A vigilante is on the loose in Ponyville, and Twilight Sparkle has joined the Ponyville PD in tracking them down and bringing them to justice before somepony gets hurt.
A vigilante is on the loose in Ponyville and Twilight Sparkle, as Princess of Friendship, has taken it upon herself to seek out answers before anypony gets hurt. However, her search for truth may uncover more than she had bargained for, and in the end will change the way she sees her home forever. Thankfully, she won't be alone for the journey, but will be aided by Ponyville's finest, the Ponyville Police Department.
Luna's moon was new, leaving only the stars of the night sky to cast their glow over the sleeping town of Ponyville. But while the village slumbered, not all its residents were warm and cozy in their beds. Two in particular, an earth pony and a pegasus nervously looked about the alleyway behind Quills and Sofas. Both were wearing black winter ski masks and both had a sense of urgency about them.
The earth pony, the taller and better built of the two, let out a gruff whisper to his partner, "Hurry it up, will ya?"
The pegasus had his front hooves busy with a set of lockpicks as he attempted for the third time that night to get the rear door of the shop open. "Quiet, moron," he rasped, "I'm going as fast as I can. It ain't like you could do any better."
The pegasus had a half-second's warning as the Earth Pony behind him growled and suddenly sent a pair of hooves past the pegasus's head and into the door. The door cracked and splintered as it slammed open revealing the dark interior of the shop to the both of them.
"There. Done." The earth pony said smugly as he pushed past the pegasus and went into the shop.
The pegasus sneered and followed the other stallion in, muttering under his breath, "Yeah, well, let's see you kick the safe open."
The pair picked their way carefully around the display cases and furniture towards the back office where a large metal safe sat waiting. The two had timed their break-in on the morning of Quills and Sofas' monthly bank deposit; inside, just waiting for the two of them to liberate it, was a mountain of bits.
The pegasus licked his lips as he swapped one set of thievery tools for another. He slipped a stethoscope into his ears and placed the end of it onto the safe just above the dial. A few quick spins left, right, then left again and the door to the safe sprung open. "Just like magic, eh," the pegasus asked as he turned back to his partner only to find himself alone in the shop.
"What the…" The pegasus, confused, moved out of the office and into the shop proper. The only noise he could hear came from the breeze in the alley by way of the open door at the back. "Where the hell did he go?"
Snorting in anger and deciding that his partner's disappearance meant more bits for him, the pegasus turned back to the office only to discover a wall of black between him and the precious safe.
The pegasus's body froze. His mane and coat stood on end as his gaze traveled slowly up the dark form before him and met a pair of burning white eyes. "You!" he managed to wheeze out before his vision exploded in stars and his body slumped to the ground unconscious.
The next day
Twilight Sparkle stood outside Quills and Sofas staring at the last item on her to-do list, "get more quills", and occasionally glancing up at the police tape blocking off the area immediately around the shop. Spike, who was quietly standing next to her, tempted fate by saying, "Maybe we should try coming back later?"
Twilight sighed. At one point in her past, she might have brushed off her assistant's suggestion and marched across the police tape, determined not to let anything ruin her perfectly arranged to-do list. But the time spent with her friends had changed her and in more ways than one. "Yes, you're probably right, Spike."
With a flicker of magic, she rolled up the list and tucked it into her saddlebag. She made as if to go, but she caught a glimpse of her wings out of the corner of her eye making her pause. "On second thought," she said, "while we're here, we should probably find out what happened. Make sure it wasn't anything serious."
Spike had already taken a few steps back in the direction of the castle, but stopped mid step, turning back around to rejoin Twilight at her side, "Aw, and I was looking forward to lunch."
Twilight glanced around to check for anyone that might be watching. "It'll be just a moment Spike, and afterwards I'll get you gem from Rarity's for dessert." She smiled down at the dragon before ducking her head, slipping under the police tape and moving towards the door.
Spike grinned and followed after not needing to duck, "Lunch, a gem and I get to see Rarity? You're on!"
Twilight pushed the door open slowly and poked her head inside. The bell atop the doorway jingled lightly announcing her presence against her will, and the three ponies at the center of the shop all turned towards her.
"Move along ma'am, the store's closed. Police business." Said one of the officers. Between the two policeponies stood the sofa clerk who had been answering questions and appeared slightly relieved that somepony else was there for them to direct their attention to.
Twilight Sparkle opened the door fully and stepped into the dim light of the shop, Spike close behind her. "No problem," she stated matter-of-factly, "I was just going to ask what happened. Princess business."
Spike turned his head to hide a grin as the three ponies in the shop immediately realized whom they were addressing and dropped into a row of bows.
The policepony that had spoken before stammered to reply, "S-sorry your higness, I- we didn't realize…"
Twilight threw Spike a glance, though she too struggled to hide a smile, "Ahem, well, I'm sure you were just trying to do your job. Now then, what happened? Is everypony ok?" She stepped forward towards the group, her voice shifting from hidden amusement to genuine concern.
The policeponies and sofa clerk all rose back up, one of the former nodding. "Everypony is fine your highness. Just a small breaking and entering."
Twilight studied the officer that had just poke, he seemed the older of the two. While both policeponies' coats were shades of brown and tan, he sported a mustache that was just starting to gray. "Are you ok, Mister Davenport," she asked looking back to the sofa clerk.
The earth pony stallion nodded and replied in a quiet voice, "Yes, princess. When I came in the front door this morning to open up the shop, I saw that the back door had been busted open and two ponies were tied up in the middle of my shop. Thankfully, nothing had been taken; the safe in the back was still locked and everything."
Twilight nodded and glanced at the two policeponies. They had probably already done the usual line of questioning, and with the culprits already taken into custody- "Wait! Did you say you found two ponies tied up in the middle of your shop!?"
The younger of the two policeponies nodded, "Yeah, darndest thing. We get the call from Mister Davenport here and when we showed up, it was like they were gift wrapped for us. They've already got them back at the station in general holding." The older officer shot the one that spoke a glare, but held his tongue.
Spike interrupted Twilight's train of thought by rushing forward, "Gift wrapped! Like when a superhero in the comic books catches the bad guys in the act and leaves them all tied up for the police to find?"
Twilight internally groaned and used her magic to push the over-eager dragon back behind her, "Sorry about that. His imagination tends to get away from him sometimes…"
The younger officer shook his head, "Actually princess, that's exactly what it was like."
Twilight glanced at the older officer, "Really? Has something like this ever happened before?"
The older officer sighed and took off his hat to scratch his head, "A few times, princess. Actually, more often than I'd care to admit." He gave a look to the younger officer as if to dare the poor junior policepony to mention this back at the station before continuing, "Not that there's a lot of crime in ponyville, mind you, but it happens often enough that there's a checkbox in the paperwork for when we do show up and it turns out somepony was here before us."
Twilight's eyes widened as she considered the implications of somepony running around and stopping criminals in the act only to leave them tied up for the authorities. "Are you saying that Ponyville has a vigilante?"
The older officer shrugged, "Well, it wouldn't be the first time. There was that Mysterious Mare-do-well. Honestly, I think most of the ponies at the station figure it was her."
The younger policepony looked like he wanted to say something, but seemed to hold himself back while watching the older officer. But with a nod from Twilight he quickly added on to his partner's statement. "Actually princess, it may not be her. You see, nopony's really sure who it is. None of the perps ever get a good look at the pony. But this morning, one of the wannabe burglars we brought in was yelling about demonic eyes and bats."
---
"Demonic eyes and bats!?" Rarity's eyebrows couldn't possibly go any higher as she studied Twilight over the rim of her teacup. She carefully set the china down onto the coffee table in her sitting room of the Carousel Boutique and leaned forward in her chair. "And to think there's some… barbaric hoodlum running around town, stopping crimes, beating up criminals, saving ponies and who knows what else." The dainty unicorn took a moment to compose herself, "I must say, I- I don't know what to say."
Spike looked up where he was happily munching on a green gem and grinned, "I know! It's great, isn't it?"
Twilight rolled her eyes and took another sip of the tea Rarity had prepared for them. Talking with the policeponies and Mister Davenport didn't reveal any more information and by then Spike's stomach had decided to vocally announce the time of day. So the two of them took a quick lunch at one of the sidewalk bistros before finally ending up at Rarity's. Initially Twilight only meant to pick up a gem for Spike, but Rarity's generosity meant she wound up sharing that morning's events over an early afternoon tea with biscuits and gems.
Rarity smiled a bit at Spike's enthusiasm, "Yes, well, for some, I suppose." She levitated up a cookie from the tray and nibbled on it in thought when her eyes suddenly widened in surprise. She looked to Twilight with her face scrunching up a bit, "You don't suppose that somepony was inspired by our, you know, escapade a while back, do you?"
Twilight blinked her eyes slowly and shook her head, "I hope not. While at the time it seemed like a good idea, I think we've all come to realize that it was a pretty dangerous and, frankly, poorly thought out plan. We're lucky nopony got injured during that mess and that Rainbow Dash forgave us afterwards."
Rarity nodded and picked her tea back up to resume drinking it, "Quite right. Though I dare say that if somepony is ‘taking the law into their own hooves', then perhaps we should look into it. Vigilante justice just seems so uncivilized, don't you think?"
Twilight finished off her tea and set the cup and saucer back down onto the table. "I agree completely. But finding this pony and figuring out what exactly is going on is a lot easier said than done. I believe my first stop will be Mayor Mare's office tomorrow morning to get permission to start looking into all this."
Spike finished licking the last of the gemstone dust off his claws before giving Twilight a curious look. "Permission? You're an Equestrian Princess, couldn't you know, wave a hoof and get whatever you need?"
Twilight bit her lip and shrugged, "Honestly? I probably could, but I still haven't gotten used to the whole princessy-you-do-what-I-say-or-I'll-throw-you-into-the-dungeon-thing. And after breaking several zoning laws with the sudden magical growth of a crystal palace, I think I'd like to at least try and follow proper procedure for something like this."
Rarity nodded once in agreement, "Too true, darling. No sense in burning bridges with force when a bit of polite protocol will do the trick. Well if you need anything, let me know. Ooh, and now this has got me all thinking about the boutique's security. If you don't mind, I'll probably be stopping by tomorrow to pick up a book on magical locks. You can never be too sure, you know."
Twilight smiled and stood, motioning to Spike to do the same. "Of course, once I finish up with the Mayor, I'll probably drop by the police station to pick up the files, but then after that, it'll be back to the castle to start studying."
Spike slumped at the word 'studying'. "Aw, and I just got the library picked back up and organized after the last study session," he said while shuffling towards the door.
Rarity gave Spike an empathetic smile following the two to the boutique's entrance, seeing them out. "Well don't work poor Spikey-wikey too hard. Nor you either, dear. It seems that this pony may yet turn out to be a rather dangerous fellow, so we should be as cautious as possible."
Twilight paused after opening the door, "Agreed. But no promises on taking the studying easy. I want to solve this mystery quickly before anypony innocent gets hurt."
Town Hall was quiet the next morning; most ponies had no reason to visit the administrative offices of Ponyville's small government. But one pony in particular did. Twilight Sparkle entered the building alone, having let Spike sleep in, and walked briskly past the information desk. The pony behind the counter didn't even bother to pretend to stop the princess as she entered a narrow hallway lined with doors. One door at the end of the hallway stood out. It was an ornate oak door with the word "Mayor" embossed on a golden placard hung just at eye level. It was at this door that Twilight paused to organize her thoughts before knocking sharply, and precisely, three times.
"Come in," the mayor's voice rang out cheerily from behind the door.
Oh good, she's already had her coffee, thought Twilight as she opened the door, that should make this easier. "Good morning, Mayor Mare," she said as she let herself in and shut the door behind her.
The mayor was busy sifting through the morning's inbox, her eyes rapidly scanning the day's scrolls. "How can I help- oh my! Princess!" The mayor had looked up mid sentence and upon seeing Twilight dropped what she was doing and immediately stood up from her chair and bowed her head.
Twilight internally cringed, but kept her cool. She waved off the bow as she replied, "Oh please Mayor, it's just the two of us, and besides, I'm still just Twilight Sparkle, resident librarian."
Mayor Mare smiled at the alicorn before her and nodded, "Very well, princess. Please, have a seat." She motioned with a hoof to the chairs in front of her desk before taking a seat herself. "How can I help you?"
Twilight took a seat in one of the chairs, carefully tucking in her wings and regarded Mayor Mare before speaking. "Well, Mayor… Yesterday morning I stopped by Mister Davenport's Quills and Sofas to restock on my supply of quills, but I was surprised to discover that his shop had been broken into sometime during the night."
Mayor Mare nodded solemnly. "Oh yes," she said, "Terrible thing, that. Thankfully nopony was hurt and as I understand it, the would-be thieves have already been taken into custody."
Twilight Sparkle shifted in her seat nervously for a moment, "Actually, about that." She paused to steel herself and then continued, "I spoke with the officers on the scene and they made me aware of the fact that somepony, for as long as recent memory, had been.." Twilight struggled to find the right words, but eventually gave up and simply said, "Beating up criminals and leaving them tied up for the police to find!"
The Mayor sighed, "I was afraid that this was going to come up sooner or later." Mayor Mare folded her hooves in front of her and studied Twilight over the top of her reading glasses. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, as I'm sure you're aware, despite all the," she waved a hoof vaguely towards the window, "fantastical occurrences that happen in and around Ponyville, the town is statistically the safest city in all of Equestria. Our crime rate is so low, I've been forced to introduce several new misdemeanors over the years just to keep our numbers up high enough so we can justify our law enforcement budget and not lay anypony off.
"Despite this, crime does happen in our town, some of it rather violent. So as far as I'm concerned, if somepony goes around stopping a few robberies, leaving the criminals tied up for the authorities and keeps our colts in blue out of harm's way, then what harm is there?" Mayor Mare punctuated her question by leaning back in her chair and crossing her hooves over her chest.
Twilight pursed her lips and leaned forward, "But this pony or whatever it is, is taking the law into their own hooves. And if we allow it to happen once, then why not allow it to happen again and again? I'm not one to employ the slippery slope fallacy, but that's exactly what this is. We have the police and the guard for a reason. All it takes is one accident and this vigilante could wind up hurting somepony innocent." Twilight slammed her hoof down on the mayor's desk a bit harder than she meant to, and the silence after the sudden crack was deafening.
The two ponies stared at each other across the desk, but when Mayor Mare realized the princess wasn't going to back down, she blinked first. She then stood up out of her chair and moved to one of the many filing cabinets that were scattered about her office. Pulling out a drawer, she started flicking through the papers and files within, and spoke without turning, "Very well, princess. I can understand your reasoning, and I, of all ponies, should know what it means to uphold the law and protect the innocent."
The Mayor returned to her seat, and placed a small form onto her desk. Taking a quill, she quickly filled it out in silence as Twilight watched her curiously. Once finished, Mayor Mare pushed the form across her desk to in front of Twilight. "This form will deputize you into the Ponyville police force as Commissioner Pro Tempore. While the post doesn't officially exist, mostly as we've never needed a police commissioner, you'll be acting as one until such time as you feel you've resolved this situation with our resident good Samaritan."
Twilight swallowed and read quickly over the form, noting that it still awaited her signature at the bottom. With a spark of her magic, she reached for one of the mayor's quills, but before she could sign it, she was stopped by the mayor clearing her throat.
"Princess," she began, looking for the politest way to say what she needed to say, "This is not, I expect, the same endeavor as those you partake of with the Elements of Harmony. When you sign this document, you are swearing an oath to Ponyville and her citizens to not only protect them, but to serve them to the full extent of the law. I know you've regularly risked your life to save all of Equestria, but as Commissioner, it won't be just your life on the line. What you say, what you do, will have consequences for those that server under you. Remember that as you sign your name."
It was true that Twilight Sparkle spent an inordinate amount of her time putting herself in danger or risking her life for the fate of Equestria. But it was also true that Twilight Sparkle was no stranger to being responsible for the safety and the well-being of others. However, rather than bristle at the mayor's comments, she instead was reminded of her brother, Shining Armor, Prince Consort of the Crystal Empire and Captain of the Royal Guard. He regularly made decisions about the safety of his soldiers as well as the safety of entire nations. Twilight had to admit, it was pretty simple to see a bad guy and take them out, but this was another beast altogether.
Twilight dipped the quill into the inkwell and signed her name with a flourish, almost forgetting to add her honorific. She then set the quill down and looked back up at the Mayor, "I understand. I admit, you have been Mayor for far longer than I've been the Princess of Friendship, but this is something I feel I need to do. I will take this responsibility seriously, and I refuse to let anypony be harmed either by my action or inaction."
Mayor Mare pulled the form back towards her and stood up once more holding out a hoof, "Well then Princess, or I suppose I should say, Commissioner, welcome to the force."
After speaking with Mayor Mare, Twilight immediately made her way to the Ponyville Police Station. Initially, getting past the officer at the front desk proved difficult, but a quick reminder of who the officer was talking to prompted the pony to escort the Princess to Chief Harvey Bullox's office. She now stood before the owner of said office and her mind was frantically piecing itself back together after coming face to face with the Chief of the Ponyville Police.
Twilight quickly shook her head and took a deep breath, "Er, sorry about that Chief Bullox, I suppose I wasn't expecting you to be, well…" She glanced around the room looking for the right word, but was interrupted by the Chief.
"An actual bull ox? Yeah, I get that. Some ancestor of mine had a real sense of humor." His voice was best described using the same words one might use to describe a gravel road, and he creaked in his chair every time he moved, his massive frame barely supported by the tiny wooden piece of office furniture.
Twilight blinked and blushed slightly, offering up a small smile to match Bullox's emotionless face, "Eh heh, yeah. So…"
Bullox snorted with impatience and he reached out with a hoof to pick up one of the numerous files overflowing his inbox, "Listen, Princess, unless there's something you need, I'll have to ask you to please let me get back to work. As you can see, while Ponyville may appear to be some sleepy little hamlet, it's not without its share of problems."
"Actually, Chief Bullox, one of those problems is the reason why I'm here," Twilight said as simply as she could having finally overcome her initial shock.
Chief Bullox made no effort to pay attention to Twilight, but instead busied himself with scribbling a note in the folder he was reading.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Twilight decided to continue. "It's about the thieves that were brought in yesterday, the ones that were apprehended at Mister Davenport's shop."
Bullox kept his muzzle buried in the file, but replied all the same, "Yes? And? Perps caught, nothing stolen. Open and shut case."
Twilight stepped closer to his desk, her patience growing thin as she silently demanded he look up at her. "Yes, but it wasn't your officers that apprehended them. It was some mysterious vigilante."
Bullox shut the file he had been working on and swapped it out with the next one off the stack of folders, quickly moving through it. "So? Perps have already confessed. It's a done deal and Davenport's shop is back in business."
Twilight gritted her teeth and silently seethed. It was like talking to a brick wall made out of Apples, she thought.
The Chief seemed to sense Twilight's growing ire and finally looked up. He watched her for a moment before letting out another frustrated snort, "Look. Princess. The station has no official comment, one way or another, regarding masked vigilantes and their existence. Yes, sometimes our officers arrive on the scene to find criminals already apprehended and pacified. Is this the work of a vigilante? Maybe, maybe not, maybe one of my colts likes to get an early start. Either way, it's police business. Criminals ain't usually looking to make friends, but when one shows up that is, I'll be sure to give you a call. Until then, I need to get back to work."
All that could be heard in the small office was Chief Bullox's quill scratching across the paperwork in the folder on his desk as he returned to work. Twilight had stopped breathing, her mouth hung open, and one eye involuntarily twitched as she stared across the desk at the massive ox. Seconds turned into minutes and eventually, Bullox looked back up.
"Yes, Princess," he asked with a sigh.
Twilight clenched her jaw and slowly forced a smile, the twitch in her eye slowly getting worse. Her eyes met his and the pair were locked in a staring match that threatened to give Rainbow Dash and Applejack a run for their money. Eventually though, a single word from Twilight broke the silence, "Commissioner."
Chief Bullox frowned and tilted his head, "What was that?"
"It's Commissioner," Twilight said as she slowly drew closer to the chief to the point where her muzzle almost touched his.
Chief Bullox felt an instinctive urge to run, but damned if he was ever going to run from some filly, princess or otherwise. "I don't quite understand what you're getting at, Princess."
Twilight's grin grew and the twitching of her eye finally stopped. "Hehe, funny thing about that. It's Commissioner Twilight Sparkle now. True I'm still the magical Princess of Friendship, but now I'm also your boss." Twilight's horn flashed and the form she had filled out at Mayor Mare's office suddenly appeared in front of Chief Bullox's face in a burst of smoke. "Police business is now my business. Got it?"
Chief Bullox's expression grew darker the further down the form the read. When he reached the bottom, his eyes flicked past the parchment to Twilight Sparkle's who met his gaze with an unwavering glare. Without looking away, he closed the file he had been working on, tucked it off to the side, and then placed his hooves squarely on his desk. "All right, Commissioner. What do you want?"
Twilight smiled saccharinely as she vanished the form with another flash of magic. "I want every record you have on file regarding this vigilante. I want every document, every folder, every shred of evidence related to our officers finding criminals at the scene of the crime trussed up like some kind of Hearth's Warming casserole. I also want the unsolved cases, the ones where you and I both know there was something else that was going on that never made it into the report. And furthermore, I want you to give me the names of any and all ponies that have ever reported a sighting of bats and/or demons with glowing eyes."
By the time Twilight was done, her front hooves were placed opposite the chief's and she was staring into his eyes, inches from his face. Bullox, blinked slowly, and leaned back into his seat, mentally ticking off what she listed. After a moment, he replied, "Anything else… Commissioner?"
Twilight stepped back and composed herself, adjusting any stray hairs that may have popped out of her mane during her list of demands. She then nodded and said, "Yes. I also want whoever you can spare to help me sort through it all. Preferably whoever has the most experience with the subject matter."
Bullox grunted and nodded, "Fine." He slowly stood up from his chair and rose to his full height, now head and shoulders above Twilight. Then, with a combination of a yell and a growl, he called out over her head, "Montoya! Get your flank in here!"
Detective Whinee Montoya was an earth pony with a pale grey coat and a stark black mane and tail that seemed to shine blue as she led Commissioner Twilight to the police archives. Her cutie mark, Twilight noted, was a police badge encircled by a magnifying glass. As they walked, Twilight had apparently been studying the cutie mark a bit longer than she thought when Montoya spoke up, "Keep staring at my flank like that and you'll have to buy me a drink."
Twilight's eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly ducked her head sheepishly, "Sorry about that. It's just, I've never seen a cutie mark quite like that one. I mean, yeah, my brother has a shield, but yours has so much detail."
Montoya slowed to a stop before turning back to face Twilight. The detective studied her new commissioner for a moment in silence. It was almost hard to believe that the alicorn in front of her had faced down some of the most dangerous beings in existence and had not only come out unscathed, but had put those monsters in their place.
Twilight, while Montoya looked her over, rubbed a hoof against her foreleg as she looked everywhere else, a bit embarrassed to meet Montoya's gaze. Floor, ceiling, lamp, wall, door, "Archives!" she said out loud and then just as quickly put a hoof over her mouth.
The detective blinked and took a half step back at Twilight's outburst, but gave a small chuckle. "Uh, yeah. That's where you wanted to go right? Come on." Montoya pushed open the door and held it for Twilight saying as she did, "So, what are we looking for and why? Harv only told me to take you to the archives and do whatever you said. Don't get me wrong, it's not every day we get a new commissioner, but I've never seen the ox so pissed."
Twilight followed the detective into the cramped room that was little more than a closet filled to the ceiling with filing cabinets and loose folders. "Well, I was hoping to learn more about Ponyville's vigilante."
Montoya paused only for a second, her eyes suddenly watching Twilight's every movement. "Vigilante, huh? The Mysterious Mare-do-well was a while back, and we don't really have too many reports involving her."
Twilight didn't seem to notice Montoya's behavior as she started opening and closing drawers trying to wrap her head around the archive's filing system (or lack there of). However, at the mention of her friends' former caped identity, she looked back at Montoya, who was standing very still. "Not Mare-do-well," Twilight said, slowly closing the drawer. "I'm talking about the one for whom this station has no official comment on. The one who's been doing your job for you."
The two ponies studied each other. Montoya, much to her credit, didn't react to Twilight's jab, but took it in stride. So that's why she's here, thought the detective. "Who's got you looking into this? The Mayor? One of her donors?"
Twilight narrowed her eyes. This was the third time somepony's become defensive about this vigilante and she was going to get to the bottom of it. "Nopony's got me looking into this; I'm looking into this of my own accord. I don't want anypony innocent getting hurt all because some sociopath has decided to take the law into their own hooves." How many more times am I going to have to defend doing the right thing, she briefly wondered.
Montoya's look hardened as she trained every detective instinct she had on what Twilight said. It was the look she reserved for interrogating suspects and dealing with hostile witnesses. Every waiver, every skipped syllable, every tic, every breath, all under scrutiny by the policepony. But what the detective found surprised her. It was nothing less than impassioned honesty. This new piece of evidence about her commissioner forced her to step back and re-evaluate the pony before her.
Twilight pursed her lips and stood her ground; she recognized that look, it was the same look Applejack got when she was trying to gauge a pony's honesty. While she was in no mood to play games, she decided to await Montoya's reply.
After several tense minutes, Detective Montoya nodded once. "Come with me," she said and moved towards the door.
Twilight hadn't been expecting that. "What-"
Montoya cut her off with a sharp look, "No questions. Not until we get where we're going. And don't say a word to anypony."
Twilight nodded in reply and followed the detective out of the archives and back into the hallway. At first, she thought Montoya was taking her back to Bullox's office as they passed once more through the bullpen, the collection of desks that the officers used for paperwork at the center of the police station. But Montoya took a hard turn towards a hanging sign marked "General Holding".
Twilight tensed as they drew nearer to the cells, and she forced herself to match Montoya's pace and mannerism. Head straight, shoulders back, walk slowly, but with purpose, she told herself. It was no different than walking through Canterlot Palace past the nobles. All eyes turned towards her and a few of the bolder stallions, and a few mares, gave her a whistle. She placidly ignored them and noticed that Montoya had glanced back at her with a small smirk before picking up the pace just a bit.
The cells were divided up between gender, but otherwise, ponies that were brought in because of a few overdue tickets were put in alongside some of the more violent offenders. Twilight studied each of them out of the corner of her eyes; while she knew intellectually that crime happened everywhere, it wasn't often that she was confronted with a truth that made her nauseous. Some of these ponies had made poor choices, some perhaps had no other choice, but for others, their hearts had been hardened beyond the touch of friendship.
No, I can't think like that, she told herself. All ponies deserve a chance. This thought was interrupted as she caught sight of one stallion that had scars criss-crossing his body as though he used his own hide as a macabre abacus. Twilight shuddered involuntarily and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was surprised to find that Montoya had led her down a second hallway that took the holding cells out of view.
This hallway seemed like it also doubled as a temporary storage room. There were a couple of large trash bins, a few boxes, and the only door was to a janitor's closet. It was at this door that Montoya finally stopped and glanced back at Twilight without a word. The two exchanged glances before she opened the door and led Twilight inside.
Twilight blinked her eyes to adjust them to the dimly lit room. Whereas the rest of the station was lit up by enchanted bulbs, the closet seemed to have just one weakly lit candle sitting on a small desk. The desk was occupied by an older earth pony stallion with a greying mane and a light blue coat. He wore a simple overall jumper and was busy fiddling with a small crystal radio.
Montoya noticed Twilight studying the janitor and introduced the two, "Princess, this is Samuel Bradlead. Slam, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle, our new Commissioner."
The stallion offered a grunt in reply before setting aside the screwdriver he had been using to try and adjust something inside the radio's casing and looking up at Twilight with cold, grey eyes.
Twilight, by this point, had guessed she wasn't welcome in the station and wasn't surprised by the janitor's behavior. But after a brief look around the small, for lack of a better word, office, she turned back to Montoya with a confused and annoyed look.
Montoya gave Twilight a small smile, "Problem, Commissioner?"
Twilight frowned as she replied, carefully choosing her words, "Why are we in a janitor's closet?" She gave ‘Slam' a once over before continuing, "Specifically, why are we in a janitor's closet where the janitor has a police issued baton hanging within hoof's reach and the door is reinforced with steel, lead and enough locks to make a bank jealous?"
The janitor's hoof had been slowly making its way to said baton while Twilight spoke, but froze at its mention. He gave a quick glance to Montoya, looking for her cue to act. For her part, Montoya shook her head and nodded at the door. The stallion seemed to understand as he stood up and moved past Twilight to lock the door. He took his time, sliding the bolts into place and securing the pad locks that prevented anypony, unicorn or otherwise, from unlocking the door from the outside.
Twilight watched his movements with only mild trepidation, but something about Montoya's attitude put her at ease. Maybe it was just Twilight trying to fight fire with fire, or maybe it was because her curiosity was getting the better of her. Either way, Twilight matched Montoya's confidence and waited to see where all this was going.
Once the door was secured and the janitor returned to his desk, Montoya finally spoke, "Slam, here, used to be a detective for the Ponyville PD. After decades of service, he retired to being our janitor." The are-you-serious look from Twilight gave Montoya a small smile, but she continued, "Part of his duties is to guard this." Montoya turned to one of the industrial shelves that lined part of the back wall, and with a hoof pulled it outward to reveal a door set in stone.
Twilight glanced between the two of them and backed up a few paces, "What's going on here?"
Montoya answered by motioning Twilight to follow her and she opened up the door to reveal a smaller room cluttered with cardboard boxes and a few filing cabinets filled with dossiers and police files that Twilight realized, as she entered, should have been in the archives room. This room was lit by a single candle as well, and Twilight lit up her horn to reveal that the room was actually much bigger than she initially thought it was. The hidden roome was easily four or five times the size of the actual police archives and stacked triple deep with more shelves, boxes, and cabinets.
"This… this is… I don't know what to say. What is all this?" Twilight asked as she picked her way around piles of paperwork.
Montoya shut the door and a scraping sound could be heard from beyond as Slam, the janitor, slid the shelf back into place just outside. "It's the archive, well, the real archive at any rate," Montoya said.
Twilight lifted up a loose folder and read its date. "This is from nearly 15 years ago," she said while picking up another folder, "and this one is from over 20. Why aren't these files in the other room?"
Montoya shook her head, "Some of these files date back to the founding of Ponyville and the establishment of the Ponyville Sheriff's office. When the city adopted a local constitution, the Ponyville PD was established and they inherited all the Sheriff's old paperwork. After a few decades, all the old paperwork got pushed back here for storage. But then, about ten years ago the former police chief decided to change things up."
Twilight was skimming file names and document titles while listening. She moved from pile to stack to pile, her librarian instincts beginning to kick in. As she did, Montoya continued.
"He ordered that no document be held onto for longer than six months, and anything past its ‘expiration' should be burned. Well, Slam out there didn't take too kindly to the order. So he hung up his badge, became the janitor, and hid the files here in secret."
Twilight set the file she was reading down and looked to Montoya, "Burn the files? Six Months? But, most trials take years to fully get through."
Montoya nodded, "That's right. It was suspected that he got a pretty big payoff from someone higher up the food chain to change our procedure. Sure, we have to keep some stuff on record while a case is in court, but that's assuming a case ever makes it to a trial date."
Twilight considered what Montoya said and looked around at the overwhelming amount of records that surrounded her. "You said ‘former Chief', what happened to him and why doesn't Bullox change it back?"
"No pony knows. Chief Leob just didn't show up for duty one day about six years ago. They checked his house and it was empty. A train conductor said that the chief had bought a ticket for Stalliongrad on the red eye. No pony's heard from him since. As for Harv, well, the only reason he got the job was seniority. He's been here nearly as long as Slam has. He tried to get things back to the way they used to, but somepony's got a lot of pull around town hall. Mayor Mare all but told him that the policy couldn't and wouldn't be changed." Montoya carefully stepped around a bundle of files and moved to a pair of cabinets that reached the ceiling and were tucked into one corner of the room while she spoke.
Twilight, curious, followed her while listening intently, and when she finished, couldn't help but ask, "You also said, ‘if the case makes it to a trial date'. What did you mean?"
Montoya sighed and leaned up against the cabinets, "Why do you think Ponyville's got such a low crime rate? Sure, violent crime is low, but that's not the only form of crime out there. Embezzlement, theft, drugs, smuggling, hell I've seen it all. But here's the problem, most of the time you get goons like those morons from Davenport's or the occasional graffiti artist. They aren't a problem; they're actually what keep our crime rate as high as it is.
"But then you get guys like the Flim Flam brothers. They'll swindle you out of house and home, and do it by the book to boot. You'll be left with nothing but shame and a broken heart. And if they or one of their bucking hired thugs step out of line, they make bail, schmooze it up with the judge or one of the nobles and then their case never gets a court date. After six months, the paperwork goes poof, and it's like it never happened."
Twilight was stunned, "I had no idea- I've heard of the Flim Flam brothers, in fact I helped a friend run them off her farm a while back, but I had no idea that this was such a big problem here in Ponyville."
Montoya gave Twilight a rye smirk, "That's just the tip of the iceberg." She then motioned to the cabinets she was leaning against and tapped them lightly with a hoof, "Most of the files you're looking for are going to be in here."
Twilight stepped closer to the cabinets and tilted her head, "Which drawer?"
“All of them!?” Twilight gasped in confusion. There must have been hundreds of files between the two cabinets. “How could something like this go unnoticed for so long?”
“I think it’s easier to show you.” Montoya said as she opened up a lower drawer and pulled out a pair of files. She set them down in front of Twilight and motioned for the alicorn to open them. “At first, we didn’t really know what we were dealing with. These are two of the earliest cases we’ve been able to identify as being resolved by Him.”
Twilight pulled one of the files towards her. With a flick of her magic, she opened it up and began reading. “The victim was a young mare walking home after a late night shift at one of Ponyville’s cafes. She had just turned down the side street that led to her home when another pony in a black ski mask ran past her, knocking her to the ground, and grabbed her saddlebag in the process. She never saw the pony, nor caught which way the thief had run off. The suspect was later found a block away, unconscious.”
Twilight looked up at Montoya, “I don’t get it. According to both officers that were on the scene, it looked like the suspect got tangled up in the saddlebag and tripped and fell, slamming his head into a wall. Not very normal, but it doesn’t sound like the work of a vigilante.”
Montoya nodded and reached out with a hoof to tap a tab near the back of the file, “That’s true, but take a look at the medical examiner’s report a few days after the incident.”
Twilight frowned but flipped to the tab in question. It took her only a few seconds and her eyes widened in surprise as she read the report. “Cracked ribs and bruising consistent with being bucked? There’s no way the suspect would have gotten these injuries by simply tripping.”
Montoya smirked and pushed the second folder towards her, “Now read this one.”
Twilight lifted the second folder up and flipped it open reading quickly. When she was done, she looked back up at Montoya. “Three suspects found beaten up at the scene of an attempted robbery, now that does sound more like our vigilante. But, in this one, the injuries suffered all seem to be consistent with the three getting into a fight with each other. The medical examiner even compared the suspects hooves with the bruises to verify that all the injuries were inflicted on each other.”
“Again, true,” Montoya said. She then smiled as she sat back on her haunches and watched her commissioner as she asked, “But then, if the three all got into a fight, who knocked the last one out?”
Twilight started to respond, but stopped herself just in time to consider Montoya’s question. She reread the medical examiner’s report carefully this time, trying to read between the lines. After a few moments she slowly looked back up at Montoya and said, “Fractured jaw.”
Montoya nodded, “The pony that received the fractured jaw was hired muscle and only received superficial bruising, whereas the other two had received deep tissue bruising that would have left them knocked out long before the thug would have tired out.”
Twilight quickly skimmed over the report again, thinking aloud as she did so, “You think that somepony was there, watched them fight, and then stepped in to clean up the mess.”
“Given the dates on the two cases and the M.E.’s reports, yeah, I do. There are one or two weird ones prior to these, but these two are the oldest I’ve found that have enough evidence to suggest our mutual friend was involved,” Montoya said.
Having closed the file, Twilight looked at the two filing cabinets and let out a small sigh, “It’s going to be a long day.”
Montoya glanced up at the cabinets as well before looking back to Twilight, “Listen, I’ve been with the force for the last four and a half years, I’ve seen a lot of perps come and go. I’ve talked to ponies who’ve just had their lives destroyed and criminals who don’t understand the meaning of the word remorse. I’ve seen monsters, figuratively and literally, walking the streets of Ponyville in broad daylight. And I’ve seen innocent ponies get hurt over something as stupid as a few bits.”
Twilight started to respond, but was cut off by Montoya’s hoof, “Ponyville is sick, but nopony can see it. We’ve lived here long enough that most of us turn a blind eye to its symptoms. Maybe this vigilante is just another infection, but then again, maybe he’s not. Maybe he’s just trying to do what he can. What I do know, is that you care about Ponyville, about all of us. You’ve saved Equestria more times than most of us know. For that, I trust you. So let’s get down to brass tacks. I’ll tell you everything I know and we’ll find this guy. Maybe we’ll even figure out if he’s on our side.”
---
Twilight yawned and stretched her hooves out over her head in an effort to get the kinks out of her back. She was sitting on the floor of the hidden archive deep within the Ponyville PD surrounded by stacks of cases taken from the drawers of the twin filing cabinets Montoya had shown her. Her internal clock told her she had been there for several hours, long past lunch at least, but she had barely scratched the surface of what the cabinets had contained.
Montoya, true to her word, stayed by the Commissioner’s side, helping her sort through the cases by date and explaining police jargon and procedures as necessary. The detective was proving to be invaluable help as Twilight had begun to feel overwhelmed by the number and nature of the cases she was reading.
Twilight closed her eyes and counted to ten. It was a simple trick that she had practiced over and over when she started to feel like everything was out of control and worked well enough that when she opened her eyes, she no longer felt swamped by the files around her.
Opposite her, Montoya looked up from a case she was reading and gave Twilight a look of concern, but said nothing.
Twilight smiled slightly and shook her head. Her voice broke the silence that had been building while the two studied, “Sorry, just a lot of cases to go through, and I think I’m starting to get sore laying on the floor.”
Montoya shut the file she had been reading and tossed it into a pile of cases that, while interesting, weren’t as interesting as the smaller pile between the two mares. “I can understand that. Give me one second, let me check the time.” She stood up and, after a small stretch, knocked twice on the only door to the archives. After a few seconds of faint scraping, Slam opened the door and poked his head inside.
“Hey Slam,” Montoya said, “What’s the time?”
“Round-about four,” Slam said as he eyed the files littering the floor where the two mares had been sitting.
Twilight blinked in surprise at the time, “Four! Oh no, I should really get going. Spike will be wondering where I am, and I’m supposed to meet Rarity.” Twilight immediately stood up and started rapidly shuffling through the ‘interesting’ pile of files on the floor, magicking some into her saddlebag and the rest back into a filing cabinet.
“Whoa, hold up,” said Montoya in alarm. “What do you think you’re doing with those files? You’re not thinking of taking them with you, are you?”
Twilight stopped what she was doing, a file floating near her head encased in a purple aura, “Umm, yes?”
Montoya shook her head, “No. Absolutely not. There’s not only the chain of evidence to consider, but those files could get lost or destroyed. Or worse, what happens if they’re found by the wrong person and word gets out that we’ve got this archive of ours and somepony with a lot of clout comes down on our heads? Harv and I could lose our jobs!”
Twilight glanced between the files in her saddlebag and Montoya who was breathing very hard by now, but before she could reply, Slam stepped between the two mares, and looked Montoya in the eye.
“Whinee? You’re a good detective and I know you care a lot about the ponies around you, but I think you’re just going to have to trust Commissioner Sparkle.” Slam’s words caught both ponies by surprise, giving him plenty of time to continue. “Commissioner Sparkle worked Ponyville’s library for a number of years, so she’s used to handling sensitive documents. What’s-more, these files don’t officially exist, so there is no chain of evidence to observe. And if somepony did find them, they’d probably think there were just some copies that an old retired officer kept around to remind him of the good old days before he retired and became a janitor.”
Montoya caught the look in Slam’s eye and let out a slow breath, “All right. I gotcha.” She then looked past the former-policepony and nodded at Twilight, “Just be careful, all right?”
Twilight smiled reassuringly at both ponies, “The castle is probably the safest place in all of Ponyville; They’ll be in good hooves.”