Iron Eyes

by Dramaro

Chapter 10 - Testimony

We quickly found a signing sheet used to tell when the maids were on duty. The task of finding this Squeaky Clean was a hard one. The castle had numerous towers, which meant we had to search each and every one of them. The only clue to her whereabouts was being in the north wing, apparently towards the chambers belonging to the two princesses.

Eventually, we found her, cleaning Luna's room. The room itself was beautiful in its own right, as if in an eternal night style. The ceiling had a display of stars and whatnot, apparently being the real things via enchantments to show the night sky at any time. Nearby was a fireplace and a cushion, no doubt a comfortable spot to read a good book at.

The mare of our searches was a young mare, with what I guessed was in her early twenties. She had her hair in a neat little bun wrapped by a hair net. Wearing the normal clothes of a domestic maid, which was rather early 21st century style. On her flanks, which the uniform kept visible, was a picture of a spray bottle against a shiny wooden table, complete with stylized sparkles. She was an earth pony, using her mouth to handle her cleaning equipment.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Squeaky but Roya and I want to ask you a few questions," asked Shining.

Squeak turned to us before giving an inaudible sigh. Placing the spray bottle on a desk nearby, she moved towards us, wondering why we were here. "More questions?"

She was a bit annoyed about us even being here, probably tired from a good day's work. "Yes," I told her. "But it won't be long. May we ask, when Shining had fled the scene of the crime, did you notice the flower on his collar?"

"Oh... that... Yeah, I can remembered clearly what flower he had. A white lily. He wears specific flowers, though they're all fakes. Apparently, he can't stand the smell of real flowers and he hates when they wilt."

I turned to Shining to discuss this revelation with him. Squeaky shrugged and returned to her work. "So, we have one of these Changelings as our suspect."

"Worse," Shining said firmly. "We have one hiding among our mist. Come with me, I'm going to need to do a whole inspection of the Royal Gu..." All of us were caught off guard by a loud "woomph" explosion. It was enough that there was a slightly noticeable shake. I noticed the night sky of the ceiling shimmering a bit. The stars would shift for a moment before returning to their normal state. Without even thinking, I had already pulled my pistol out and had it ready in my hands. "What in Celestia's name was that?" Shining shouted.

Getting back up from the ground and looking around to make sure everything was okay, I returned my pistol to my holster. "I don't know, Shining..." I turned to see a telescope perched on a balcony connected to the room. "Maybe that would help."

The three of us walked up to the telescope. Shining was the one to check it and he quickly brought it down to look at the surrounding area. "Nothing looks damaged... But there's a cloud of smoke or something coming from the hills nearby. Look for yourself."

Shining allowed me a view and I quickly took a glance. In the distance was a plume of something. Looking carefully, I turned a rather large dial on the side to zoom in. At the base of the plume was a building. "Shining, there's a collapsed building, I think. Can you get emergency response there?"

Turning away from the telescope, I saw Shining giving me a firm node. "Follow me, maybe Celestia might know what it is."

---

We arrived at the throne room to see numerous ponies talking to Celestia. Shining kept me away and out sight for the moment, noticing that some were reporters and whatnot.At the side, I saw Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and three other mares standing there, confused and worried about what just happened. The one that was worst off was a butter yellow pegasus with an extremely long pink mane. She had simply sat on the ground shivering and using her mane like a security blanket.

"I need to speak with my advisors on this. Please come later for more questions." Even though Celestia spoke calmly, I knew she was probably worried about the plume in the distance. It wasn't something you could simply hide. The reporters quickly left, and after making sure none of them were hanging around, Shining and I came out of our hiding spot and walked up to Princess Celestia.

"What happened, Princess?" Shining asked.

"I don't know but it seems some sort of building has appeared in the hills. Apparently, it had been teleported there, enough that the air that was displaced had made a powerful shock-wave. I need you and a handful of guards, especially ones with magic, to investigate this."

"What about Roya?"

Celestia looked up at me for a moment. "She can come with. The Elements too. Just make sure nopony sees her."

"Got it."Without even thinking, Shining had already left the throne room to complete his orders.

Noticing Twilight there, I began speaking to Celestia. "May I ask, who these other three ponies are? I know about Applejack and Rainbow Dash."

"Yes. Might as well start introductions. This is Rarity, Element of Generosity."

"Thank you, your majesty." The unicorn Celestia was referring to was a mare that seemed to hold a veil of elegance around herself. She had a heavily stylized mane of purple curls and her coat was a pristine white. Even her way of speaking was upper-class and she wore as much makeup, if not more, than I did.

"This is Fluttershy, Element of Kindness."

A simple "eep" was the only thing to escape the poor mare's mouth. I only saw a scared face poking out from her mane. It seemed as if she wanted to just crawl in a hole and let everything blow over.

"This is Pinkie..."

"Hi! What's your name? What are you anyways? You remind me of a minotaur but not so tall. Or even hairy! That makes me wonder, why are you bald except for your head? Your eyes look funny, why are they like that? Do you like parties? What kind of party do you like?" The pink earth pony with a pink cotton candy looking mane had forgo any form of appropriate behavior or even the idea of personal space. I couldn't even register how fast she moved and went straight into my face. For a second, I was about to fall down in surprise.

"Pinkie, please, darling! Don't you know the idea of personal space?" scolded Rarity.

Pinkie Pie quickly stopped her motor mouth and moved back a bit, just enough to not warrant the ticket of invading personal space. "What's your name?"

Giving a sigh of relief, I began my introduction. "I am Lt. Roya Sayid. A human from Novimus City."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Roya. It's a very beautiful name and your jacket, it so matches your eyes, darling!" exclaimed Rarity.

I smiled at the complement. "Thank you. I try to keep a very professional yet beautiful look going." I shook Rarity's hoof. "If you're wondering, my eyes are cybernetic, hence why they're a bit unusual."

"Cybernetic? I don't follow."

"They're not real. Rather, they're um... how do I put this? Like cameras wired directly to my brain."

"That sounds... rather painful."

I shook my head. "It wasn't and it helps me see now. I was blind as a little girl."

"Oh my, I'm sorry to hear that!"

"Don't be. It just meant I had "seen" the world in a different way. May I ask why you and your friends are here?"

"Yes, you see, darling. As the Elements of Harmony we personify six traits. Twilight and Princess Celestia wanted us to come here about using them in some sort of spell. I don't know about the details but I think it's a spell to move... from dimensions or something?"

"Yes, that would be it. it's for me, specifically. I'm not from Equestria, or even this universe. For now, I've been helping Shining on an important investigation."

"You mean the Blueblood case? I knew something like that would happen. He would snap and do... that to the poor mare." I dunno why but she Rarity showed anger towards Blueblood. Then I remembered Twilight's tirade. Blueblood must have really insulted Rarity over something at whatever the Grand Galloping Gala was."

I shook my head at Rarity. "Actually, Blueblood is innocent. As any investigation, I am not allowed to reveal how but new research has proven this."

"What? But... But how?"

"I said I'm not allowed to reveal. I can only state what is released to the public. This had been revealed a bit earlier today."

Shining quickly returned doing a full set of armor now. Other Royal Guards were moving behind him, apparently ready to head out. "A chariot has been readied for you, Princess Celestia."

With a nod, both Celestia, the Elements of Harmony, and I followed.Shining to a larger chariot outside. At first, I wondered how it would even hold us, but then I noticed a second one nearby.

"Roya, Fluttershy, Rarity, and I will take the first chariot. The others will follow," said Celestia.

We got onto our respective chariots. Knowing full well that the ride would be hundreds of meters in the air, I got myself a spot in the middle, hoping that I wouldn't fall overboard.

I was a bit calmer then last time while flying, though still finding the whole thing unnerving. Looking around, I noticed Rarity and Celestia talking. I turned to my other side to see Fluttershy in her seat, a bit uneasy, though more so.

"I'm surprised you're scared a flying, seeing that you're a pegasus," I said.

"No... it's not that..."

"Is there something wrong then?"

"Well... It's your eyes. They're a bit... creepy."

I sighed. It wasn't a reaction new to me. Many people who had never seen cybernetic eyes before would find them strange. "It's ok, Fluttershy. Think of them like a crutch or a peg leg. I have them so I can function."

"I guess... May I ask, what do you humans eat?"

I was a bit worried at the question. She seemed fragile and I was afraid that telling her the truth would scar her. "Well... how do I put this... We humans... are omnivores. Now don't be alarmed, it's not like we go around on horrible murdering sprees. We just... have to eat animals to survive. I already took a promise of no meat while in Equestria, especially considering one of the few meats available is against my beliefs."

"Um... May I ask... why?"

"Well... " I gave Fluttershy a very short and terse overview of my religion's dietary laws. No blood, pork, or carrion meat. I was surprised to see her more accepting of me being a meat eating creature. In return, she told me about the numerous animals she took care of, even full on meat eaters like eagles and other omnivores such as bear, though she told me they were very friendly and would never heart any of her other animal friends. I was curious and a bit confused to how other animals to fight against their own natural inclination to well... continue the circle of life.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Roya or Mrs. Sayid," said Rarity.

I turned around to her. "Either, or is fine. Is there something you need?"

"Yes, may I ask, do you humans always wear clothes?"

I nodded. "Clothing is important to all humans. We find the lack of them to be indecent, more so in my own and other cultures. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I'm a fashion designer back in Ponyville and your clothing gave me some ideas. Can I see your jacket?"

"Sure, I guess." I slowly took it off and handed it to Rarity. She felt it and was curious to what it was made of. "What kind of fabric is this?"

"Synthetic. Most clothing is made from some kind of synthetic. Natural fibers are a bit on the expensive range."

"Synthetic? You mean, you humans can copy natural fibers?"

I nodded. "Yes. We don't seem to work well with nature, always changing the environment to our own needs. It didn't hurt at first, but eventually, we almost destroyed everything. Luckily, conservation efforts are paying off and natural habitats are being restored. Even species we though were extinct are coming back."

"Wow, that sounds... so strange, and a bit dark."

"We humans are a strange bunch, indeed. Constantly fighting yet still working together sometimes. You could say, we are as varied as a mixed up rubik's cube."

"What?"

"Some sort of annoying puzzle. You won't understand."

"Hmm... May I please make some clothing for you, darling? I'd love to try making clothes for your body structure. I can already think of hundreds of designs!"

I gave Rarity a nod and a smile, which made her sequel in glee. Turning to the landscape, I looked to see whatever making the plume now visible. We began descending towards the structure and I became a bit worried at what I was seeing.

Comments

[Timstro59]

Oh dear, Rarity's gone off the design wagon again.

[Davros]

I know I'm going to sound like a selfish bitch, but Celestia I wish the chapters would come out faster.