fuck is Felicity?’

…

They’d met for dinner at Port Pizza.

It had proved to be a spot where they could talk freely. It was a foal’s hang out, primarily, so they were unlikely to be overheard by anyone who bore them ill will. Which had started to seem like more and more people were joining that list every day.

Everyone had been surprised at Pinkie Pie-Turned-Felicity, but they all agreed in their own time, that the new look really worked for her.

They took a table in a far corner of the restaurant for themselves, and began to hammer out a plan of action.

‘If you ask me, I think it’s pretty obvious what happened. Someone at Station BRIGHTHOUSE recognised how bright Aurora Lightfall was, and had FutureTec security do a snatch and grab on her when nobody was looking,’ Kelso theorised.

Sparky nodded her head. ‘The only question is, why though? Being smart is hardly a reason by itself.’

Kelso shrugged. ‘I’m more concerned that they have her, rather than the why of it.’

Hopely nodded in agreement. ‘We’ve all seen the nefarious things FutureTec will stoop to.’

Dizzy Doo nodded her head as well. ‘Where do they have her though?’ she asked.

Kelso frowned. ‘If I were to guess, Station SPECTRE. We might have been able to force our way in the last time with Pinkie Pie—er, Felicity,’ she said, looking over to the bubblegum pink pony who sat across from her, smiling brightly and chewing on a slice of cheese pizza. ‘It makes sense, it’s remote, easy to cut off from the outside. Doctor Fontaine is certain to have beefed up security since we were last there, though.’

They all nodded their head in agreement. They’d taken Felicity to Station SPECTRE at the Ghastly Gorge Industrial Complex a few weeks ago to get answers as to where she’d come from. The Station’s administrator, Doctor Belle Fontaine had attempted to order FutureTec security to murder them to cover up the secretive research into artificial intelligence and genetic memory they were doing there. They’d obviously failed of course, thanks mostly to the martial prowess of Dizzy.

‘You don’t think they intend to turn her into an AI, do you?’ Dizzy asked.

Kelso frowned. That did make sense. The filly was so unbelievably brilliant. Such natural intelligence was certain to roll over into the realm of useful for Doctor Fontaine and her crew.

‘Maybe,’ Kelso said. ‘We need to get in there. But how?’

Felicity shovelled another piece of pizza into her mouth. How the changeling clone could manage to eat so much people food was beyond them. ‘Ohh, I fink I might hab an ider on dat un,’ she mumbled with her mouth full of food.

She lifted up her left foreleg, revealing the MIP on it. This particular Micro Information Processor had belonged to Doctor Fontaine. They’d taken it during their first trip to Station SPECTRE. Felicity swallowed her food and smiled. ‘Most of Doctor Fontaine’s files and security credentials are locked out now, but there’s a few that aren’t encrypted. There’s a pretty detailed schemantic of the complex that's not locked out. It shows an underwater entrance into the complex that’s used by submarines for secret deliveries. It’s never guarded. So we just have to get us a submarine, and we can sail right in!’ she said with a bright smile.

That of course, left one small issue. Where the hell where they going to get a submarine?