> Millie
>  by totallynotabrony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Millie


I opened my eyes, blinking at the sunlight and staring at the blue sky above. Other than maybe exhibiting the clear weather, the view didn’t tell me anything of great importance. And then I saw a pegasus.
Blinking in surprise, I tracked the flying pony with my eyes. Turning my head, I checked the area around me. I was lying on a public bench next to a busy street. Brightly colored ponies were everywhere, going about their business. There were a few pony-pulled carriages, but no cars. None of the ponies paid me any mind, as I looked just like one of them.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. I was in Equestria. Again.
I suppose it wasn’t as bad as the first time I showed up there. At least the second time around, I knew where I was. I also knew there was a way of going home. I sat up, frowning in thought. Exactly how to return home was a blank spot in my memory, along with what had brought me here a second time.
There was one thing I understood very well, however. My wife was going to be worried sick. The last time, my little trip had nearly gotten our wedding canceled for lack of a groom.
Glancing around, I didn’t immediately recognize my location. I was familiar with Canterlot, but this place looked different. The architecture appeared slightly more modern, with greater use of glass and steel. The buildings overall were taller, almost verging on skyscrapers. 
Sighing, I started to get up. Might as well get the body shock over with. I rolled off the bench. I knew that four legs would require an adjustment period, but I never expected those appendages to be shorter and pinker than I remembered. I stared at my hooves with a frown on my face. So…did I just randomly get assigned a new bodily form each time I visited? This was one hypothesis I wasn’t in a hurry to prove.
I began to struggle out of my clothing. The garments had made the trip with me, but hadn’t been changed like I had. A human t-shirt, jeans, and work boots did not fit pony-me. The air was somewhat chilly, but I figured I could stand it. Last time I visited, learning to go about naked had taken some getting used to.
There were a few things in my pockets. A wallet, keys, and pocket knife. Thinking hard about it, the last thing I remembered before getting pony-converted this time was being at home in the process of breakfast. That explained why I didn’t also have my cell phone; I hadn’t picked it up from the charger by the front door. Not that the phone would have done me much good in a place without signal towers.
I opened my wallet and glanced at the driver’s license inside- James Miller, Baltimore. Sighing, I put the wallet in a small pile on the bench with the rest of my things. I wondered how long it would be until I would have the face on the license again. Reluctantly, I checked the rest of my body. Might as well get used to it if I was going to be here for a while.
So very pink. My entire coat was a shade slightly more annoying than bubble gum. Brushing a hoof over my shoulder, I found a mane of reasonable length and steel blue in color. Twisting my body to get a good look at my hip, I spotted a cutie mark that featured a hammer crossed with a ruler. It wasn’t the same one I’d had last time, but it seemed still relevant to my skills.
My eyes drifted from the cutie mark, taking in the unfamiliar shape of my body. If I didn’t know any better, I would think…
I checked between my hind legs and immediately regretted it. A panicked female voice coming from my throat muttered a surprised explicative, which turned into several more as I heard myself.
Sitting down seemed like a good idea. I backed towards the bench, folding my legs beneath me. My contorted spine reminded me that I was no longer bipedal, and I slumped sideways into a more comfortable position.
Slowly getting over the shock of unwanted gender manipulation, I realized that I didn’t have wings. Wow, my life must really have taken a strange turn if not possessing feathers surprised me. To be fair, the last time I was a pony—a stallion pony—I’d been a pegasus.
Well, that left two other options for race. I reached up to my forehead, careful not to knock my hooves into anything sensitive. I swear, if Earth-horses had eyes this large, they’d have all kinds of trouble. 
My hoof encountered something protruding from where the forelock of my mane sprouted. It was a horn. Well then, that was one mystery solved.
I’d managed to figure out how to fly, so hopefully magic wouldn’t be too difficult to learn. I was a little annoyed that whoever or whatever brought me back to Equestria decided to change up my pony form, but I had to admit the topic of magic did sound interesting.
I leaned forward and concentrated on my wallet. Merely exerting mental effort did not get it to move. I tried tipping my head to point the horn more directly at it. Imagining an invisible hand picking up the wallet didn’t work. Neither did muttering made-up magic words under my breath.
Well, maybe try again later. I bundled up my clothing, trying to package it so it would stay together. From what I’d read in Equestrian libraries, unicorns did not have as much natural dexterity in their hooves because they simply didn’t need it. I tried to figure out how I was going to carry the bundle of clothing. Eventually I just made a loop out of my trouser legs and put it around my neck.
I started walking with no destination in mind. I wondered where my next meal would come from. I had no Equestrian money. On my previous visit, I’d found a job at a fabrication shop. It was a good place to take advantage of my talent for designing and building, which was how I was employed on Earth.
Looking around again, I tried to figure out where I was. There were no familiar landmarks. I suspected this wasn’t Canterlot, but that didn’t narrow things down very much.
I had a sudden panicked thought. What if I wasn’t here at the same point in Equestrian history? What if this modernish city was the result of decades of progress?
Fortunately, those fears were quelled as I passed a newspaper dispenser. Squinting through the window on the front, I saw the date on the paper’s tagline was only about three months after I had left Equestria. More importantly, the title was Manehattan Downtown.
So, Manehattan. I didn’t know anything about the place, or if it shared more than just a similar name with a particular human settlement. It did seem to have a large population, if the crowded sidewalks were any indication.
I took stock of my situation. Based on previous experience, I was practiced at walking four-legged, had a basic understanding of how Equestria worked, and knew to say things like “anypony.” On the other hoof, I was in a strange city and had no idea how to be a unicorn or a mare.
Okay, so I wasn’t completely screwed, just partially. The larger, overarching problems were Why am I here a second time? and Why can’t I remember how to go home?
I knew that this wasn’t my fault, at least. The first time, it had been exceedingly powerful and/or experimental magic responsible for my inter-universe transit, but when I tried to push my mind for more details like who, what, and how I drew a blank. I’d spoken to a few ponies connected with the School for Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot and had been happy that they’d found a way to send me home, but everything after that was hazy.
The obvious solution was to get myself to Canterlot and talk to those same ponies again. However, I couldn’t fly there and couldn’t afford a train ticket. I’d gotten to know a few ponies in Canterlot, and maybe they would be kind enough to lend me money. The problem was, I had no way of asking them. Telephones and wire transfers did not exist.
I frowned. A telegraph, maybe? They had steam trains, so maybe passing a simple Morse Code telegram was possible. Would I have to pay for sending the message? This was not going to be simple at all.
Then again, maybe I would get lucky. I mean, if the universe dumps you in a completely different world, twists your species and your masculinity, and doesn’t even bother to give you a nice guidebook, karma has to eventually turn around and start working for you.
I froze in my tracks, staring at a flyer stapled to a light pole. DJ PON3 tonight! Rave Beatz electronic club, 220 Park Street
It was an unbelievable piece of good fortune. Vinyl Scratch, stage name DJ PON3, had been my neighbor in Canterlot. All I had to do was convince her that I was the same alien she’d gotten to know and then ask for her help.
Well dang, if the universe was going to be so accommodating, I couldn’t very well turn it down. I glanced skyward. “I wish for a bacon cheeseburger.”
Nothing happened. I grumbled. I hated going to rave shows hungry.


> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Rave Beatz electronic club” turned out to be a surprisingly descriptive name. The outside of the building was exactly what you would expect from such an establishment. The date on the DJ PON3 poster outside matched the date I’d seen on the newspaper. It was still afternoon, however, and I had a couple of hours to spend before the show began. Not that I was going to get in. It wasn’t a free show.
“But I know her?” I tried, lamely. The large stallion outside the front door did not seem impressed.
I tried going around the back where a musician might enter covertly, but more club bouncers were there. It looked like I was in for a long wait.
I walked the block around the club aimlessly for a while. A jewelry shop on the corner had a gem-encrusted mirror on display in the window. I was able to get a good look at my face.
The first thing that jumped out at me was how young I looked. Not that I had much experience with judging pony ages, but I guessed that I might have been mistaken for a teenager. I figured it could have something to do with inhabiting a brand new body with no wrinkles or blemishes to be found. Perhaps that’s also why a mare stopped me in the street earlier to compliment me on the quality of my hooficure – new hooves that had never been scuffed.
My eyes were a mild amber color that was nowhere near the shade they were when I was a man. I shuddered a little at that. I may have adjusted to pony pronouns, but using “she” for myself was a frightening thought.
I found a good place to park my posterior beside the Rave Beatz building. I leaned against the wall, reluctantly committed to waiting. Night was falling, and I felt a thump of bass tremble the brick and mortar as the show started. Not having the instinctive ear control of a native pony, I had to tilt my whole head closer to the wall to hear better.
The sound was muffled and fuzzy, but I could still make out distinct melodies. Or whatever Vinyl called them. Electronic was not really my preferred genre, but the excited cheers of ponies filling the club seemed to indicate that they enjoyed it.
After a few minutes I leaned my head back and looked up at the stars that were beginning to appear in the night sky. The temperature had dropped a little further and I shivered slightly.
I thought about my plan. Step one was talking to Vinyl to get her help. Step two was going to Canterlot. Step three was getting somepony to send me home. Simple. At least I hoped it would be.
A faint tune carried through the wall. I noted something familiar about it and listened a little harder. A smile came to my lips, the first one I’d worn all day. I recognized the song, and in fact it was one of my favorites. Contentedly, I hummed along. The electronic remix was without lyrics, but I provided them. In the town where I was born, there lived a man who sailed to sea... The sound blended almost seamlessly into the next song, a tribute to Vinyl’s mixing.
I was quite glad to get up from the cold sidewalk when the show was finally over. I didn’t know how long it would take Vinyl to exit the building, but I stood by the back door impatiently.
Maybe half an hour of anxious waiting later, the doors opened and Vinyl came out with a pushcart full of electronic equipment. She was a white unicorn with an excessively styled mane the color of blue electrical sparks. Her cutie mark was rather plain by comparison, a black music note. Even at night, she wore large purple sunglasses. I remembered that they had been enchanted with a night vision spell to help Vinyl see her DJ equipment in dark clubs.
There were several security ponies around giving me unkind looks as I tried to approach. I called out, “Hey Vinyl! I really liked that cover of Yellow Submarine!”
She glanced at me, traces of confusion showing on her face. She stopped walking, though. “Where did you hear the original?”
“It was a couple of months ago. You, me, and Octavia listened to it before I had to go home.”
Vinyl had taken a step away from the security ponies. Her voice sounded skeptical. “Are you sure? Because sister, you don’t look like anypony I’ve ever seen before.”
“I didn’t look like this last time. It’s kind of an unwelcome surprise, but I got stuck in Equestria again.”
Vinyl tilted her head. “Are you—?”
My face flushed. “Uh, yeah. I used to be a guy.”
The nearest bouncer took a step backwards in surprise, which was a good thing because Vinyl leaped forward and wrapped me in an enthusiastic hug. “Oh my gosh, Miller! What’s up, dude? What are you doing here?”
I was actually surprised at the turnaround in her attitude. To be fair, after we met for the first time and I convinced her that I was only temporarily stuck in the shape of a pony, she’d been very accepting. Of course, it might have helped that she was a junkie back then.
Vinyl pulled back to get a look at me. I was glad. Somehow, this stupid body was an inch or two shorter than she was and her hug felt like I was being smothered.
Vinyl asked, “Seriously, what happened to you? I mean, I knew you were kind of a strange guy, but…”
“I didn’t get a choice in the matter,” I said brusquely. “I’m also not here by my own free will either. I need your help to get home. Er, again.”
Vinyl looked around as if remembering where she was. Gesturing at me, she spoke to the security detail. “Millie’s just a crazy old friend of mine. She likes to surprise me like this.”
“Don’t call me—” I tried to protest, but Vinyl was already pulling me back towards her cart of music gear.
“You fellas can take the rest of the night off,” said Vinyl. “I can handle my stuff, and Millie can kick anypony’s tail who needs it.”
I thought her confidence might have been misplaced, but decided to keep my mouth shut this time. The two of us headed away from the building, pushing the cart.
“Wow, this is crazy,” murmured Vinyl, using a lower voice now that we were alone. “You’re a mare.”
“Want to point out anything else horrifyingly obvious?” I grumbled. “I didn’t ask for this. On top of that, I have to learn how to be a unicorn. I have no idea how magic works. This sucks.”
“Hey now, I’m also a unicorn mare.”
“But you’ve never been a pegasus stallion or a human man,” I pointed out.
Vinyl nodded. “Touché. So now that you’re back, what are you going to do now?”
“Get home as fast as possible. I’ve already been here for most of a day. My wife will be worried sick. The last time I came to Equestria, I was declared a missing person and presumed dead.”
“Wow.” Vinyl seemed humbled. “I’m sorry. I guess last time you didn’t know what was going on back at your home planet, so you could at least pretend everything was okay.”
I didn’t know if Equestria was in some other dimension from Earth, or even if that explanation was remotely close to correct. Vinyl was convinced that I was some sort of space alien, and for all I knew that might be the truth.
“Maybe I would feel better about it if I knew how this happened a second time,” I said.
She glanced at me. “What do you remember?”
“That’s the problem – nothing! I can’t think of a single detail about what transported me between the two places.”
“Huh.” Vinyl considered that. “Well, you at least know who to talk to in Canterlot, right?”
“I suppose. I guess if I show up and tell them who I am, that should work.” Maybe they have a warranty on faulty cross-universe transportation?
We walked in silence for a little while. I looked around. “Where are we going?”
“I have to drop this stuff off at the train station to be put in the baggage car,” answered Vinyl. “I’m leaving for Canterlot on the ten a.m. train. After that, I was going back to my hotel room.”
“Not to impose, but can I stay with you?” I really was not keen on sleeping outside, especially with the temperature. Just then, my stomach growled.
Vinyl noticed, and gave me a big grin. “Let’s just get this stuff put away and we’ll eat. I always get hungry after shows.”
After stopping by the station, we headed to a 24-hour diner. The food was not top quality, but after going hungry all day I was not picky. The chef with his unkempt mane and greasy apron was not exactly a model of class, but he looked surprised to see a pink mare wolfing veggie burgers and hay fries.
The food was tasty, for vegetarian fare. I talked with Vinyl between bites. Three months ago, I thought I would never be in Equestria again. While I was glad to see my friend once more, the nag of going home stayed fresh in my mind. Despite my own problems, I inquired about her wellbeing.
Vinyl shifted uncomfortably in her seat. We both knew what I was really asking. “I got a few local gigs, and things progressed to stuff like this show in Manehattan. Everything’s been pretty good. Octavia checked up on me from time to time.”
When I first met Vinyl, she was up to her ears in debt to a drug ring. It wasn’t easy, but she’d gotten out. I trusted her, but I would hate to see her get pulled back in.
“How’s Octavia?” I asked. She was the mare who owned the apartment building where Vinyl lived and where I had stayed briefly. Octavia was also a fellow musician, although her tastes clashed horribly with Vinyl’s.
“Oh,” said Vinyl, her voice flat. “I haven’t seen Octavia in a month. She sold the building.”
“Really? What’s she doing now?”
“I heard she used the money to buy a jazz club here in Manehattan.” Vinyl shrugged. Her sudden shift in attitude confused me, but I didn’t ask.
She paid the bill and I thanked her for dinner. We walked through the chilly air towards her hotel. I discovered that there was only one bed in the room.
“It’s fine,” I said. “Carpeted floors aren’t so bad once you get used to them.”
“The nerve, kicking a mare out of the bed she paid for!”
I sputtered, “No, I meant that for me!”
Vinyl grinned, pleased with her well-played joke. “Seriously, it’s not a big deal. I know you’re loyal to your wife and I’m not into mares.”
“I’m not a mare.”
Vinyl shrugged. “Hormones beg to differ. Sleep tight, Millie.”
She took off her sunglasses for the first time that night and placed them on the bedside table. Vinyl’s eyes were a striking shade of red that seemed a little out of place, even with the way most ponies were vibrantly colored. She pulled back the bedsheets and looked at me pointedly. I rolled my eyes and climbed in.
While I think I can be excused due to the situation, sharing a bed with a sapient creature I wasn’t married to raised all kinds of interesting issues. Luckily, I was tired from the late hour plus walking around all day, and dropped off to sleep almost immediately.


Vinyl was still snoring when I woke up in the morning. A little sunlight drifted in through the curtains. The clock beside the bed said it was almost eight. Two hours until the train left. I couldn’t stand to wait, but couldn’t think of a way to pass the time, either.
Feeling me move, Vinyl opened her eyes. She moaned a little and rolled over. “Still kinda early.”
“Can’t go back to sleep,” I replied. “Too much on my mind.”
Vinyl made a noncommittal noise.
“I had an idea,” I said. “You mentioned Octavia had moved to Manehattan.”
Vinyl turned over again to look at me. “Yeah.”
“Not that I want to delay going home, but if the train doesn’t leave until ten, I’d like to at least say hello to her.” Something made me add, “If that’s all right with you.”
Vinyl paused a moment and then began to drag herself out of bed. “Okay.”
She put on her sunglasses and got ready for the day. The two of us went downstairs and Vinyl settled the bill. I made sure to thank her again for helping me out.
“It’s all right, dude.” She smiled “I kind of owe you.”
There were several ways Vinyl might have meant that but I put it out of my mind, more concerned with her attitude this morning. Despite her cheerful conversation, she seemed a little displeased. I couldn’t figure out why.
The morning air was less frigid with the help of the sun. We walked a couple of blocks to a two-story building nestled among taller, more modern structures. The exterior seemed like it could have been classy once, but it had faded and there was a little peeling paint and wear. Really, it didn’t look that bad if you squinted, and it looked better than the apartment building Octavia used to own. A sign over the door announced the name of the club as The Metronome.
“Here it is,” said Vinyl. She stopped.
I put a hoof on the door to go inside, turning back to her. “Aren’t you coming?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Stepping inside, my eyes had to adjust to the dim lights. The place was deserted, which was probably what I should have expected from a jazz club in the early morning. A slick-looking stallion wearing a trim vest and matching tie approached us from around the bar. His mane was groomed and he wore a thin mustache. I thought he looked familiar.
Pausing in front of us, he nodded. “Ms. Scratch.” His tone was polite, nothing more or less.
“Hello Iridium,” said Vinyl. “Is Octavia around? There’s somepony here who wants to meet her.”
Oh, right. Iridium used to work at a different jazz club in Canterlot. Maybe Octavia had hired him. He nodded, again merely polite. “I’ll get her.”
As Iridium departed, I couldn’t contain my curiosity any more. Speaking quietly to Vinyl, I asked, “Is there something going on between you and Octavia?”
She didn’t immediately answer. If it weren’t for her sunglasses, I might have been more effective at reading her expression. Vinyl finally replied, “Octavia doesn’t live in Canterlot anymore. She just packed up and left. You left her in charge of me, remember?”
During my last visit to Equestria, Vinyl had run afoul of the wrong kind of ponies. I can’t really sugarcoat it; she was hospitalized after a bad trip. Octavia, as her landlord, had every right to kick her out. Instead, she’d taken it upon herself to see Vinyl get better. Or so I thought.
Iridium returned with a female earth pony. She was two shades of grey, with lavender eyes and a treble clef cutie mark of the same color. Like Vinyl, she had a few inches of height on me. She looked at the two of us with cautious curiosity.
“Hi Octavia,” I said, stepping forward. “This is kind of weird, but here I am in Equestria again. It’s me, Miller.”
Octavia blinked in surprise, but to her credit took my statement at face value. After a moment anyway. Seconds passed as emotions played across her face before she regained some control. “Iridium, could you give us a moment please?”
The stallion stepped away without a word, although I thought I saw a question in his expression. Octavia cut her eyes between me and Vinyl. “That’s it? Here you are? I take it there’s more to this story?”
“Er, not really,” I said. “It’s pretty much the same bad deal as last time.”
She looked down from my eyes at the rest of my body. “What about the part where you turned into a mare?”
“Except for that,” I said. I smiled weakly. “I was hoping it was so obvious that I could just let it go without a comment. Please, I’d rather not talk about it.”
Octavia shifted slightly, looking as uncomfortable as I was with the subject. “Well, it’s good to see you again, although I take it you didn’t intend to come here a second time?”
I nodded. “You’re right. I’m going to fix that, though. The train to Canterlot leaves at ten.”
“That leaves us a bit of time. Would you care for some tea, Miller?”
“Millie,” said Vinyl. It was the first time she had spoken since Octavia had appeared. I saw the two of them lock eyes.
“Are you really going to keep calling me that?” I broke in. “I thought we agreed that I’m supposed to be a guy.”
“Well, whatever you’re called, I should probably get you to the train station,” replied Vinyl. The purple lenses on her face concealed where she was looking, but I got the distinct feeling that she was gazing unkindly at Octavia.
“Nice to see you again, Octavia,” I called as Vinyl ushered me out the door.
“You too,” said Octavia.
Outside, Vinyl turned towards the train station. I glanced at her. “What was that all about?”
“We’re going to be late,” she said tersely.
I wanted to say something. I felt like I should. Vinyl’s reminder of getting to Canterlot pulled my mind in a different direction, however, and I kept my mouth shut. We went the rest of the way to the train station in silence.
The station was packed with ponies, many more than had been there the previous night. At the ticket window, we found out that all remaining seats aboard the train had been sold.
“What are we going to do?” My voice sounded uncomfortably high and panicked.
“Take my ticket, dude. This is important to you.” Vinyl held the ticket out to me with magic. 
“Are you sure?” She nodded. I took the ticket in my mouth and dropped it into the bundle of personal effects I wore around my neck. “I mean, how are you going to—”
“I’ll just buy another one later.” Vinyl grinned. “Jeeze Millie, does your wife always have this much trouble with you?”
I thought I saw a passing stallion glance curiously in our direction at the mention of a mare having a wife. I shrugged it off. “Thank you so much.”
Vinyl pulled me into a hug which I returned. It was good to know somepony from a completely different world had my back, but somewhat bittersweet because the second time around I would try to make sure I didn’t come back again.
Vinyl got her stuff out of the baggage car and waved goodbye as I boarded the train. With a whistle blast, the engine pulled the string of cars out of the station and began to pick up speed on the way to Canterlot. The trip would take a few hours, and I settled back to relax. At some point, I must have fallen asleep.


I awoke on my back, staring at the sky. Sitting up, I discovered that I was once again on the bench in Manehattan. Shots of confusion and panic went through me as I scrambled to stand up. Catching sight of a small scrap of paper nestled in my bundle of clothes, I pulled it out and checked the writing on it. The message was as short as it was mysterious.
Don’t leave town.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I hurried down the street in the direction of the train station. I didn’t know how long I had been asleep, but the sun had set. The night air felt chilly. I glanced at the dark sky. Was that a few flakes of snow? 
The clock over the front door of the station indicated that it was a few minutes after seven in the evening. I’d checked the newspaper machine near the bench where I’d awoken, discovering that it was still the same day. That meant about nine hours had passed since I’d boarded the train—time that had just vanished. I didn’t remember anything, and I was pretty sure that the process of moving my sleeping body from the train back to the bench in Manehattan would probably have woken me up. Could I have been drugged?
I stepped up to the ticket kiosk and addressed the pony standing there. “Pardon me, when was the last train from Canterlot?”
“That would have been five p.m. ma’am.” He smiled helpfully. 
I disregarded the ma’am. “When did that train leave Canterlot?”
“One o’clock. It’s a four hour trip between the two cities.”
I thought for a moment, trying not to draw parallels to algebra class. “So the train that left Manehattan at ten a.m. would have arrived in Canterlot at two?”
The ticket vendor nodded. That meant I couldn’t have ridden all the way to Canterlot and gotten on the train back. Either I disembarked early somewhere along the way, or maybe I had just magically appeared back in Manehattan. I never liked magic. It doesn’t play by rules that I’m comfortable with.
I asked another question. “How many trains are there to Canterlot each day?”
“Three. The six o’clock departure has already left, but there are still plenty tickets available for the one at ten p.m.”
I leaned towards the pony urgently. “Was a passenger named Vinyl Scratch on the six o’clock train?”
The vendor consulted a record book for a moment. “No, but she does have a ticket for the later train. Would you like to buy one, too?”
“Later. I’ll be back.” I had to find Vinyl and explain what had happened. Maybe if I was traveling with her, weird things wouldn’t happen to me. Also, I was going to do my best to never sleep again.
I didn’t know where Vinyl might be hanging out. Tracking her across the whole city would be impossible. Still, I knew where she would be at ten p.m. I had a little less than three hours to kill. I felt bad about having to ask her to buy me another ticket.
With nothing better to do, I left the station and headed for The Metronome. I figured Octavia would be happy to see me. As I approached the club, I noticed that it looked a little better at night, the darkness concealing some of the flaws on the exterior.
I opened the door and stepped inside. The interior seemed more stylish and inviting than I had seen that morning. Maybe it was the customers populating the place or the stage lights turned up to shine on a sparse band that played a few low, subtle tunes.
Octavia was sitting at a table with another mare, a leggy white unicorn who had a pale pink mane. The two of them seemed to be intently discussing something.
I saw Iridium coming my way. I caught his eye and tipped my head towards Octavia. He glanced at the table where she sat with her guest and gave me a curt nod. If there was any animosity in his expression, I got the feeling it was directed at the unicorn.
Going over to the table, I got a better look at the mare. Even with my limited knowledge of pony characteristics, I was still able to tell that she was a looker—and she knew it, too. It was more of the way she carried herself than anything. 
I stood by the table quietly. Octavia glanced up, surprised to see me again but also happy to seize an opportunity. “Give me a moment, Fleur.”
Octavia got up and pulled me away from the table. Fleur glanced at me curiously. When we were out of earshot, Octavia asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you’d gone.”
“Yeah, about that…” I told her the story, ending with my plans to hopefully find Vinyl at the train station. From her expression, I could tell that this was the kind of thing Octavia really didn’t need to deal with right now.
“I’ll stay out of your way,” I promised. “I just needed a place to get out of the cold for a while.”
She gave me a caring smile. “Glad to help. Let me finish up with my business partner, and then we can talk.”
“Business partner?”
Octavia put on an annoyed look. “Fleur de Lis, a reasonably well known figure in the fashion industry. She owns forty percent of The Metronome.”
I nodded. “I’ll let you get back to your conversation. Thanks again, Octavia.”
Wandering towards the stage, I took a seat at an unoccupied table. The musicians were nothing special. Blinking in surprise, I saw that none of them even had music-related cutie marks. Hmm, they must just be filler, then. Perhaps there would be a real act later. Not that I minded. The quiet unassuming music was good for thinking, and I had a lot of that to do.
The problem with trying to puzzle out my situation was that I simply didn’t have any information to go on. The first time I’d arrived in Equestria it had been an accident. The note I’d received after finding myself returned to the bench seemed to imply that somepony was actively screwing with me this time.
But who? Any enemies I might have made probably just wanted me dead. I wished I could remember the ponies involved with sending me home the first time. Maybe they’d wiped my memory on purpose, so they could do this to me now? Have I mentioned that I hate magic?
Iridium appeared just then with a plate of salad and a mug of cider. He said, “Complements of Ms. Octavia.”
Conveniently, I was hungry. I thanked him and asked that he pass my gratitude to Octavia as well. Iridium nodded politely and departed.
The salad was mostly chopped vegetables; more filling than something lettuce-based. The cider was better than anything apple growers on Earth could ever hope to produce. I was finished with both in a matter of minutes.
I felt a little bad about making Iridium go to the trouble of serving me if I couldn’t tip him. Picking up my plate and mug, I went over to the bar. Iridium accepted the dishes gracefully, not protesting that he could have gotten them. As quickly and completely as I had finished everything, he didn’t need to ask if I liked the taste. Really, his simple, courteous demeanor and habit of just letting me be had really scored him points in my book.
Something soft but very assertive momentarily bumped against my backside, pushing me forward against the bar. 
“Watch it!” I glanced at the speaker, a griffon who stared at me unkindly. Her eagle eyes tracked my face as she walked up to the bar.
My eyes remained locked with hers. “I was standing still. You watch it.”
Ordinarily, I probably wouldn’t have allowed myself the satisfaction of a retort, but after the day I had experienced, it just kind of slipped out. My mouth is kind of untrustworthy sometimes.
The griffon blinked as if she hadn’t expected such an attitude from a pink pony half her size. Her expression changed, hardening again. “Who do you think you are?”
I opened my mouth. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to say, and in situations like this I usually said something stupid. Iridium saved me, however. He leaned forward and addressed the griffon and I. “Ladies, I can see that you don’t agree on something, but we have plenty of space here at The Metronome. Perhaps you’d like to spend some time on opposite sides of the room?”
The griffon turned and marched away without another word. I shot Iridium a look. “Don’t call me a lady.”
His eyebrows went up slightly, but he nodded in understanding. I moved away to find another table. There was a dog-eared copy of the Manehattan Downtown newspaper on it. I picked it up and glanced through the pages.
It was rather refreshing to find a paper that still took itself seriously. Back home, the internet had largely rendered printed news obsolete, but Equestria hadn’t experienced that. I skimmed through a few pages, but soon found myself drawn to the crime section. It seemed that there were a lot of similar crimes to Earth—drugs, domestic violence—however traffic violations were nonexistent.
I had gotten slightly wrapped up in the newspaper, and didn’t notice Octavia sitting beside me until she peeped over the top of the pages.
“Oh, sorry.” I folded the paper and put it down. 
Octavia gave me a friendly smile, and I could see some stress from her earlier meeting evaporating. “Sorry about that. Sometimes Fleur can be…demanding.”
“You still have majority ownership though, right?”
Octavia shrugged. “It was a hard-fought deal. I wasn’t able to come up with enough funding to purchase the club outright. The agreement is that Fleur can hold fashion shows here whenever she wants. That turns out to be about twice per month, so I suppose it isn’t too bad for my business.”
“So did you sell everything you owned in Canterlot?” I asked, thinking about what Vinyl had told me.
“That’s right. I felt like a fresh start could do me some good.”
I knew Octavia had been rather unlucky in the landlord business, and also used to have a criminal for a coltfriend. I could understand how getting out of town could do a pony some good. At the same time, there was something else on my mind. Against my better judgment, I decided to ask. “What about Vinyl? It was a weird coincidence that I ran into her. She didn’t seem to like coming here, though. Did something happen between you two?”
Octavia sighed. “I think Ms. Scratch means well, but I found it rather difficult to help her when I still owned the apartment building.”
My eyebrows went up. “I didn’t think she meant to be a burden to anypony.”
“It was…stressful,” Octavia decided. “I wasn’t sure I could continue. Also, Ms. Scratch wouldn’t always have somepony to lean on.”
I considered Vinyl a friend, but it felt like I was conspiring against her as I leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Are you saying she was too needy? I know breaking an addiction can’t be easy.”
Octavia opened her mouth, but decided against saying whatever was on her mind. Awkward silence reigned for a moment, and I let the matter drop. We sat there while the amateur band continued to play softly. Glancing at the newspaper, I picked it up again and gestured to the front page. “Anything interesting going on in Manehattan?”
“Not that I’ve noticed,” replied Octavia. “I saw you were reading the crime pages. It’s about the same as we had in Canterlot. Well, before you showed up, anyway.”
“I didn’t mean to take down the top three figures in the Canterlot drug trade, it just kind of happened.” 
Octavia laughed. I wasn’t trying to be funny; that anecdote was pretty much how things had turned out. The bad guys thought I was a badass, hired me, and I led the cops straight to them. All of that happened on accident when I was trying to figure out how to go home. Well, maybe that’s oversimplifying things, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
“I noticed most of the crime figures are ponies instead of other species,” I said, indicating the paper. “Are the demographics a little different here than Canterlot?”
“I suppose. Fewer griffons in the city.” Octavia shrugged.
“What about her?” I nodded at the griffon across the room who was sitting sullenly and alone.
Octavia glanced in that direction. “That’s Gilda; she’s a regular.”
“She’s kind of unpleasant,” I observed.
Octavia’s eyebrows went up. “Oh, did you meet her? I admit, she seems very territorial. She doesn’t like anypony who’s new.”
“What, is this club like her nest?” I joked. “I guess jazz really is for everypony.”
“Indeed.” Octavia gave me a smile and started to get up. “Well, the band is only contracted until nine. I was going to finish up the evening myself.”
I nodded. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too. Have a nice evening.” Octavia walked away, collecting her cello and shooing the other ponies off the stage. I noticed a change in the crowd as she took a position front and center. This was what most of them had come to hear.
As the kind of guy who listens to things like Yellow Submarine, string jazz is not my favorite genre. I will admit that Octavia was rather interesting to observe. She knew her instrument and music without looking. Her eyes had closed before the bow touched the strings, and I didn’t see them open again while she played.
It was a shame that I couldn’t give her a more profound goodbye, but I had a train to catch. Exiting the club into the cold, I turned once more for the station. I could have waited longer, but I needed to be sure that I would catch Vinyl.
Sure enough, I did see her enter the station at about nine thirty. I trotted over and intercepted her. She was more than surprised. “Whoa, Millie! Why aren’t you in Canterlot?”
I showed her the ominous note that I had been passed and briefly explained my apparent kidnapping. Vinyl’s brows furrowed as she listened. “But…why? This didn’t happen to you last time.”
“I know. I don’t have a clue what’s different now. I still want to go to Canterlot and try to fix this.” My face stretched into an embarrassed grimace. “Um, can I have another train ticket?”
Vinyl stared at me. Her lip twitched and she cracked up laughing. “Aw dude, you look so cute when you’re like that.”
My face immediately hardened in what I hoped was a more manly expression. “Fine. No more cute for you.”
Still chuckling, Vinyl led me to the ticket counter and gave the teller some money. I wondered slightly how much she’d made from the recent show. I felt bad about taking it, but some small part of my mind wondered if she would do something irresponsible with disposable income.
Stuffing away that insensitive thought, I followed Vinyl to the train and we found seats aboard. I felt nervous, as the first time I’d been deposed from the train had occurred in broad daylight so what did that mean for the late night? Still, it was comforting to have a friend beside me.
The train whistle blew to signify five minutes until departure. Vinyl asked, “So what did you do today while waiting for the next train?”
“I went to The Metronome. Octavia was glad to see me.”
I’m not sure if Vinyl heard some unintentional inflection in my tone, or if it was the mention of Octavia’s name that provoked a reaction. She looked uncomfortable. “That’s nice.”
I debated how to reply. Saying the wrong thing before we even left the station would turn this into a long trip. Still, if I had breached an uncomfortable subject with Octavia I should probably give Vinyl the same treatment in the interest of fairness. 
A direct approach was not as nice, but would get me the answers I was looking for. Not that Vinyl owed me, but I figured I had earned some trust. 
I asked, “Did something happen between you two?”
Vinyl sat for a moment, putting together her reply. “I didn’t know who I could rely on. After my overdose and everything else that happened, Octavia was really the only pony I knew who could help. And then she left.”
I looked at her, concerned. “What did you do?”
“I... said some things I probably shouldn’t have.” Vinyl ducked her head slightly, but added, “And I still think she deserved it.”
Spotting an opening to do some good, I said, “Maybe the two of you can patch things up. I mean, you’re both okay now, right?”
Vinyl glanced at me. “Our paths don’t cross anymore. What does it matter?”
I didn’t like to see my friends fighting, and was about to tell her that when the door at the end of the train car slid open and a grey stallion poked his head in.
Vinyl was distracted. “Huh? What’s a Lunar Guard doing here?”
“Who?” I glanced at the pony, noticing unusual tufts on his ears. He looked me in the eye for a moment and I suddenly realized that his pupils were slitted like a cat’s. I spotted what was perhaps the strangest feature, however, when he stepped fully into the car. He had wings, but instead of feathered they were bare skin and batlike.
The traveling cloak he wore had slits in the side for his wings.  The garment made him look even spookier than he already did. The stallion closed the door and took a moment to glance around the car. Then, his stare went back to my face and he started to walk towards me.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The bat-winged stallion kept walking in my direction, traversing the long center aisle of the passenger car. His cloak clung to his body, still covering most of the stallion’s form. The few other riders aboard the train watched him curiously. I glanced at Vinyl. “Do you know him?”
“No. Do you?”
“Until a second ago, I didn’t even know ponies could look that freaky.”
“Well, it’s only a spell,” Vinyl explained. “It’s just like the uniformity magic that keeps all the Solar Guards looking exactly the same. I think it’s just a disguise; not permanent.”
We both fell silent at the stallion stopped in front of our seat. Ignoring Vinyl completely, his eyes locked with mine. His expression was neutral, perhaps with a trace of annoyance as he spoke. “Get off the train. You can’t leave Manehattan. I already warned you once.”
I blinked. “Uh...”
The stallion went on. “You will be sent home when you complete your task.”
Shaking my head in bewilderment, I asked, “What task? Did you bring me here?”
A slight frown appeared on his face, now showing definite annoyance. There was something else there as well, a slight caution. “What do you remember?”
“Nothing! Am I supposed to remember something? Did you do this to me?” My voice went up, even if he was standing only a few feet away. The other passengers appeared to be trying hard not to eavesdrop.
“Just listen to me, filly.” The stallion leaned forward over Vinyl, still ignoring her. His face stopped inches from my own. “You have a job to do.”
“The name is Miller,” I growled. “I’m not supposed to be here. I just want to go home and be with my wife.”
The passengers around the car were certainly listening now. The Lunar Guard stared at me. “You can’t always get what you want. Now, get off the train.”
My teeth clenched, trying desperately to contain some very pointed words. I didn’t know who this pony was, but if he knew anything about how I was supposed to get home, then I needed to find out what. I got up.
“Uh... what’s this all about?” asked Vinyl, breaking in. She was ignored again, and if there’s one thing a mare who calls herself DJ PON3 hates, it’s lack of attention. Before Vinyl could demand an answer, I stepped in front of her on my way out of the car. I didn’t like this situation one bit, but it was the only way I could see that might get me some answers and not cause a huge altercation.
The batpony followed me off the train. I turned to face him, seeing Vinyl step down onto the platform after him. “What are you doing, Vinyl? Don’t waste another ticket.” 
Vinyl shrugged. I turned to glare the stallion. “You should refund her the money she lent me.”
In response, he pulled a bag of money out of his cloak. While it was exactly what I had asked for, some stubborn part of me was reluctant to take it. Maybe with as difficult as the pony had been so far, I hadn’t expected him to actually meet that demand.
I managed to hide my surprise and grabbed the bag with a hoof, hearing the coins inside jingle. “What do you want from me?”
The Lunar Guard fixed me with the most serious look he’d so far displayed. “I want the killing to stop.”
A second passed. I shook my head. “What? In case you’ve forgotten, I arrived in Equestria yesterday and without any idea how I got here. I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
The stallion’s expression changed again, regaining some annoyance, but also some concern. I wasn’t sure who he was concerned for. After a moment, the Guard said, “Don’t get into any trouble.”
He turned and headed for the station exit. I went after him. “Hey! I’ve got a lot of questions for you!”
The stallion spared me one glance over his shoulder and then pushed open the door. He took off into the winter sky before I was able to say anything else.
Vinyl stepped up beside me. She seemed a little hesitant to speak, clearly picking up on my mood. I gave her the bag of bits. She undid the drawstrings and poked her nose in. I kept staring at the sky, even though the batpony had long since disappeared into the darkness.
Faintly, I heard a voice call, “All aboard!”
I jerked in surprise. “Vinyl, you’re going to miss the train!”
She smirked. “No, dude. I’m going to stay and help you. Besides, there’s enough bits here to rent hotel rooms for like a week. Nice ones.”
I nodded in gratitude. I wouldn’t have blamed Vinyl for going home, but I hadn’t been expecting her to insist on staying. Something about that reminded me of how Vinyl had accused Octavia of “abandoning” her.
“First thing in the morning,” I said, “I’m sending a letter to Canterlot. It might take a day or two to get there, but I know who I need to talk to.”
The last time, I’d randomly run into a pony named Spangles who was affiliated with Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. While he may not have been that important, my comments had been passed from him to somepony who could do something about sending me home. I didn’t remember the exact Equestrian address format, but I did know enough of it to ensure that the post office could help me with the rest.
The two of us started walking. “Are we going back to the hotel where we stayed yesterday?” I asked.
Vinyl nodded. “It’s a good place.”
“I should probably tell Octavia that I’ll be staying around.” I quickly added, “Catch up with you later?”
“Sure. If you want, I can take your stuff.”
“Thanks.” I let Vinyl carry the bundle that I’d been lugging around since I’d arrived. We parted ways at the corner and I headed to The Metronome. I was almost there when I realized that all of Vinyl’s stuff was probably still in the baggage car on the train. I wondered when she would realize it.
Octavia was still playing her cello when I entered the club. Some of the crowd had left, as it was getting kind of late. I noticed Gilda was still there. She glanced up as I came in and was still staring at me as I slid into a table near her.
“Sorry about earlier,” I said. “It’s just been one of those days.”
She considered that for a moment before giving me a short nod. “Yeah, sure.”
I turned back towards the stage. A few minutes passed. I had to blink hard a couple of times to stay awake. The soothing music and long day were getting to me.
Apologizing to Gilda, even if I wasn’t at fault, at least eased the tension a little. If I was going to be hanging around for awhile, I didn’t want to have any more enemies than I had to.
My overly sleepy mind tried to come up with something to stay awake. For some reason, that involved striking up a conversation with Gilda. I searched for something we might have in common. She seemed interested in the music, so I asked, “Do you know Octavia?”
Gilda glanced at me. “Yeah, I’ve talked to her before. She’s pretty well known in the scene.”
The scene? I nodded as if I understood. “Do you play?”
She snorted, a sound that I wouldn’t have thought a beak could produce. “Nah, I hate crowds.”
Was this Gilda warming up to me, revealing some of her flaws? I bobbed my head in agreement. “Yeah, Manehattan is pretty large. At least Canterlot’s expansion is limited by the ancient city planning.”
Gilda stared at me with her unblinking bird eyes. “What, are you some kind of engineer?”
“Something like that. I worked in a fabrication job in Canterlot for a while.”
“There’s only a few good music clubs there,” Gilda mused. “The restaurants are better than Manehattan, though.”
I thought for a moment. “There was a griffon restaurant; Magnifique, I think it was called?”
“They’re famous for their fish,” said Gilda.
“Never tried it, but the pork is pretty good.” I clamped my mouth shut to stop any other inadvertent words from spilling out. This was not a conversation topic ponies were supposed to know anything about.
Gilda gave me a raised eyebrow, or whatever bird faces could do that looked like it. I was saved from an awkward explanation by the music suddenly ending. Octavia took a bow from her position on stage and there was applause from the patrons who had stayed around to watch her perform. Gilda got up and left some money on the table where she had been sitting.
While the other customers were leaving, Octavia stored her cello and came over to me. There was a concerned look on her face. “I don’t want to assume anything, but what happened this time?”
“Well, apparently the Lunar Guard wants me to stop the killing.”
She paused in confusion. “What killing?’
I threw up my hooves in frustration. “That’s kind of what I was wondering. On the plus side, at least I now know that it’s the Lunar Guard that did this to me.”
“Hmm.” Octavia frowned. “You’re sure?”
“Well, a stallion with bat wings was the one telling me I had a job to do.” Although, Vinyl had said the freaky-looking parts of his body were just a spell. A sudden uncertainty came to me. Could a non-Guard wear the disguise? Furthermore, how did I know he wasn’t acting alone? Ugh, the possibilities that opened up made my head hurt.
“Are you hunting a group of criminals?” questioned Octavia. “Like you did last time?”
I winced. “What, do they think I’m good at this or something? ‘Let’s go grab that Miller guy again; he’ll know what to do.’”
Octavia considered that. She didn’t exactly smile, but there was care in her eyes. “I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“Thank you. It means a lot.” I got up. “I should probably go join Vinyl in the hotel. Crazy thing; that Guard was kind of a shifty-eyed harpy, but he did give us a whole bunch of money for expenses.”
I wondered when I had descended into Shakespearean insults. Also, if I remembered correctly, a harpy was female. Well, bend my gender and I’ll bend yours.
Pausing at the door, I shivered a little just thinking about going out in the cold. Octavia noticed. “Would you like to stay here for the night?”
I debated it for a moment. Odds were that I would be awake earlier than Vinyl anyway, so she wouldn’t miss me. And I wouldn’t have to go outside. “I think I’ll take you up on that.”
Iridium had finished up closing the club after the last customers had departed. Octavia bid him goodnight and escorted me upstairs. The rooms of the second floor were not really living quarters, but, as Octavia explained, she had been attempting to save some money after purchasing the club.
At least I got my own room. I thanked Octavia for the hospitality. Now I owed her for the meal earlier in the evening as well as the bed, although I doubted she would ask. She was not a landlord anymore, instead just my friend. I still didn’t know how long I would be staying, and didn’t want to impose.
I could think about that in the morning. The bed was perhaps not as nice as a hotel, but at least there was no unicorn trying to snuggle with me.
In actuality, I think that first night Vinyl had just rolled over awkwardly, ending up with a couple of legs draped over me. I had moved away, and she hadn’t touched me again.
It was difficult to sleep with so much on my mind, but the knowledge that I was unable to do anything about it was calming. Still kind of worrying, but calming.


I heard Octavia moving around early in the morning. I wondered vaguely what would cause her to not sleep in, as the club didn’t open until much later. Maybe she was just an early riser.
I sat up and yawned, slipping out of bed and arranging the sheets as best I could with hooves. It reminded me again that I should try to get my horn working. Then again, I would have been perfectly satisfied with having another, lower horn.
Shaking the dirty thoughts and TV references out of my head, I headed for the stairs. As a stallion, I had been of fairly average height. For some reason, I was now a little shorter than most mares. I was very displeased by this, but mostly about the female part, not the lack of stature.
I still kind of wondered whether body assignment was random or if it had been directed this time. If they had been trying to set me off balance and maybe be less combat effective, they had certainly succeeded. Now, I just had to figure out who “they” were and get some scrotum-for-scrotum revenge.
Octavia was downstairs. I nodded to her. “Thanks a lot. I should probably go check on Vinyl. I’ll try to be back later.”
She nodded to me, and I went outside. The sun was bright, glinting on a bed of fresh snow. It was only about half an inch deep, just enough to cover everything. I blinked at the glare, squinting as I made my way towards the hotel.
In doing research about all things equine at my Earth library, I had discovered that hoof material, keratin, was an excellent insulator. The cold air felt chilly, but the ground did not feel too frozen to walk on.
I had been doing the aforementioned research because getting yanked away from your home for a couple of weeks will leave lots of questions, particularly if you get turned into a pony along the way.
The clerk at the hotel desk told me where to find Vinyl and I went up to her room. It might still have been early for her, but I was raring to get started on the task the Guard had given me, even if I didn’t have any leads.
It took a few minutes of knocking to get her out of bed. When she appeared at the door, she was groggy but already wearing her sunglasses. Vinyl yawned. “Millie, it’s too early.”
I shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Were you out all night?”
“No, Octavia gave me a room.”
Vinyl paused for a moment but went on. “Well, I’m up now. Do you want to go to breakfast?”
“Sure.” I waited while she freshened up and then the two of us left the hotel.
Vinyl squinted at the snow-reflected sunlight, even behind her shades. I asked, “Too bright?”
“Yeah, my eyes are really sensitive. Why do you think I wear sunglasses all the time?”
“Huh, I never knew that.”
She nodded. “I keep it to myself.”
Something about her tone was concerning. “Is there something wrong?”
“I have a condition.” Vinyl said it, but looked like she really didn’t want the conversation to go farther. Despite that, it was the kind of statement that only inspired more curiosity.
“Is it something serious?” I asked. 
Vinyl steered me into a café without saying anything. We got seats at a table and she leaned forward, sliding her sunglasses down just far enough so I could see a sliver of her crimson irises. “Can you keep a secret, Millie?”
I leaned forward too. “Of course.”
She glanced side to side and then whispered, “I’m albino.”
“...Oh.” I took a couple of seconds to process that. It certainly explained her unique coat and eye color. The lack of pigment in her eyes could cause light sensitivity.
Preempting my next question, she said, “I dye my mane. These lighter streaks in the blue are places where the color is starting to fade. I usually like to change it up with other colors, but since I’ve started to make a name for myself as a DJ, I kind of have to stick with a recognizable appearance. It’s like brand identity.”
I thought for a moment. “What about your cutie mark?”
Vinyl’s face flushed and she glanced down at the simple, monochrome black double-eighth note on her body. “I... I draw it on with a permanent marker after every shower. If I have a real cutie mark, it’s colorless. I’ve always been a blank flank.”
“A what?” I asked.
She tapped herself on the forehead with a hoof. “Of course you wouldn’t know anything about that. I’m sorry Millie, let me explain. The reason I don’t tell anypony about me is because cutie marks are kind of a big deal. Foals sometimes pick on each other over who is still a blank flank, and in adulthood it’s a big indicator about what kind of job you could be hired for.”
Well, that explained why I could tell at a glance that the amateur band ponies at the club were not as good as Octavia, whose special talent actually was music. I could also see how kids would single out somepony who was different.
I did appreciate that Vinyl trusted me with this. It did open up a few other questions, though. “So how do you know your talent really is music?”
“Well... I like music.” Vinyl shrugged. “Honestly, the uncertainty is sometimes difficult. It feels like I don’t have direction or purpose. It’s almost like I never grew up. I’m still a blank flank no matter what I tell myself.”
Humans had to figure out their own purpose in life, so I could sympathize. Something nagged at me, though. “I thought the flank was the part of your side between your ribs and hip. That isn’t where cutie marks are.”
Vinyl shrugged. “It’s just an expression. I suppose it’s a little nicer than ‘clear rear.’”
We were still chuckling about that when the waitress came by to take our order. After she was gone, the conversation shifted to my problem.
“I’m still trying to figure out what that Guard wanted you to do,” puzzled Vinyl. “I mean, a hint might have been nice.”
I shook my head. “‘Stop the killing.’ That’s great, but who, what, where?”
“Maybe we should think about why they picked you,” suggested Vinyl. We paused the conversation while the waitress brought our food.
I took my first bite. The omelette was amazing. If I was forced to say something nice about Equestria, it would be the food. I looked back at Vinyl. “Yeah, okay. Why me?”
“You did a very good job breaking up a gang in Canterlot,” Vinyl pointed out.
“Well, that’s mostly because the mob bosses put too much faith in me and I totally screwed them.” I shrugged. “Also, that was a drug ring. And meeting up with them was completely random chance.”
“What about some advantages you have?” asked Vinyl.
I frowned. “I... have a good poker face? I don’t know. Nopony in Equestria knows who I am because they gave me a new body. I don’t have any form of identification except my driver’s license from back home, for all the good that will do me.”
“Well, it does offer deniability, I suppose.” Vinyl thought about that. “Maybe they want you to do their dirty work because you can’t be traced back to anypony?”
I considered that. If the “instant Lunar Guard” spell could be applied to just anypony, then that theory could certainly be true. Then again, were there other, probably-legal disguises out there that didn’t involve impersonating a government official?
I went on with my breakfast quietly. If everything worked out, we would go to the post office, send the letter, and my problems would be over shortly. I wouldn’t have to stop any killing or be the victim of extortion anymore.
Of course that happy thought went out the window as we exited the diner after eating. I glanced at the rack of newspapers by the door, one catching my eye. The headline, in big black letters, declared: SERIAL KILLER ON THE LOOSE.


> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I had gotten a little distracted with trying to read a newspaper and walk at the same time. I really wanted to read the article about the serial killer, but not having functioning magic of my own was turning into a liability. Vinyl eventually had to hold the newspaper for me while we walked. I was led into the post office with Vinyl using the paper like a carrot on a stick.
“Next page,” I muttered.
“Millie, we’re here.”
“Huh?” I glanced up at the postal clerk. “Oh, sorry. I need to send a letter.”
He provided us with the materials we needed and Vinyl and I retreated to the corner to avoid anypony overhearing the subject of the letter. I was not confident in my mouth writing, so Vinyl took down what I dictated. Coming back to the postal counter, the mailpony helped me get the envelope addressed and stamped.
That done, we left the building and went back out into the cold. The sidewalk was well tramped down now, and the snow had become hard packed and a little slick. I was somewhat glad that my brand new hooves had sharp edges for extra traction.
“So where do you want to start?” asked Vinyl.
I was not looking forward to tracking down a serial killer that the police couldn’t seem to catch. That is, if this series of murders was even the same killing the batpony had been wanting me to stop. Besides, we’re talking about a multiple-murderer here. That didn’t exactly make me eager to get started.
After considering my answer to Vinyl’s question, I managed to come up with a decent stall tactic, one that might even hold until we got a reply back from Canterlot. “First things first. You never start a job without all the tools. I need to learn how to use magic.”
Vinyl paused. “Why are you looking at me?”
“You’re a unicorn.”
“We’ve been over this before, dude. Just because I can use magic doesn’t mean I know how it works or that I can teach it.”
“Then direct me to your nearest library.” I sighed. “This might take a while.”
We found a public library and went inside out of the cold. To my chagrin, Vinyl insisted that we start with the magic for foals section. For some reason, it evoked memories of being a preteen trying to learn what to expect before getting hammered with puberty. Ugh.
Magic is a whole-body experience, no matter if you’re a unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony. Learning to channel it can be challenging, but let your instincts handle that.
“I don’t have instincts,” I muttered.
“You figured out pegasus flight easily enough,” commented Vinyl.
“Yeah, but I could touch my wings and figure out which muscles did what. I can’t really do that with magic.”
Vinyl frowned. “Well, I’ve heard that every kind of pony has some sort of magic. I don’t know anything about pegasi or earth ponies, but is there anything you can adapt from last time?”
I considered that. My brush with pegasus magic was limited to local gravity manipulation and interaction with clouds. While it was mostly to do with wings, I could sort of remember how my body felt trying to do that stuff. As a person, I simply didn’t have anything to relate it to. Worse, unicorn magic seemed to be something completely different.
I found the library section on anatomy and perused the books for a while. Vinyl left to check somewhere else and I grabbed a tome about female reproductive systems. Just reading the cover made me queasy, but I forced myself to open it.
To my great relief, it seemed that ponies had the same basic mammalian parts. While still completely squicky, I could at least remember enough of high school health class to get the gist.
My eye fell on a note about “heat cycles.” As an engineer, the first thing that popped into my head was the process of heat treating metals and I started to read further. I was very wrong. It was not about that at all.
I slapped the book shut and hastily put it back on the shelf. The monthly condition of being in heat. I swear to God, they had better send me home as soon as possible…
Grabbing another anatomy book to distract myself, I browsed the index and flipped to a page about the nervous system. There were some handy diagrams of the brain, including a separate section that delved into differences among the races. Pegasi had a more developed processing center for direction and orientation. It sounded like something that birds might use to navigate instinctively.
Unicorns had slightly different neural connections that allowed the horn to be integrated into the rest of their nervous system. Perhaps the section of the brain called the “unicortex”? I mused.
Reading further, I discovered that the horn grew from a variance in one skull plate on the forehead. A skull, after all, was not a solid piece but a series of plates that were fused to create the whole. One particular plate was shaped differently in unicorns, leading to the horn.
I wondered if the difference was genetic. Did unicorn genes and pegasus genes cancel each other out? Is that why alicorns were so rare? Was it not genes at all, but magical influence? Could one kind of pony become another kind? Back on topic, Millie. You didn’t major in biology or magic.
I returned to my reading. It took me a moment to realize that I’d slipped and used the feminized name Vinyl had invented. I took a breath. Keep calm, carry on.
In the section of the book about nerves, I found that the horn was made of bone covered in skin like the rest of the skull. That was why it was the same color. There was a bundle of nerves inside the horn. I read further, trying to discover if they were something special. No, just regular nerves. Then again, the other book had said magic was a whole-body thing. Nerves ran through the whole body.
Regardless, that still didn’t help me with the question of how. Vinyl came back just then. “Hey, I thought of something.”
“I’m all ears.”
“You were saying that you could figure out wings because you could feel them. What if you could feel magic?” She was grinning, clearly proud of her idea.
“How do I go about that?” I asked.
“I think if I transfer some to you, then you could feel what magic on your horn is like.”
Vinyl could have used a better phrase than that, but I was willing to try anything. I watched as her horn glowed. She explained, “Okay, so I’m just putting out magic right now but not doing anything with it. If I were going to do a spell or levitate something then I would be actively directing it. As it is, it’s like a record spinning, but the needle isn’t down.”
Or a car idling in neutral. I understood.
Vinyl said, “Okay, come over here and touch it.”
“Touch it?”
She might have rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. “Look Millie, I’m just a simple pony, not some expert who might be able to do this while you’re standing over there. You get what you get.”
I stepped closer, past the barrier I would consider her personal space. “Come on,” said Vinyl, our faces practically pushed together. “Touch me.”
I prepared myself with anticipation and crossed horns with her. Later, I would learn that was a euphemism for unicorn sex, but for the moment I was too distracted to consider it.
The feeling was like nothing I could describe. There was a definite buzz of energy in my horn, and with a little effort I could sort of feel it trickling down through the rest of my body. Hmm, okay, so magic was a whole body thing.
I took a step back and tried to reproduce what I’d just felt, but in reverse. The feeling was not hot or cold, pain or pleasure. The nearest I could attribute it to—and that was still a stretch—was just a slight pressure on all parts of my being. I could feel it everywhere, and when I willed it, some of the feeling concentrated in my horn. Use the force! Wait, I’m a pony. Would that instead be... oh, I don’t know, use the horse?
“Nice, dude.” Vinyl grinned. “You’ve got the magic going. The aura is amber, in case you were wondering. Now, try to use it. Pick up a book.”
I glanced at the shelf, looking at one of the thicker titles. It actually seemed remarkably easy to get it moving, sliding the book out of its resting spot. Apparently the hard part was just getting the magic started.
While the book slid off the shelf just fine, I forgot to support it and it tumbled to the floor. I tried to pick it up, but it didn’t budge. It was pretty clear by the amber glow surrounding it that I was doing everything right. Maybe not enough power?
Concentrating harder, I tried to force more magic output. I actually had to exert a bit of effort now. However, the book did rise from the floor. 
“Does heavier stuff require more magic?” I asked to confirm.
Vinyl nodded. “Yeah. It’s sort of like a muscle; the more you work it out the stronger it gets, but too much and you can get tired.”
I was tempted to find out how much I could lift, but decided not to exert myself so soon. This was going to require practice. The last thing I needed was to turn myself into a turnip or something.
Speaking of that… “So that was just telekinesis. How do spells work?”
“Specialized magic.” Vinyl shrugged. “Some spells, like getting light to shine from your horn, are pretty easy and anypony can do them. Others are way harder and might only be possible from a pony who has a special talent related to that. Really, really complicated stuff can require external help, like runes and chants.”
To be honest, I would just be satisfied with holding my own newspaper.
The two of us left the library. I turned to Vinyl, intending to ask what we should do next or if there was some way we could stall further until a reply letter arrived. Before I could speak however, she facehoofed. “I totally forgot my stuff on the train!”
“Oh! Sorry, I forgot all about that.”
Vinyl shook her head. “I have to go to the station to make sure the train company holds it in Canterlot.”
I wanted to go to The Metronome to talk to Octavia again now that I might be on the lookout for a serial killer. I didn’t think Vinyl would want to go, so this seemed like a good time to split up. “While you do that, I’ll go over to the club. You can come by when you’re finished.”
“No, I’ll wait for you at the hotel.” Vinyl abruptly turned and headed towards the station. I stared after her for a moment. I really needed to do something about the rift between her and Octavia. With that thought on my mind, I headed for The Metronome.
It was not a long walk to the club. I entered just before noon. A few early customers were there. A yellow and blue mare who looked similar to Octavia was on stage with a stringed instrument tucked under her chin. I couldn’t tell whether she was playing fiddle or violin music. It sounded okay, but wasn’t the type of thing I expected to find in a jazz club.
Iridium greeted me, polite as ever. I asked him where Octavia was.
“She’s in the back doing some maintenance,” he told me.
I wasn’t really sure what Iridium thought of me. He knew that Octavia had let me stay the night. As it was, I figured that he took me for a friend of hers. I wondered if his feelings would change had I appeared to be male. 
Putting aside my observations of sexism from an alternate perspective, I said, “Maintenance? I can probably help with that.”
Iridium pointed me to a door. Going through, I found Octavia struggling with a ladder and a package of light bulbs. She looked up when I came in.
“Hey, let me help.” Eager to do something useful with magic, I plucked the bulbs from her grasp and asked where they should be installed. Octavia pointed me back out into the main room to an unobtrusive spot on the ceiling behind the bar.
I concentrated on what I was doing, carefully taking one light bulb out of the package and holding it separately. Controlling two objects at once with magic made the task more difficult, but I found that I could manage. Maybe I would get better with more practice. Setting the package down on the bar, I looked upwards and unscrewed the burned out bulb.
Once again carefully balancing two objects at once, I put in the new bulb and tightened it. As the light flickered on, I got caught staring at it and squinted my eyes shut. I heard the tinkle of breaking glass. The old bulb lay broken on the floor.
“Sorry,” I murmured. “First day with magic.”
Octavia smiled with quiet patience and got me a broom and dustpan to clean things up. Controlling both at once was more challenging this time because I was actively moving both. I tried to figure out what went wrong with the light bulb. Either I was bad at magicking things with my eyes closed, or I had simply lost control.
I tried to do a good job with sweeping, although with hooves, walking on a few tiny bits of broken glass wasn’t really a problem. Dumping the contents of the dustpan in the trash, I put everything back. Finding Octavia again, I asked, “Is there anything else I can do?”
“Fleur wants to have a show tomorrow,” Octavia told me. “She paid for paint to clean up the front of the building and make it more presentable.”
I frowned. “It’s not the easiest thing to apply paint in winter. Not only will the paint be thick and cause over application, but it won’t dry very quickly.”
“Well, that’s what the pony at the hardware store told me, but I agree that anything is better than nothing.” Octavia indicated a few cans of paint, a paint scraper, and a brush that sat on the floor of the maintenance room.
“I’ll do it,” I told her. She seemed a little surprised at me volunteering, but was not about to turn down my offer. On the way outside, I challenged myself again by carrying a can of paint, brush, and scraper all in one go and opening the door at the same time. 
The first priority was getting rid of the small areas of peeling paint. After a trial period, I had the scraper flying over the exterior of the building and taking care of business. I hummed a little Bachman-Turner Overdrive as I worked. Little curls of loose paint fell from the blade of the scraper.
The ability to levitate the scraper to the top of the wall and move it around without ever stepping on a ladder was amazing. Not having to go up and down the ladder and move it sideways along the wall saved a lot of time. I actually finished scraping much faster than I would have with fingers. I guess maybe I could get used to this magic thing after all.
Most of the building still retained its paint. Not all of it had peeled, after all. The color that remained was rather faded, however. I popped open the can of paint and dipped the brush in.
While scraping with telekinesis might have been easy, painting sure wasn’t. I was not about to stand directly under a dripping paintbrush. In addition, the cold-thickened paint made things more difficult. It was not a huge building and I was only painting the front wall, but the job took up a good part of the afternoon. The excess paint dripped on the snow-covered sidewalk. I could easily shovel it up to make the place look like it hadn’t been hastily beautified the day before an event.
When I went inside to get the other paint for the club’s sign, Octavia greeted me with a large flower sandwich. It could have used some hot sauce, but it more than made up for the lunch I missed. While I was working, I had been trying to decide how to tell Octavia what I might have gotten into with the local serial killer.
From reading the newspaper, I discovered that the first murders started about three months before - why yes, about the time that I had gone home. Octavia hadn’t been around Manehattan that long, and probably would not know much about the killing.
Still, I should tell her. I finished the last bite of the sandwich. “Earlier today, I read that there’s a murderer going around. I read some interesting things in the newspaper. For instance, most of the victims seem to have connections to organized crime.”
Octavia considered that. “So you think this might be who you’re supposed to stop?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t got any better ideas, and getting any murderer off the streets is a good thing, right?”
“How do you plan to go about it?” Octavia asked.
“Uh... no idea. I mean, maybe some convenient deus ex machina magic, but the chances of that happening in my favor are slim, to say the least.”
“I was meaning to ask,” she said. “How did you learn?”
“A little bit of library work combined with some ideas from Vinyl.” I shrugged. “Regardless, it works now. Still kind of mindblowing. Magic doesn’t exist where I’m from.”
Octavia nodded in understanding. “I used to believe that magic didn’t exist for earth ponies. I think it’s more subtle, but it’s there. I can feel it in my hooves when I play.”
That was a rather interesting topic, but I was not about to embark on a discussion of an entirely new field of magic. I had enough to think about as it was.
The yellow and blue mare from earlier came over to the table and took Octavia in a quick hug. “Good to see you again, cuz. I’ll look you up the next time I’m in Manehattan.”
Octavia nodded and smiled. “I hope the rest of your trip is good, Fiddlesticks. Send grandmother my love.”
There was another interesting conversation idea - the difference between magic and genetics in Equestria. Octavia’s cousin looked a lot like her and they both had similar talents. I could feel myself getting off topic and tried to get back to the problem of finding and taking down a serial killer.
After the fiddle player had departed, I said, “Well, I really shouldn’t count on crazy magic help, although maybe it isn’t outside the realm of possibility. After all, it was one of Vinyl’s crazy ideas that taught me to use it in the first place.”
“I could teach you a few things about how to be a proper young mare,” Octavia suggested.
I scowled. “I don’t want to be a proper young mare. Also, where did that come from?”
She put on a faint, slightly awkward smile. “You could at least learn to sit with your legs crossed.”
“I’m - I’m going to go finish the painting now,” I said, quickly getting up. I turned to go but realized that there was still something else I wanted to say while we were talking. “Actually, while I’m thinking about it, could I ask you to lunch tomorrow? There’s a café down the street.”
“It sounds good,” Octavia agreed. She gave me a look. “Also, where did that come from?”
“Just an idea. You said Fleur had a show tomorrow and I thought maybe you wanted an excuse to get away from that.”
She smiled. “Good thinking. See Millie, this is why I like you. You’re always very practical, if not exactly ladylike.”
I chuckled uncomfortably and went back outside. On the positive side, step one of my plan to force her and Vinyl to talk things out was now in effect. All I had to do was get Vinyl to the same café. I hummed a bit more as I returned to work.


> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I finished up the painting and took a step back to observe my work. The sun was not yet down and there was still plenty of light. I wondered if Princess Celestia altered the daylight according to season.
Speaking of her, I also wondered if she was somehow involved with my problem. After all, I had been in contact with her magic school. At the very least, I figured that she might know about me. Somepony probably would have told her, "Oh, by the way, we have an alien running loose around Equestria."
That still didn't explain the Lunar Guard I had encountered. I thought those ponies were supposed to be under the command of Celestia's sister, Luna.
I didn't know much about the Night Princess. There was very little reading material in the library that mentioned her. She'd come back from the moon only recently. At least that's what I had heard.
If it was Luna who had sent her Guards after me, then why? Serial killers were no joke, but wasn't that what the police were for? And I still didn't have irrefutable proof that I was on the right track.
At least there was something I could do correctly. The outside of the building looked pretty good if I did say so myself. I collected my painting supplies and took them back inside.
The early evening crowd was starting to accumulate. I spotted the griffon named Gilda. She came in out of the cold, removing a pair of gloves from her clawed forefeet, and sat down at a table. 
Finding Octavia, she helped me put away the stuff I had used to paint the building. Afterwards, we had a seat together. I was still chilly from being outside most of the day and Octavia gave me a mug of warm cider.
“Thanks,” I murmured in gratitude, dipping my muzzle into the cup. Once it was drained far enough that I was less likely to spill, I raised it to my mouth with magic.
“I have a little while before it’s time for me to play,” Octavia said. “It’s nice to just sit here with a friend.”
I nodded. “I know the feeling. No offense to Vinyl, but she never relaxes.”
Octavia’s mouth quirked a little, but she said nothing. I searched for something to talk about. “Who writes the music in Equestria? Do you create your own songs, or are there ponies with a specific talent for writing instead of playing?”
“It’s roughly an even split.” Octavia thought for a moment. “Why, did you have an idea?”
Well, I had already contributed to Vinyl’s repertoire of songs. It didn’t seem like a good idea to mention that to Octavia at the moment, so I simply nodded to answer her question. “I’m sure I can think of something that would sound good on cello.”
“Let’s do it.” Octavia got up and fetched her instrument before leading me to a back room. She got a piece of paper and a quill. We both got settled and Octavia readied her bow. “Start humming.”
I went with the first thing that I thought could be reasonably adapted. Based on my hums and input to Octavia’s musical duplication, she started writing down the notes. I warned her that some backing instruments would be better, probably at least drums and guitar. Still, when she got the first few verses down, I could definitely hear the melody come out.
Octavia finished revising the music with her quill. She paused. “What’s the title?”
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” Kind of the way I felt, actually. Being pulled back to Equestria was about as far from what I wanted as anything.
I did feel slightly bad about infringing on Rolling Stones copyrights, but getting to hear some familiar music made up for it. Octavia practiced it a few times, getting to the point where she could play it perfectly from memory in just minutes. That kind of talent was incredible. Cutie marks must be even more powerful than I gave them credit for.
Octavia opened her eyes and lowered her bow. “It sounds lovely. I think I’ll debut it tonight.”
I smiled. “I think it will be a hit. I should probably be going back to the hotel, though.”
We walked back out to the main room. Octavia gave me a hug before heading for the stage. “See you at lunch tomorrow.”
I paused, trying to linger but knowing that I should go. I had stopped near Gilda’s table. She glanced between me and Octavia. “You two are pretty good friends.”
“That’s right.”
“I didn’t want to assume anything,” said Gilda. “If she’d been so close with a stallion I would think there was something going on.”
I could have said a lot of things about why Octavia and I weren’t a couple. I could have mentioned that I didn’t feel any romantic attraction to her or that I was married. Ultimately, looking like a mare was the easiest answer and didn’t require more explanation. I merely nodded to Gilda and let it slide. This seemed to be one time that I got off easy by being a girl.
Gilda sticking her beak into my relations with Octavia seemed a little bold of her, although I didn’t detect anything malicious in her tone. Maybe, like Octavia had said, she was just being protective. Protective of me? Well, I suppose it didn’t hurt to have someone with talons on my side.
The thought that she might be going easier on me because I was a mare was uncomfortable, but I tried not to think about it.
As I went out the door, I heard Octavia announcing to the crowd that the club would be having a fashion show the next day instead of jazz. The regulars seemed somewhat displeased. 
I headed down the sidewalk in the direction of the hotel. There was some sort of street market closing for the night. Seemed rather cold for something like that, but I didn’t have money to buy something anyway.
Skirting around the departing vendors, I passed their empty stalls. A stallion was cleaning up his area. He glanced at me. “Hey lady!”
I turned my head, taking half a second to realize I was being spoken to. I stopped walking. The pony pulled a solitary orange from a box. “This is the last one I have. I couldn’t sell it, so do you want it?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, go ahead. It’s the least I could do for a pretty girl like you.”
My face flushed, but probably for a different reason than the stallion might have thought. I took the orange with a mutter of thanks and turned away. The fruit was cold, but not frozen. I had no idea where it could have been grown in the middle of winter. I didn’t think Equestria had the kind of transportation infrastructure to handle global produce markets, but hey, I had been surprised before. Speaking of surprise, that made twice in only a few minutes that I’d gotten preferential treatment for appearing female.
I was really starting to get the hang of basic telekinesis and had no problem walking and eating the orange. After peeling it with my teeth, I found that the inside was delicious. I wondered if more advanced magic could have auto-peeled it. 
I dropped the empty peel in the garbage can outside the hotel and went up to the room. I found Vinyl there with a load of electronics gear.
“What’s all this?” I asked, trying to find a place to stand that wasn’t full of equipment.
“Well, the train company got confused when I didn’t pick up my stuff at Canterlot, and so they sent it back for some reason.” Vinyl shrugged from her position on the bed, possibly the only uncluttered part of the room. I plopped down next to her, folding my legs to get comfortable. From this position, my tail covered my rump and all associated parts. While all ponies walked around naked, I did feel a little better about myself this way.
“So are we going to wait for the letter to Canterlot to go through, or do something else?” Vinyl asked after a moment.
I sighed. “I honestly want to help with the serial killer thing, but I don’t think we can make much progress in the day or two it will take to deliver the letter.”
Vinyl made a noise that sounded a little like agreement. “That’s the thing I’ve always liked about you. Good hearted, but practical.”
“I’m not sure what to say.”
Vinyl took off her sunglasses and scooted a little closer. “I might regret saying this, but I used to have a thing for you.”
“Well, I sure regret you saying that.” I thought of Vinyl as a friend, nothing more. Regardless of how she felt, I really didn’t want things to be tense between us.
I was trying to figure out if it was callous of me to disregard how she felt, and the moral implications of how that might be related to my marriage, when Vinyl let me off the hook by clarifying her previous statement. “Let me explain, dude. See, back when you were just the stallion next door I wouldn’t have minded hooking up. I’m not going to lie, you were cute. Then I found out about all your problems and the fact that you already had a special somepony, and I knew that we couldn’t be together. I accepted that. And now that you’re a girl, that shuts it down completely. I may be a lot of things, but I don’t swing that way.”
“Ah... great, I suppose.”
Vinyl grinned. “With a different body, you’re still pretty cute so I’ll do my best to keep the stallions off you. You can count on me.”
“Well, I’m glad. That will make things a little less awkward.” I rolled my eyes.
She chuckled. “A little. Still, you’re the queen of awkward, Millie.”
“That’s king,” I growled.

In the morning, I had to force myself to stay asleep. Part of me wanted to be up and about looking for clues and playing detective. I managed to suppress those feelings and slept in as long as my bedmate.
When Vinyl finally awakened, she spent the morning messing with her music equipment a little. She took a few minutes to cast a spell that would temporarily quiet our room from the outside, reducing the sound heard by other guests. I was careful to study her methods.
Spellcasting seemed to be about building up the right amount of magic and then using it in the correct manner. Even if Vinyl was talented with sound, she was showing visible strain by the time the spell was finished.
“Did that take a lot of effort? Can a unicorn be magically tired?” I asked.
“Sure. It feels sort of like regular exhaustion except I haven’t been exercising or deprived of sleep.”
Since pegasus magic was directed through the wings and earth pony magic was through the hooves - both body parts that were usually associated with movement - I wondered if those kinds of ponies could mistake magical exhaustion for regular fatigue, especially if they had been using their magic while walking or flying. That would certainly go a long way towards explaining why some ponies didn’t believe in magic for the other races.
With her spell cast, Vinyl was able to play some music. She kept it quieter, since it was only the two of us in the room. We made some small talk. I thought about my wife.
The last time I had vanished to Equestria, it had been a giant problem back home. I told Jenna what happened. Yeah, I know it sounded like a crazy story to her and everyone else back home. The various tests and doctors I had gone through - insisted on going through - had declared me perfectly normal. With our wedding coming up, Jenna and I had reached an uneasy agreement to simply not talk about my disappearance. Putting her through that again was the last thing I wanted to do.
And you can’t always get what you want. To keep my emotions under control by distracting myself, I said, “Hey Vinyl, want to learn a new song?”
Having heard the music performed by cello the previous day, it was interesting to hear it from an electronic perspective. Through various mixes and synthesizer work,Vinyl was able to get pretty close, drums included. Of course, it did lack a certain sense of class that Octavia had maintained, but that wasn’t a deal breaker.
“So what brought this on?” asked Vinyl, starting to record the playthrough.
“Ah, no reason. Hey, do you want to get some lunch? There’s a café down the street that looked good.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I could eat.”
We left the room and went down to the street. I had made sure that we would be on time. Octavia being Octavia, she was early and had already gotten a table. Vinyl didn’t spot her until we were already inside the café, and by that time I had closed the door behind her. It would be less awkward to just proceed with the forced meeting than it would be to try and escape now. Despite my deception, I was counting on both of them to be adults about this. That was why I picked a public location.
Octavia gave me an unhappy look as I nudged Vinyl towards the table. To make sure they were both on even ground, I said, “I got you both here today so the two of you can talk about whatever your problem is.”
Vinyl gave me the same displeased look but sat down at the table across from Octavia. I took a third chair between them. The waitress stopped by briefly to take our orders.
“All right,” I started, looking at Vinyl and Octavia. “I know the two of you weren’t exactly BFF’s when I left, but I thought you at least tolerated each other.”
I thought about comparing the situation to the Cold War, neither side openly hostile, but neither showing any sign of friendship. “Was I the only thing that helped the two of you to get along?”
“There was... a situation after you departed,” said Octavia.
Vinyl made a noise that sounded like that was putting it mildly.
“Let’s start from the beginning.” I rested my forehooves on the table. “What happened?”
“I think it started about the time Octavia left for Manehattan.” Vinyl’s expression was unreadable behind her sunglasses.
Octavia shook her head. “No, it was earlier. So many things happened in relation to the drug arrests that you brought about, Millie. Also, my ex-coltfriend Alto got out of prison. I just didn’t think Canterlot was right for me anymore.”
“You could have told me.” Vinyl fidgeted a little, but kept her gaze straight across the table at Octavia. “You could have given me some warning that you were about to leave.”
“The Metronome came up on the market, and I coincidentally had somepony make an offer on the apartment building. The deal came together very quickly.” Octavia bowed her head briefly, but thought of something else to add. “I informed Mr. Greenback about what you were going through, and he said he would take care of you.”
“Some landlord Mr. Greenback was,” remarked Vinyl. Her voice had gone low and flat. “He told me to buzz off when I tried to talk to him. He also raised the rent.”
“It’s not my fault that he didn’t keep his word.” Octavia sounded sympathetic, but unapologetic. “And if you had a problem with that, you could have contacted me. Perhaps I could have done something to help.”
“Help?” Vinyl’s voice went up an octave. “You walked away when I needed you most!”
“And despite that, you turned out all right, didn’t you?” Octavia clearly resented being yelled at.
Vinyl’s jaw was set, her lips curling into a snarl. “Actually, no. I slipped once. After a show I played, a fan offered me a little snort of something.”
“Is it my fault you’re an addict?” demanded Octavia.
Vinyl stood, forehooves on the table. “I need help! I asked for it, but you apparently had better things to do!”
“I am not the pony in charge of your life!” Octavia shot back. “I believe that’s supposed to be you!”
Octavia spun around and went out the door. Vinyl smacked the table top angrily and stalked away towards the exit. I sat there feeling stunned. The conversation had escalated into a full-scale argument more quickly than I could have imagined.  I felt like I had to do something, but didn't know which one of them I should go after first.
The waitress coughed to get my attention.  “So...who’s paying for this food?”


> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The waitress stared at me. “Can you pay?” 
“Uh,” I stammered. “My friends had the money.”
She rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen carrying the food that Vinyl, Octavia, and I had ordered. “Hey Hash! We had some ponies walk out.”
The cook came out with an unhappy look on his face. He stared me down. “So you don’t have any bits?”
“I’m sorry! The two mares I was here with got into an argument and left. None of us had eaten anything yet.”
He looked at me. “But I still made your order. Now it’s going to go to waste.”
I had to go after Vinyl and Octavia soon to make sure they would be all right. I couldn’t give either of them time to simmer and get even angrier. “I’m really sorry, but I have to go. Is there anything I can do?”
As he thought about it his eyes dropped from my face, playing over the rest of my body. I’d never been...considered like that before and it look a moment for me to realize what was happening. Disgust went through me, but I was at the cook’s mercy and he knew it.
A stallion who had been sitting a table away stepped into my field of view. “I think I can help. Just a little misunderstanding, eh? Here you go.”
He shoved some bits into the cook’s outstretched hoof. The cook counted it, shrugged, and went back into the kitchen. I got up from the table in relief, addressing the charitable pony. “That was so kind of you. I wish I could thank you more.”
He smiled and I saw his eyes drop, just like the cook. “Maybe you can.”
A long second passed. I wasn’t sure which stunned me more - the sexual harassment, or the fact that I had received it from two stallions in less than a minute. From getting yanked into this world to trying to mend relations between friends, getting ogled was the very last thing I needed.
Smacking the pony in the cheek with my hoof was partly reflexive, and partly anger. The next thing, sudden realization of what I’d done and subsequent turning to flee, was entirely embarrassment. I sprinted out the door and down the street. The sidewalks had been mostly cleared, and I didn’t slip on any snow.
I really, really don’t need to be charged with assault right now! I felt bad, but was pretty sure that I would do the same thing if ever placed in that situation again.
I spotted Vinyl about a block away. There was no pursuit behind me, so I slowed down and came to a stop next to her to talk. She looked a little surprised to see me running up, but relieved to encounter a friendly face. She spoke first. “Dude, I’m sorry about what happened back there. I didn’t mean for things to go that way.”
“Yeah.” I checked behind me again, just in case. “So are you okay?”
Vinyl sighed. “I think so. I’ll get over it.”
“I meant something else. You said you had a relapse?”
“I got high only once since you left.” Her head dropped and I thought her cheeks turned slightly pink.
“But you’ve kept off it since then?” I asked.
Vinyl nodded. A tear dripped out from under her sunglasses. “I felt so terrible... I almost jumped out a seventh story window. It felt like I was such a screwup. And with Octavia gone...”
I was surprised that I was only just now hearing about a suicide attempt, but then again that’s not something that comes up in casual conversation. Vinyl took a stuttering breath, trying to get her emotions under control. Oh Christ, I can’t stand to see someone crying in front of me. 
Gingerly, I touched her shoulder. “But you made it through. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. You don’t need as much help as you think.”
Vinyl sniffled a little, forcing a smile and a change of subject. “Thanks dude. I’ll be alright. Hey, I was meaning to tell you; since I’ll be in Manehattan for a while longer, I got signed up for another show. It’s tonight at Rave Beatz. I’ll get you a ticket.”
I nodded. “Sounds good. I should probably catch up with Octavia now, but I’ll either meet with you at the hotel or at Rave Beatz.”
Vinyl nodded. Her expression was slightly guarded now that I had mentioned Octavia, but she appeared to understand that I was trying to make up for the disastrous lunch meeting that I had organized.
I said goodbye and went down the street. The Metronome had a few trendy-looking ponies hanging around outside. I went through the door. The stage had been dressed up slightly, with a few fabric screens brought in to add decor. 
Iridium was positioned near the door, looking somewhat bored. He recognized me and nodded politely. “Octavia came in a few minutes ago. She looked rather distraught about something and went upstairs. I don’t think she would like to be disturbed.”
His voice carried no hint of accusation, although I couldn’t help but wonder if Octavia had told him what happened. I asked, “Is it alright if I wait around for her?”
“If you can stand the fashion show.” He shrugged.
I turned my eyes back to the room. A few ponies were setting up lights and sound. I saw Fleur de Lis instructing a couple of made-up ponies on something clothing-related. The fact that most ponies did not usually wear clothes indicated to me that they were some sort of luxury or high-class item. I wondered if that would attract a lot of wealthy ponies to the show, and whether those visitors would like coming to a rundown old club.
A stallion was doing something next to the stage. I saw a hammer, box of nails, and some wooden planks. Interested, I wandered over to see what he was working on. It looked like the beginnings of a set of stairs. Previously, there was only one set stairs on the other side of the stage. Maybe this set would allow the models to walk from one side to the other. There was a problem, though - the pony sucked at his job.
It didn’t look like he was having much luck getting everything into the right position. At least he hadn’t started pounding nails indiscriminately. I glanced at his cutie mark, feeling somewhat bigoted for judging him by it. Then again, the mark was a picture of a hairbrush. Maybe I was justified.
The stallion - who at least had a very complicated and chic style in his own mane - seemed a little surprised when I asked if I could help.
“No thanks, I’ve got everything under control.” With magic, he picked up the hammer and a nail. Taking his attention off the structure of planks for just a moment caused it to fall apart before the first nail could be driven.
“Here, let me.” I pulled the hammer from his magic grasp and reset the wooden boards into a shape that was more suitable, steadying them with my hooves. I lifted a handful (Hoofful? Or more appropriately, magicful?) of nails from the box and positioned all of them upright in the places where they were required.
The thought occurred to me that I was manipulating far more objects than I ever had before. I shrugged it off, not wanting to lose my focus. Nails were small things to pick up anyway. Raising the hammer, I brought it down on the first nail. Whack. To my pleasant surprise, I had hit it perfectly and drove it all the way in with just one strike.
Whack...whack...whack whack whack whackwhackwhackwhackwhack. I grinned. This was like having a magical nail gun. Finished, I stood up on the set of steps, bouncing a little to test their strength.
The stallion was a few steps below and behind me. “I could have done that.”
I shrugged. “Maybe, but I’m the one with the skills for the job.”
He glanced at my cutie mark. As far up the steps as I was, it was pretty much at his eye level. A second of silence passed and I shifted uncomfortably, coming down off the steps. “You don’t have to stare.”
He gave me a smile. “Sorry, at first I thought you were one of the models because you’re so beautiful.”
I actually shuddered at that comment; it was such a poor attempt at a pickup line. I managed to reply, “I’m married. Shove off.”
His face lost friendliness almost instantly. “What, got a burr under your tail? I was just trying to be nice by letting you help.”
I shook my head. “No, I saved this little project from your incompetence. Which one of us has a hammer for a cutie mark?”
The stallion’s extensive mane styling appeared to get more animated as he glared at me. “There are some things mares simply should leave to stallions.”
I gave him a flat look. “Yeah, and you’re a stylist. Real studly.”
“Nag,” he spat.
It took a second for me to realize I’d just been insulted. Insulted as a female. I gritted my teeth but managed to loosen my jaw just enough to mutter, “Remember that I’m still carrying a hammer.”
The pony gave me a last look before turning away and leaving in a huff. I felt my eye twitch. After taking a breath in an attempt to calm down, I picked up the box of nails and headed for the back room to put them and the hammer away. I was somewhat surprised to find Fleur and a few models in there getting ready for the show.
Lingering gentlemanly instincts made me take an involuntary step back from the sight of half-dressed females. Oh wait Millie, you’re a naked female. Suck it up.
Fleur looked at me in confusion for a moment. It appeared to take her a second to realize where she’d seen me before. I had put away the tools and turned to go before she called to me. “Ah, Millie, was it?”
“Yeah?” I stopped.
She looked at me, raising a hoof to her chin in thought. I realized that her eyes weren’t on my face, but unlike the stallions I had encountered, her expression seemed to be sizing me up like a piece of lumber rather than a tasty treat. She didn’t want me; she wanted me for something.
It did not take long to put two and two together. Before Fleur even asked the question, my mind was made up.
“Would you consider modeling?”
“No!”
Her expression looked hurt, though only to the point of somepony who was not used to being denied things she desired. “You wouldn’t have to do very much, just show off one outfit. You’ll have help with styling and makeup. Plus, your face would be presented to a lot of ponies in the industry who are looking for new talent.”
“Does this look like a face that cares?” I asked. “Seriously, this would be a bad idea for everypony.”
“Trust me, I’ve helped launch the careers of more than a few models,” said Fleur, touching a hoof beneath my chin to bring my gaze up to her taller stature. “And I can tell that you’ve got the looks for it.”
I jerked away, left the room and marched towards the bar. I approached Iridium as he was polishing some glasses. “Do you have any scissors?”
He looked at me curiously. “No, not here.”
“Give me the sharpest knife you’ve got.”
Without a word, he produced a chef’s knife of reasonable size. I seized it and went to the little fillies’ room. 
Shaking with rage, it was more difficult to hack off the longer parts of my mane and tail. I came close to carving my skin a time or two. I glared daggers at the mirror as strands of steel blue hair fell all over the sink. The butchered style would probably only serve to attract even more attention to me, but I was hoping the shorter length would put off those who expected a more feminine mare. I was also hoping that somehow my fury would be spent before the knife found its way to something more critical.
I leaned forward against the sink, breathing hard. I couldn’t meet my own stare in the mirror any longer. The knife clattered onto the countertop. Seconds passed.
Breathe in, breathe out. Life sucks, but when you hit rock bottom there’s nowhere to go but up, right? Sure, tell yourself that, Millie. And before you leave the room, clean up this mess of hair.
A few minutes later, I quietly returned to the main room to give the knife back to Iridium. He looked startled at the sight of my new look but said nothing. I faced away from the bar. I really didn’t want to hang around the club, but still needed to talk to Octavia. It was not pleasant to realize that I might have to wait through the entire show.
The door opened and a white pegasus stallion came in. He was solidly built and had serious-looking eyes. I did a double take, realizing that I knew him. His name was Ice, and when we’d first met he’d been a Canterlot Police detective hot on the trail of Miller the Killer - the larger than life legend I had accidentally started.  We were not on great terms.
I couldn’t help but be drawn to him. Not only because he was the only familiar face in the crowd, but also because he wouldn’t recognize me in this new body. And if for some reason he did know who I was, then maybe I could get some answers. Either way, talking to him seemed like a good idea.
Ice glanced at me, eyes going to my tattered mane briefly before swinging back to the rest of the room. “What’s going on here? I thought this was a jazz club.”
“It’s closed today for a fashion show.” I wondered what Ice knew about jazz. “Have you been here before?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been in the area for a while.”
I tried to figure out how to get more information without sounding suspicious. “You don’t sound like a native Manehattanite.”
Ice chuckled. “You’re right. I took a new job and moved in from Canterlot about three months ago. And what about you? I’m guessing... Baltimare?”
“That’s right.” I shrugged and tried to be as friendly as I could without actually smiling. No way was I going to flirt with somepony.
“I guess if there’s no jazz tonight I’ll have to find something else to do.” Ice started towards the door.
“There’s still going to be music,” I pointed out. Hesitantly, I added, “...and mares parading around in fancy clothes.”
Ice stopped to consider it. “Well, I suppose it does sound tempting. If you don’t mind me asking, though, if this is a fashion show… then why do you look like you got confused with a manticore’s chew toy?”
“Stallions,” I grumbled. “That’s where all my problems seem to come from.”
He looked taken aback, but also somewhat concerned. Fortunately, he didn’t press any further with the subject and left the club after nodding goodbye.
I settled in to wait for Octavia as the show began. They had somepony doing the music for models to strut to. A gathering of rather posh ponies had arrived and they sat near the stage, many of them with cameras clicking. Fleur was off to the side talking to a unicorn stallion who wore a monocle. My eyes went back to the stage, amusing myself slightly with some of the ridiculously over the top things the models wore.
Octavia appeared about halfway through the show. She didn’t look pleasant, but brightened a little as she spotted me. I got up to meet her, nodding towards a more private part of the club.
“I’m sorry about putting both you and Vinyl on the spot,” she began once we were alone. “I know that Vinyl and I arguing is complicating things for you.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
She caught a little bit of the attitude in my voice. “I suppose, but she-”
“Were you aware that Vinyl almost jumped out a seventh story window?” I interrupted. “I know that you couldn’t always be there for her, but you were still the only pony who really knew what she was going through. You could have either made sure she had somepony to check on her, or maybe done something so simple as giving her your forwarding address when you moved to Manehattan.”
Octavia looked away and several seconds passed while she worked on a reply. “Yes... you’re right. So much was going on in my life that I didn’t think I could spare any time to help.”
I sighed, my tone cooling. “Yeah, I suppose we all feel that way sometimes.” Like me...
As our conversation reached its climax and began to fade, Octavia looked at my mane for the first time with interest. “What happened to you?”
“I got hit on by a couple of guys. Also, Fleur wanted me to model.  I thought I would try a different look.” I decided not to mention the problems I had gone through at the restaurant; problems that were a direct result of Octavia and Vinyl’s argument. Trying to get the two of them to forgive each other felt more important than getting my own vindication.
Octavia nodded, trying to show some understanding. “Fleur has never asked me to show anything for her.”
She smiled to let me know she wasn’t jealous of my looks. That expression turned into a frown, however. “Have you gotten so much attention from stallions in the previous few days?”
“No.” I thought about the previous evening when the market pony had given me an orange. Then, earlier today, it had practically been a parade of masculinity. As a man, I didn’t think I normally acted like that. At least Ice had managed to restrain himself.
Octavia touched my shoulder. “You aren’t going to like hearing this, Millie, but it sounds like you might be going into the warm days of your estrous cycle.”
“Oh God...” My legs collapsed. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my face with my forehooves, trying desperately to get myself under control. I wanted to cry, but some sexist part of my brain reminded me that it wasn’t a manly thing to do.
Octavia knelt on the floor at my level. “You want to pay attention to your behavior, as that might have subtly changed to be more flirting. I’m afraid you can’t do anything about the pheromones that unconsciously invite stallions to you, but at least your attitude will probably be more aggressive. I suggest you use that to your advantage.”
Yeah, aggressive was what led me to tear off my mane and threaten a couple of the stallions who had approached. Surely a few hormonal changes wouldn’t turn every guy into an idiot; case in point, Ice. Maybe I had just been unlucky and met a couple of them with poor self control.
I took a deep breath and stood up. I was getting better at containing my emotions. Maybe going to Vinyl’s show and being surrounded by a crowd wasn’t such a good idea, though. I should catch her at the hotel beforehand and tell her I couldn’t go.
I articulated this to Octavia. She nodded, displaying about as much interest in Vinyl as before. I would have to come up with a new plan to get them back on good terms.
Leaving the club, I saw that it was evening. There was only a faint glow of dusk on the horizon and the streets were dark. I shuffled along the sidewalk, head down and trying to move quickly. The cold wind blew a little, rustling small tendrils of powdery snow.
In only a few minutes, the sun had disappeared completely and the night grew even darker. The moon was only a sliver tonight. The streetlights helped light my way, but created sharply defined shadows between buildings.
“Hey there, filly...”
I started to turn, but the pony who grabbed me from behind was quicker. He wrapped up my muzzle to keep my mouth closed and quiet. Kicking hard in a panic, I tried to stay on the sidewalk, but he was stronger. My hooves left drag marks from the well lit pavement into the dark alley. I tossed my head, trying to poke him in the eye with my horn. I tried to grab a rock, something, anything.
“A fighter, huh?” He chuckled, and shoved me against the wall of the building. “I know how to keep you calm.”
In the shadow of the streetlights, I saw the silhouette of the knife before I felt it press against my throat. I froze.
“There, that’s a good girl.” He moved slightly behind me, getting closer. I don’t know how it was possible to be even more afraid, but an extra shot of terror went through me as I realized what his intentions were.
In the instant I had to think, there seemed to be only one thing I could do. I tossed my head back, away from the blade, and collided with something that felt like a nose. The stallion behind me growled in pain and slammed my skull hard against the building. I had turned my head just enough to avoid a broken nose, but caught most of the force on the side of my forehead. Sparks burst in front of my eyes and I slid down the wall. It took a moment to realize that I also felt a sharp pain on my neck.
Through my ringing head, I knew that I couldn’t just lie there.  I rolled, trying to raise my hooves for protection, but no attack came. Something liquid was running over the skin of my neck.
I still hadn’t been seized.  I heard a scuffle and a cry of pain from somewhere down the alley. I blinked hard, trying to see through the darkness of night and the haze in my mind. I heard something that sounded like a pony being violently beaten senseless. Seconds passed and the noise faded.
“Who’s there?” I croaked, fighting unconsciousness. “Who are you?”
There was a cackle of harsh laughter. Then, a reply. “Miller the Killer!”
	
	
> Chapter 7A
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I sighed dejectedly as I parted company with Millie at the place where we'd met up outside the café.  I really appreciated what Millie was trying to do, but I can’t believe she…he?  Dang, I’m almost as confused about that as Millie is.  Anyway, I can’t believe Millie really thought Octavia and I could just talk it out.  Millie’s a good dude, but kind of clueless when it comes to mares.  That wife Millie talks about must be really understanding.
I shook my head as I walked back to the hotel.  It was good of Millie to come find me after I left the café.  I did feel a little better afterwards, and I made sure to invite her to Rave Beatz.  It was…well, kind of horseapples that Octavia and I put Millie through all that, and I felt like I owed her something.  I sniffed a little as I raised my shades for just a moment to wipe my eyes.  Well, I probably would have invited her anyway.  I hated to admit it, but Millie might be my best friend.  Totally great, Vinyl.  You're closer to some space alien than any other pony.
Back at the hotel, I played some tunes for a while and thought about life, the universe, and everything.  Wow, all three of those things were screwed up for me.  I had to give Millie - well, Miller back then -  credit for making things a little better for the outcome of what happened in Canterlot. It got me started on the right path.  Still, I knew I had disappointed Millie by not doing enough to become a better pony.
A little anger brought a frown to my face as I worked some records on my turntables.  If Octavia had only been there to help.  I guess maybe Millie was right and I was stronger than I thought, but that didn’t mean it was fair.
Well, I had learned a lot.  I could be strong and independent.  I would show them both.  I glanced out the window.  It was almost time to go.  I checked to make sure the night vision charm was still active on my sunglasses and left the hotel as dusk began to settle over the city.
	
> Chapter 7B
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	My bed was a small comfort as I tried to come to grips with the lunch meeting I had so foalishly stormed out of.  The ceiling of the bedroom I stayed in above the club did not provide answers as I stared at it.  Faintly, I could hear the beginning of Fleur’s show.
I wondered what Millie would think about my behavior.  I wished I hadn’t disappointed her, but Vinyl interfered.  Thinking about the so-called DJ who had demanded I do something for her put me deeper into my dark mood.
An hour or two was a surprisingly long time to wallow in sorrow and self-pity.  I could have done things differently and fervently wished I had.  There was no going back, however.  I only hoped Millie would forgive me.
Getting out of bed seemed like a good way to get started on bringing my mood up, and I decided to go downstairs.  Even if I could barely stand Fleur, she would be distracted with the show.  If nothing else, Iridium could keep me company.  I’ve never come across a situation he couldn’t handle.  
Millie was there when I stepped into the club, and my mood brightened at the sight.  Her mane looked terrible as if most of it had been inartistically torn out.  Regardless of that, I felt the need to apologize for my earlier behavior first.
Millie was not pleased.  I took her reprimand like a lady.  Truthfully, she made a good point.  I needed to take some more responsibility.  Starting with that, I helped Millie with a few feminine troubles, some of which involved her unusually trimmed mane.  The larger issues were biological, however.  I expected somepony who used to be male to be uncomfortable, but Millie’s reaction was very pronounced.  I honestly thought she might cry.
Helping her through it was the least I could do.  I’m her friend, after all.  Millie seemed to get herself under control and decided that she should go; Vinyl was playing a show or some such.
While I felt slighted that she would leave the club for whatever it was they played at a DJ concert, I suppose Millie might prefer it to standing around at a fashion show.  She left the building and I glanced around at the models that were still walking across the stage.  While I supposed my deal with Fleur wasn’t so bad, it would be nice to have full control of the club, which might have happened if I could have only gotten more bits for the apartment building in Canterlot.
Surely the tenants living there had something to do with that.  Mr. Greenback had noted some of the more unsavory residents when he’d bought the place.  Why did so many ponies have to be involved with crime?  I couldn’t fathom it.  The prisons were full of those they'd caught - and many more still were loose.
Turning away from the stage, I went to find something to occupy my evening.
> Chapter 7C
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The barista finished the order and checked the name written on the cup.  “Ice?”
I stepped forward to take the coffee from her.  The little shop had become a favorite of mine since arriving in Manehattan three months before.  So much so that I even got coffee there in the afternoon, well beyond the time caffeine would do me any good.  That was all right.  I was planning on having a long night, although sometimes I wished such things could start sooner rather than later.
Stepping outside, I blew across the top of the cup.  It steamed like a chimney in the cold air.  Maybe I could get a bit of breeze to cool it off to drinking temperature.
Stretching out my wings, I checked the sky before taking off.  The last thing I wanted was to cause some sort of traffic accident.  It must be my old cop instincts at work.   Glancing around to get my bearings, I set off on a leisurely, time-killing flight.  I took the opportunity to survey the buildings and streets.
There was something wrong with this city.  Granted, there was something wrong with most of them.  Something drove ponies to be indecent to each other.  So much crime…  I couldn’t let my outrage show in public, however.  I had to keep up appearances.
When it stopped burning my lips, the coffee went down quickly.  I dropped low to the street to find a litter bin for the empty cup.  I realized I was near a jazz club that I had been to a few times.  It was still early, but maybe they were open.
I was expecting music but not strutting models.  The sign above the door was correct, so I knew I was in the right place.  A pink unicorn assured me that the club was only temporarily closed for a fashion show.  I’m not sure if it was her manner or the way her mane was shredded, but she seemed ill-at-ease.  I wanted to ask if something was wrong, but I’ve learned a hard truth over the years that you can’t save everypony.  I had discovered that law enforcement can be a rewarding career, but it’s never quite satisfying.
Well, jazz was out.  I would have to find something else to keep me busy until nightfall when I could go to work.

> Chapter 7D
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Every member of the entourage that followed me into the building was rather useless.  Each of them had talents, I suppose, but if you want things done right you have to do them yourself.  I didn’t get where I was by lazing about.
The Metronome was not the best venue for today’s show, but I knew it was a stepping stone to greater things.  Octavia at least kept the place clean.  She wasn’t responsible for the rest of the neighborhood, however.  Manehattan needed help with its crime problem.  Sure the citizens put a glitzy face on it, but everypony knew what lay beneath.
I wore my best showtime face and focused on the event that day.  There were stylists and dressers to get all the models ready.  I found myself doing a significant portion of the work, however.  Ponies’ talents only went so far.
There was an empty place in the model roster that hadn’t been filled.  To maintain standards, I didn’t normally invite unknown ponies into the show, but something about Octavia’s friend Millie drew my eye.  Her coloring was bold enough to be eye catching but not bright enough to outshine an outfit I had in mind.  There was also something about her manner that seemed young and virgin, but with a harder edge beneath it.  It was an attitude I could use; maybe for a teenage rebel theme.  She certainly had the youthful face for it.
Millie turned down my offer without even a thought.  I could have pressed her, but perhaps there was a reason for her attitude.  Nopony knew better than I how things could be so different beneath the surface.  My job, my talent, was creating a façade of beauty.  Of course, it helped if things actually were beautiful on a deeper level. That thought reminded me of the city again.
Comb, one of the stylists, came to me to complain about something.  I had sent him to prepare the stage, but apparently somepony had done it for him.  I was only half paying attention as I put the finishing touches on the model in front of me.
“Are you even listening, Ms. de Lis?” Comb demanded.
“I thought you were finished making the stage ready.  What are you doing now?  Are you doing something productive for me?”  Comb faltered for a moment at my rhetorical question.  I was doing his job, fixing a mare’s mane before the show.  Without looking at him, I said, “You’re fired.”
Maybe that was cold of me, or maybe that was just eliminating somepony who held me back.
Things progressed well enough without Comb, and the show started on time.  I used a conversation with Fancypants as a guise to keep watch for any spies Photo Finish might have sent to steal models from me.  I had a plan for greatness, to eventually make Photo look like B-list celebrity by comparison.  I had plans for many things, in fact.  You don’t make progress without strategy and hard work.
> Chapter 7E
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“LIFT!”
The stallion in front of me struggled with the weight bar, his muscles weak from so many bench presses.  I roared in his face again, providing just enough motivation for one more rep.  As he shakily reached the top, I hooked the bar with my talons and set it back on the rest.
The pony went limp and sucked wind.  From his lying-down position he managed a smile.  “Heh, thanks Gilda.”
I looked down at him as I leaned over the bar.  “Just work harder, Tock.  You don’t want me to keep babying you.”
Tock was a watchmaker or something.  No idea why he wanted to be buff, but I don’t ask customers questions like that.  If he wanted to improve himself, that was good enough.
My name was called from across the gym and I walked away.  A pegasus needed a recommendation for wing pushups.  I may have been a griffon, but I went to flight school with ponies.  “Start in sets of twenty.  If you get to one hundred, take a break and then start in with sets of ten.”
“Hey, thanks,” he said.  I gave him a look and turned away.
Newcomers to the gym were surprised to find me employed there.  Who would hire a pissed-off griffon to terrorize customers?  Working out takes motivation.  I won’t shoot the breeze with you.  I won’t take it easy.  I want you to succeed; that’s why I’m not your friend.
It was sometimes hard to turn off the attitude outside of work.  Lately, I had been barely bothering to.  Maybe that cost me some companionship.  Not like I had loads of friends to lose anyway.
I spent most of the afternoon sparring with a few boxers.  I may not have had the weight and power of a pony, but my reach was a lot longer.  A hardened beak can take more abuse than a nose, too.
After a few rounds, they thought it would be funny to put me up against a minotaur.  He was pretty big and had some training.  It didn’t matter much.  The fight lasted about a minute, but I decided not to knock him out.  The gym was for training and learning.  Beating a practice opponent senseless wouldn’t accomplish anything.
At lot of exercise training is about application of force.  You only use the right amount to accomplish your goal whether it’s boxing, martial arts, or just going for a jog.  Every so often, however, it’s important to really test yourself and find out how much you could use.  Know your upper limits, but always be working to raise them.
There wasn’t much on my mind as I showered before leaving work.  I put on my winter gloves to protect my talons from the snow.  I headed for The Metronome.
There were a few decent music clubs around, The Metronome being the most convenient for me.  They were all dark, quiet, and relaxed.  I was rarely bothered by other patrons.  The clubs were good places to sit and think after a day of exertion.
I had almost reached the jazz club when I remembered Octavia’s announcement the previous night about the fashion show.  I stopped, grumbling in annoyance.  It looked like I wasn’t going to get to relax tonight.  Time to find something else to do.
	
	
> Chapter 7F
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Octavia's friend was clearly upset but it seemed impolite to intrude on her affairs if she wasn't willing to talk about it.  I didn't know what she needed a knife for, but decided that it probably wasn't for a violent purpose.  That was good – the local neighborhood already had enough of that.  Millie seemed emotional, but not unstable.
After giving her the knife, I cast my eyes around the room while I polished the bar.  The fashion show was beginning.  While I held no specific animosity towards Fleur de Lis, she was not a pony I would associate with by choice.  My job is to keep things running smoothly, whether that required hosting, food preparation, maintenance, or security.  Her shows interrupted the normal operation of the club.
Truthfully, shaking things up on occasion might not be a bad thing.  I had accepted Octavia’s offer of a job in Manehattan for a change of scenery from Canterlot.  That’s pretty much all I’d gotten – a different city skyline to look at.  The customers seemed the same.  The music style hadn’t changed much.  Crime in the local neighborhood might have actually been worse.
Still, I’m an optimist.  The Metronome was on the way up.  The fresh coat of paint Millie had applied looked good, and I knew Octavia had her sights set on greater things.  
Speaking of Millie, she returned the knife after haphazardly trimming her mane.  I’m sure there had to be a good reason for a mare to do something like that, but I decided that it was none of my business.
A habit of politely keeping my nose out of things had taken me far in life.  Sometimes I wished I was more confrontational, though.  Maybe I would have ended up doing something more interesting than hosting a jazz club.  I was good at it and somewhat content, but not entirely satisfied.
Maybe I could do something about that. My focus for a long time had been centered entirely on my work.  Since moving to Manehattan it had begun to shift outwards a little.  After all, I live to serve.  There were a lot of ponies out there who needed help.
> Chapter 7G
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I stood patiently as ponies raced about the backstage area preparing for the fashion show. The show’s location was an odd one, a jazz club, The Metronome. Not a place I would expect to hold a fashion show. In addition, I never thought I would be somepony who would be asked to partake such an event. Still, I hoped it would be simple. Smile, walk across the stage, keep smiling, stand for a moment, walk back, and don’t stop smiling until you’re off stage and out of view.
“Five minutes, ponies,” said Bright Light, the stage manager for the show.
There was a general murmur of acknowledgement from the group of us, mostly mares but with a few stallions mixed in. Glancing back over to Bright Light I winced as the flustered stallion rushed about making last minute preparations. I felt bad for him. He was more of an intern than a professional, apparently just out of college but doing his best to keep the show running smoothly. There should have been somepony else here to help the poor stallion, somepony with experience. Even I could see that.
I snorted. The idea of me as a model was still rather humorous. I’d always thought the whole idea was rather silly. Yet here I was just the same about to present myself to the world in some silly getup. Still, it was what Photo Finish wanted, so I had come to infiltrate Fleur de Lis’ show.
Honestly the idea of "infiltrating" a fashion show sounded like a silly idea to me. Then again, I didn't understand fashion shows in the first place so who was I to judge? I wasn't sure what kind of information Photo Finish wanted exactly, she hadn't bothered to inform me, so I planned to give her everything I saw and did. Every detail I could recall about the night. As long as Photo wasn't complaining and I was getting paid I'd be happy. 
Let me be the first to say that Photo Finish was eccentric. The first time we met, she’d instantly taken a liking to me. I don’t know why she wanted “sompony on the inside” or why fashion required a cover identity, but I had stopped questioning things like that. I already had too much on my mind, like my outfit.
I didn’t think the clothing Fleur put me in was any good. It was far too flashy and the color clashed horribly with my charcoal grey coat. It also hadn’t been designed with pegasi in mind and my wings were pressed uncomfortably to my sides. Still, it was good money and Photo needed her information, whatever it actually was.
Eager to get underway and get this over with, I began to make my way towards my starting position, 'places' as it was called in the theatre biz. Passing the curtain I snuck a peek at the audience. I knew it was unprofessional but I couldn’t help myself. My eyes quickly scanned the room before I slipped away from the curtain. It hadn’t been a large crowd but they seemed to be mostly wealthier ponies.
The music came up and one by one we all took our turn on stage. I went through my routine just as planned, feeling silly but trying not to show it. The meager crowd seemed to be paying close attention, except for one pink mare, a unicorn, over by the bar who stared morosely. Maybe her foul mood had something to do with her tattered mane.
The show took some time, but I was in no hurry. I kept a mental inventory of everything I could. When Fleur decided we were finished, I received my pay with the other models and we returned our outfits. I left the club as the sun was setting and headed towards Photo’s studio to collect my second paycheck.
After Photo let me in, I told her what I had seen and done. She listened carefully, remaining completely still. In the entire time I had known her, that was a first. She was usually more animated.
My debrief completed, Photo nodded once, a quick up-down movement. “Excellent. Thank you, Miller.”
I frowned. “Wait, I told you my name was—”
“Nonsense! Come back tomorrow!” Photo paid me, shoved me outside, and closed the door in one quick movement. I stood there for a moment feeling confused before the cold air brought me back to my senses.
Shaking out my wings, I looked around and tried to figure out what to do next. Well, it looked like the rest of my evening was free.

> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The ceiling tiles slowly came into focus. They didn’t look like any ceiling I should be staring at. Strange. 
A quiet beeping was coming from somewhere nearby. I tried to turn my head, meeting with a little resistance and the feel of something pulling at the skin of my neck. I touched it with a fetlock. It felt like a bandage around my throat.
It seemed odd how I had adapted to pony mannerisms so thoroughly. I hadn’t touched the bandage with a hoof because I knew there was very little feeling there. I even knew how to sit up in bed properly, taking into account the way the equine shoulder moved.
One thing I had not adapted to was the unexpected surprise of meeting ponies I didn’t like. Waiting at the foot of my bed was a Lunar Guard. The grey, bat-winged pony stared at me with his slitted pupils. The beeping sound I heard started to accelerate.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed.
“I’ve come to debrief you. Tell me what happened last night.” His tone was cold and didn’t seem to display much interest in my personal wellbeing.
Still, it seemed like a good idea to indulge him. “I was walking, got attacked, and then somepony pulled my attacker away. That somepony claimed to be Miller the Killer.”
He stared as if I had left out some vital bit of information. “Give me their physical description.”
I frowned. Unfortunately, I was also in the dark - literally. “I have no idea. There wasn’t much light and I had just gotten my head knocked against a wall.”
“You said they told you who they were. What did the voice sound like?”
“Well, obviously they were lying. I’m Miller. The voice sounded...” I paused, struggling to recall. I’d been lying on the snowy ground with a concussion, and to be honest it had scrambled my brains a little.
“Male, female, old, young?” The Guard prompted. I shrugged helplessly. He made a noise of deep annoyance.
“I wish I could give you more.” I didn’t want to use an apologetic tone. I didn’t feel he deserved one from me. At the same time, what I said was true. The quicker we solved this the quicker I could go home.
“At least you’ve finally remembered your purpose,” the Guard muttered, shuffling his hooves and looking restless.
“No, actually. Was this why you brought me to Equestria a second time? To catch some serial killer masquerading as me? Sorry, but I found out about this by reading the newspaper.”
He turned his creepy eyes on me again. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. I got on this case by chance, not because I remembered anything you told me. Heck, I didn’t even know the serial killer was using my name until last night. That’s a detail that isn’t in the paper.”
“We’ve suppressed it.” The Guard looked irate, but also careful. The news that I still wasn’t with the program regarding my purpose in Equestria seemed to unsettle him. It kind of made me wonder if they’d tried to mess with my mind and it didn’t work. Actually, it made me wonder a lot of things about their competence. I just had to figure out who “they” were.
The batpony turned away, heading for the door. “Your medical bill will be paid. I’ve also left some bits for your trouble. Get back to work on finding this killer.”
Free hospital stay? That was a pleasant surprise. Well, delivered in an unpleasant manner, but still a positive thing. I pushed the call button to get a nurse to bring me the expensive dining menu.
After I’d ordered, I asked the nurse how long I had to stay at the hospital. She checked the bump on my head and my bandage. “You seem to be doing all right. The mild concussion will take care of itself. Your lacerated throat was a little more serious, but we’ve done what we can. Perhaps staying here a few more hours would be best, just to be sure something we didn’t expect won’t pop up.”
I supposed I could live with that. She removed the heart monitor equipment. It had been there as a precaution in case I died from brain swelling related to a head injury or something.
The food was acceptable. I found that it was better if you ordered it specifically instead of just going with whatever the cafeteria was making that day. The veggie burgers were not a perfect imitation of my favorite comfort food from back home, but I could pretend.
Vinyl came in that afternoon. “Dude! I was so worried when you didn’t show up!”
I had forgotten about the show, but didn’t have time to feel guilty as she wrapped me in a hug. I did wonder how she’d found me. Maybe just asking around the hospital when I went missing.
Vinyl pulled back to examine my head and neck with a worried look. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Or I will be, anyway. They only want me here for a few more hours.” I told her about the visit from the guard and my horrible experience the night before. Vinyl’s large sunglasses masked her expression as I mentioned the pony who’d attacked me and whoever it was that had come to my rescue.
“Wow, that’s... intense,” she observed. Vinyl cocked her head. “Did they cut your mane all crazy or something?”
I had to explain about that, too. Vinyl’s own mane was asymmetric, but still a little more organized than mine. She shrugged as she looked me over. “There is a bright side, I guess. There’s this bit of mane that’s still long enough to cover that goose egg on your head.”
We were still talking when Octavia appeared. Like Vinyl, I wondered how she knew I was in the hospital. I didn’t have time to ask, as the two of them stared each other down.
Some sort of miracle must have happened, because they both silently put their differences aside and sat down next to my bed. On opposite sides, but still without arguing.
“I came as soon as I heard.” Octavia was a little more collected than Vinyl, but there was the same note of worry in her voice. I did a recap for her of everything I had already told Vinyl.
Octavia listened patiently, looking somewhat more worried as I went on. “It sounds like you were very lucky, Millie. Please be careful.”
I shrugged. She was probably right, but for the moment I just wanted to get back in the thick of things. I still had to finish this serial killer case, but I would be more careful.
I looked at Vinyl and Octavia. “So are the two of you hungry? The government’s paying.”

The hospital released me that evening. True to his word, the Guard had left a bag of bits. It was no fortune, but a pleasant surprise. Good, I needed something to cheer me up. My head still hurt a little and I was careful not to bend my neck very much. I didn’t know how deep the knife wound had gone, but a nurse told me that no arteries had been affected.
Vinyl and Octavia walked on either side of me out the front doors of the hospital. The two of them still weren’t speaking directly, but not speaking at all was an improvement over slinging insults. Plus, the way they flanked me almost felt like I had some sort of honor guard.
I thought a little about that. During my time in Canterlot, Octavia had mentioned that she took some self defense classes. Vinyl had probably seen enough of the underbelly of Equestria to at least know what fighting looked like. I was human, which at the very least made me unpredictable.
Those qualifications in no way made us badasses, but my fear from the previous night was slowly converting itself to anger.  I made sure to temper my focus, however.  I was hurt, and the city of Manehattan had already proven itself more than capable of throwing surprises at me.
“I know you were in bed all day, but maybe you want to rest back at the hotel?” suggested Vinyl. Octavia looked like she didn’t agree, but said nothing.
“Maybe I will.” I glanced at Octavia. “Why don’t I stop by later? Maybe I can retrace my steps from when I left the club last night.”
Vinyl looked like she wanted to point out that going to the club was the whole reason I was attacked, but held her tongue.
Octavia broke off, nodding goodbye, and I followed Vinyl to the hotel. We went upstairs to our room. In the bathroom mirror I examined the welt on my head. Vinyl had been right; I could easily conceal it with what mane I had left. The bandage around my neck was another thing and I considered removing it. If everything worked out right and I was sent home, I wouldn’t have to worry long term about having a scar caused by interfering with the healing. And anyway, the bandage kept pulling at my skin.
I slowly peeled off the gauze and tape. The slash on the side of my neck was long but didn’t look too deep. The dried blood had already been washed away and if I was careful I could avoid having the injury reopen.
Now that the bandage was off, I did kind of regret removing it. It would have drawn even more attention than my butchered mane, but I wanted something to protect the wound.
A few minutes of thinking brought me to a solution. In fact, it was better than just a fix; it was an upgrade. I went to get the leather belt from my pile of human clothing. I carefully manipulated my pocket knife with magic to punch an extra hole in the belt. This allowed it to be cinched around my neck; not too tight, not too loose. As an added bonus, I could carry my knife in its little holster on the belt.
A Swiss Army knife was not an ideal weapon for self defense, but it made me feel slightly better. At the very least, I could do useful handymare things with it.
I shook my head. Man, handyman.
The collar-like leather belt combined with my terrible manecut gave me a punkish look. Good, maybe it would scare stallions away. I hadn’t seen very much leather in Equestria. Most that did pop up seemed to be pigskin. I should probably avoid mentioning that mine came from a cow. My stomach grumbled. Speaking of pigs and cows, a bacon cheeseburger sounded good right now. The veggie burger for lunch hadn’t really satisfied me.
Vinyl was tinkering with her electronics when I came out of the bathroom. I told her I was going out. She started slightly. “Are you sure?”
I took a moment to think about it. No, I wasn’t; however staying in bed wasn’t going to solve any problems. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
I left the hotel and headed down the street towards The Metronome. A few well-dressed ponies looked at me oddly, like I was some kind of hoodlum with my hacked mane and leather collar. The old belt with dirt and grease rubbed into it over the years was not a fashionable item, but it did provide some small comfort to have something familiar near me.
While there was still some daylight left, I took a detour to where I had been attacked. The snow was still scuffed up and I saw a few drops of blood scattered around. Some of the drops were where I had fallen, some were at the other end of the alley.
I paused to think. The Lunar Guard seemed to believe that my savior the previous night had been the same serial killer that stalked the streets. But weren’t murders like that planned ahead of time? Certainly the killer using my name hadn’t expected me to get attacked. Or had they? Was I being followed? 
I might have to look into the history of the killer’s victims. Perhaps I was actually dealing with a vigilante. A pony fighting against criminals, hmm. There was a terrible thought - maybe I had accidentally inspired them to such acts with what had happened in Canterlot.
Based on the lack of blood at the scene, my attacker must have been killed with something besides a sharp object. Blunt force trauma? I didn’t really want to think about it. I couldn’t feel satisfied with his death, but it was certainly better him than me. Also, thinking too much about that might remind me just how close I had come to my own death that night. It might have been a matter of fractions of an inch. If the cut had been any deeper...
I shook my head and turned away, heading for the mouth of the alley. The sun slipped a little lower, and I hurried faster.
I continued on to The Metronome, taking a look around as I entered. Ice was there, as well as a few regulars like Gilda that I was coming to recognize. Iridium met me and I asked him for some cider. This time I had the money to pay.
I didn’t know what I was going to do with the bits the Lunar Guard had given me. Probably spend it on food. After Iridium came back with my drink I went to find a table. Gilda motioned me over, so I sat with her.
“Heard you got beat up,” she commented.
I raised my eyebrows. “Where did you hear that?”
“Word gets around.” She shrugged and glanced at me. “What did they look like?”
“Which- the pony who attacked me or the one who attacked him? I don’t really know. It was dark.”
Gilda grumbled and made a slicing motion with her sharp talons. “Sounds terrible.”
I had been told that Gilda could be protective, and I suppose it was lucky that she seemed to like me. While she was talking, I decided to see if I could learn a few things. 
I was betting Ice knew something about the supposed serial killer. His appearance in Manehattan was just too much of a coincidence.  I nodded towards him and said to Gilda, “Who’s he? I haven’t seen him around.”
Gilda shrugged. “I think he’s a cop. He looks like one to me.”
That made sense, although I didn’t know if Ice was still with the Canterlot Police. As I watched him, the door opened and a dark grey pegasus came in. Ice jerked a little at the sight, but soon relaxed again at not recognizing the new pony. I smirked slightly. Had my time as the supposed Miller the Killer really left that much of an impression on him? I almost felt sorry for the guy.
I wondered how to go about getting information out of him. My current appearance was not suited for flirting, but there was no way I was going to do that anyway. I thought about following him back to wherever he lived to see what I might learn there, but quickly shot that idea down. Sure, let’s follow around a pony who is police trained and is clearly paranoid about something.
I decided to find Octavia. Not only had I promised to stop by the club and see her, but maybe she could help me. I didn’t know how, exactly, but hopefully we would come up with something.  
		
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I found Octavia in a back room of the club. She was restringing her cello and tuning it up. She invited me in and I closed the door.
“Do you remember Detective Ice?” I asked.
She nodded. “He’s come in a few times. We talked a little. He remembered me from Canterlot..”
“I can’t figure out what he’s doing here in Manehattan.”
“Well, I can answer that.” Octavia paused in her work to look at me. “He transferred here to work with the national police in their Manehattan office.”
I frowned. “I thought he didn’t like feds.”
Octavia shrugged. “Well, they were the ones who took away the case Ice built on you back in Canterlot. Maybe he decided that if you can’t beat them, join them.”
I considered that. “So what’s he been working on in Manehattan? I left Canterlot before they could prove anything.”
“I don’t really know. It didn’t come up in conversation.” Octavia shrugged. She flicked her tail, taking hold with her teeth and pulling a few hairs. She began to string her bow with them.
That struck me as being a little strange, but I supposed it make sense. Maybe the hair added a more personal touch to Octavia’s music. I shrugged and continued the conversation. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ice is here. I need to do something. Could you help me, Octavia?”
There was a knock on the door. I glanced at Octavia. She looked surprised, but said, “Come in.”
Fleur poked her head through the door, looking at both of us. “Octavia. Millie.”
Octavia put down her bow. “Can I help you?”
Nodding, Fleur came into the room. “I wanted to talk about the last show. Did you invite any guests, Octavia?”
There was something in her tone that put me on edge. It almost sounded like an accusation. I’m sure Octavia noticed it too, but was equally in the dark as to what had Fleur upset.
Octavia shook her head. “No, I didn’t invite anypony.”
As Fleur’s eyes flickered to me, Octavia added, “Millie was at the club because she’s a friend of mine staying in Manehattan for a while. But I didn’t invite anypony.” 
“So, you have no idea how Photo Finish got an exclusive scoop about the models?” Fleur’s voice dripped with poorly concealed anger.
“No.” Octavia’s voice was flat. “What do you think I know about modeling?”
“It’s clear that somepony spied on the show,” growled Fleur. “How else could Photo Finish have known about the new talent I’ve been cultivating? Now it’s all over her magazine and talent scouts will come out of the woodwork to steal them all.”
Octavia shrugged and plucked a few cello strings. I asked, “Who is Photo Finish?”
Fleur’s eyes snapped to me, surveying my appearance. I thought her eyes picked out my injuries even as well as I had concealed them. “Did something happen to you, Millie?”
“I got in a fight.” I tried to be nonchalant. Fleur didn’t seem like the kind of pony to worry about me, but I wanted to make sure.
Surprising me, she kept staring, examining my wounds and new look. “Hmm, edgy. I could do something with that. Plus, Photo Finish would never expect you.”
“I told you before, I’m not interested.”
Fleur’s lips twitched into a smile that I didn’t like. “I think maybe I can convince you. What was this I heard a moment ago about you being the subject of a criminal investigation? Leaving Canterlot to get away from it? Asking Octavia to help you with Detective Ice?”
That gave me pause. Fleur wasn’t threatening what she thought she was, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t cause trouble. I really didn’t need law enforcement to take notice of me for any reason. I stared at her for a few moments, my mind trying to see a way out of this. Octavia looked between Fleur and I, waiting to see what I would say.
A long moment passed. I cleared my throat. “What do you want me to do?”
“I’ll be having a show in a few days,” said Fleur. “You’re going to be in it.”
“What show?” Octavia demanded.
“The one I’m telling you about right now.” Fleur looked at Octavia the same way she’d just looked at me. There was something unkind about the expression, a little like a predator looking at its next meal. Not a pleasant face for a pony to make.
“I’ll do it,” I muttered. It was actually not a difficult choice to make. As much as I disliked the idea of enduring a tour on stage, it was a sacrifice I could make.
But I didn’t have to like it. I glared at Fleur. She smirked a little at getting what she wanted and turned to go, leaving the room and closing the door. 
I took a deep breath and looked at Octavia. Her mouth was tight with concern and she said, “You should have stood up to her.”
“And she’d tell Ice that he should be taking a close look at me.” I sighed. “This is something I can live with.”
“Fleur’s a bully,” Octavia spat. “You saw how she just forced another show on me.”
“Don’t you have a controlling interest in the club?” I asked.
“That doesn’t mean her portion is insignificant. I need her more than she needs me, and I think Fleur is beginning to realize that.” Octavia gritted her teeth in anger.
“What can we do?” I asked quietly. While getting recruited to a fashion show was only a minor setback to me, how else could Fleur affect Octavia?
Her face took on a different expression, as if she’d just had an idea that she didn’t like. “I suppose we could tell Ice the truth.”
I considered it for several long seconds. That was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. At the same time, teaming up with him could be useful. He might have information about the case. Hey, maybe I could even play him off the Lunar Guard to find out even more from both of them. On top of all that, I didn’t like Fleur. Call it pride talking, but I wasn’t going to let myself be manipulated if I could help it. There had already been enough of that.
It wasn’t a great solution, but if we were careful bringing Ice into the loop would create some advantages and also take away any power Fleur held over me. I nodded in reluctant approval. “I guess talking to Ice could work.”
We quickly made a plan. I knew Ice wasn’t going to be happy to learn who I really was, and the things I would talk with him about were not for public ears. To that end, Octavia went to get him and bring him back to the room. 
I waited while Octavia was gone. I don’t know what she said to convince Ice to come, but the two of them returned shortly. Octavia motioned him in and stood guard outside to make sure ponies like Fleur didn’t eavesdrop.
Ice faced me across the room. He looked more cautious than confused. Maybe that was his cop instincts telling him that something unusual was happening. For the record, that was completely correct.
Quiet music could be heard through the wall to the main room. I coughed, feeling awkward and not quite sure how to approach the subject. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
“I met you yesterday.”
“Actually, you first met me in Canterlot a few months ago.”
Ice shrugged. “Maybe. Did you do anything I might remember?”
“Well, I single-hoofedly took down the drug industry and let you arrest the top leadership of the gangs. There were a whole bunch of dead griffons and ponies that you thought I was responsible for. I remember you called me “a nutcase.” After all that, though, I went home.”
His stoic expression held for just a moment and then cracked like glass. “You’re... Miller?”
I nodded.
“But... you’re not... I mean, not anymore...”
“It’s exactly what it looks like and twice as weird,” I deadpanned. “Let me explain. I don’t know how much you were told about what happened last time, but I was brought here because of a magical accident and put in a random body. This time, it wasn’t an accident, they want me to catch the local serial killer who’s using my name, and somepony thought it would be funny to turn me into a mare.”
Ice’s eye twitched. He took a breath and picked through the things I had told him to locate the one most relevant to his interests. “Who wants you to catch a killer?”
“The Lunar Guard, apparently.”
“And they turned you into a-”
I glared at him. “Don’t rub it in.”
Ice shook his head. “Well, I knew it wasn’t you killing ponies here in Manehattan. As much as you were a pain to my investigation back in Canterlot, the profile of these killings didn’t match up.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“And that’s all I’m giving you.” His expression abruptly changed, gaining back the unflappable demeanor he had lost when my admission had shook him up.
While the two of us had experienced our ups and downs together, I felt that I deserved a little more cooperation than that. “The Guards brought me here to do this investigation against my will and they won’t let me go home until it’s solved.”
Ice appeared to waver. I gave him another nudge. “Listen, I don’t want to be here. I’m confused, torn away from my friends and family, and I’m a girl. In addition to that, I’m pretty sure you don’t want somepony like me around. There would be way too much paperwork. Good luck explaining how I’m an adult but have zero public records of identity. Or maybe that I came from a different planet?”
I continued to stare at Ice. His mood appeared to be growing darker but he hadn’t agreed to help me yet. Backing off would accomplish nothing, so I kept talking. “We both want the same thing. A serial killer using my name pisses me off, but the Lunar Guard basically holding me hostage is worse. You catch the killer, take the credit, and look good to everypony. Just tell me what you know and how I can help.”
“I can’t break case confidentiality,” Ice said tersely.
The white pegasus had a point, but I wasn’t giving up so easily. “Are you angry that somepony is stepping into your territory again? Back in Canterlot it was the feds and now that you’re one of them it’s the Lunar Guard. My situation might be complicated, but I guarantee that I’m probably offering you the simplest deal you’ve ever seen. You help me, I’ll help you. I just want to go home and this is the only way.”
Ice’s look softened, but he seemed almost regretful. “I can’t. I may be on the case but I’m still a junior pony to the organization. I moved here thinking I was taking a step up, but now I have to work through everything I had already earned back with the Canterlot Police. Even if I had the access, I don’t have the authority to run the case as I would like.”
“Please, anything would help.” I inwardly cringed at the pleading in my voice. 
“I wish I could.” Ice looked away. There was silence between us for a moment, stretching out and becoming unbearable. Ice shifted uncomfortably and glanced at me. “I should probably go.”
He turned and went out the door. My jaw clenched. All Ice had to do was give me some information, but his rules or something prevented him. I’m normally a law abiding citizen and understood security protocols, but without clues collected by the police there was no way I could help with the case. As long as the killer remained free, I was stuck in Equestria.
My head dropped and I exhaled hard. If Ice had decided to bend the rules a little just this once I might be a step closer to going home. What a stubborn, infuriating stallion. I told him why I was here, and apparently following the book was more important than helping me out.
My nostrils flared as I breathed harder. Why me!?
I screamed and slammed a hoof into the floor. Amber sparks of magic showered the room and the whole building rattled. The faint strains of music from the main room paused momentarily before resuming.
The door jerked open and Octavia stuck her head in. “Dear Celestia, Millie; are you alright?”
“I...” I let out a breath and my shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
She shook her head, staring at the shallow hoof-shaped indention in the floor. “I knew you were good at hammering things, but please try to select your targets a little more carefully.”
I nodded meekly and kept quiet. Octavia held the door for me and the two of us went back to the main room. Ice had left the building, and I decided that maybe it was time for me to go, too.
I said goodbye to Octavia. “You could stay,” she offered.
“Thanks, but Vinyl was expecting me back.” I touched the leather that covered my neck wound. “After what happened, I don’t want anypony worrying about me.”
Octavia considered that and nodded reluctantly. “I do wish you weren’t alone, though.”
“Leaving?” asked Gilda, coming up just then. “Sorry for butting in, but if that’s what you’re worried about, I’ll walk with you.”
That seemed to please Octavia, and truthfully, me too. Not only was company nice, but Gilda seemed competent. I had never really examined her before, but she looked athletic enough, maybe even muscular.
I paused briefly to wait for Gilda to put a pair of gloves on her talons to protect them from the cold. The night was freezing but luckily without wind. The two of us walked in silence for a bit. I couldn’t think of any meaningful conversation. 
“Nice night,” she murmured.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“So, got a coltfriend?” 
I hadn’t been around Gilda enough to know her sexual preference. If it was for females, mares, then I had to firmly assert that I was not on the market. I didn’t need that kind of attention, and especially not from a griffon.
“I’m married,” I told her.
Gilda made a noise that sounded like approval and I relaxed. Maybe I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions about her intentions. 
We passed the alley where I had been attacked and I thought a little bit about the unicorn that had pinned me to the wall and made threats with a knife. A shiver that wasn’t related to the cold went through me and I decided not to think about what his intentions might have been.
Gilda followed me to the hotel and then gave a nod of goodbye before continuing on. I had started to push open the door when I heard a set of wings. Glancing up, I saw the batpony arrive. Without preamble, he asked, “Why did you speak to Detective Ice?”
I wondered how he had found out so quickly. Come to think of it, Ice had never said what kind of fed he was. In fact, it was a possibility that he himself was wearing the Lunar Guard disguise. I doubted it, though. Not even Ice was that much of a pain.
“I talked to Ice in the hopes of getting some information. You know, the stuff that I need to solve this case?”
The sarcasm was probably not warranted, but I was still smarting from getting the brush off from Ice. Plus, the Guard more than deserved it already, even if he had given me money and taken care of my lack of identity when the hospital had asked.
The Guard blinked those weird slitted eyes of his, looking annoyed. “I know a little that may help. I read the police report of the attack that you were involved in.”
“And?” I prompted.
“There was not much evidence. The killer wiped away the tracks in the snow.” He paused to think for a moment. “There was something else I found interesting. White feathers were found at the scene.”
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The thought never occurred to me that I might be too hard on the Lunar Guard.  He deserved all the rudness I threw at him, although a few times I had at least paused to consider it.  Like now, when he delivered the nugget of information about the white feathers.
It was an interesting detail, but unfortunately didn’t prove very much.  I shrugged.  “So what?”
“It narrows our search somewhat,” he said.
“You mean my search.  You haven’t done very much that I can see.”  Maybe that wasn’t true.  He had told me a few things and provided money, but the killer wasn’t any closer to being caught.
The Guard stared but didn't look like he actually resented my comment.  His eyes looked away. "I've done all I can."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Bigger things are at work here," he murmured.  "Bigger than either of us."
That gave me pause.  Something about his turnaround in attitude was different.  Considering my words carefully, I said, "I can understand how catching a multiple-murderer would be important."
The Guard looked at me intently and opened his mouth, pausing a moment before closing it again.  His face looked conflicted and he appeared to reconsider before saying anything. After a moment to collect himself he shook his head and turned away.
"Hey," I called.  "What aren't you telling me? You can't just hint at something like that and not go into detail!"
Despite my protests, he unfolded his wings and flew away without another word.  I had half a mind to try grabbing him telekinetically, but it didn’t cross my mind until he was already out of sight.
Grumbling, I went into the hotel.  Vinyl would at least listen to my complaining.  What are friends for, right?
We were seated wherever we could among her electronic gear.  I perched on an amplifier while Vinyl lay back on the bed with her hooves folded behind her head.  She listened patiently to the story of everything that had happened since I’d left the hotel earlier that day; my survey of the crime scene, the interactions with Fleur and Ice, and the small amount of information the batpony had given me.
Vinyl took a moment to process it all.  “So, white feathers were found.  That doesn't necessarily mean anything.  You know, it’s not exactly uncommon to find white feathers.  Heck, even Princess Celestia has them.”
“Yeah, so do swans,” I mused.
“Storks,” she chuckled.
I nodded.  “Even so, I’m still thinking it’s a pegasus.  Not that our killer was a giant bird or anything, but if it was another species you’d think there would be some other kind of injuries on the victim.  As it was, the attack was blunt force trauma.”
“Hmm,” Vinyl mused.  “It could also be an earth pony.  Or a unicorn trying not to look like a unicorn.  Have you checked into this killer’s other victims?  Do you know if the other attacks are all similar?”
“I was hoping to get that information from Ice.”  I sighed.  “I think we’re at a dead end on that.  It’s starting to seem like we should look elsewhere.”
“Like where?” Vinyl asked.
“Maybe we should think about the big picture.  The serial killer is at the forefront, but the way the Guard talked, there’s something else going on.”
Both of us fell silent, trying to figure out what that might be.  Vinyl shrugged.  “Maybe that bench where you woke up - twice - has something to do with it.  Remember back in Canterlot how you first appeared near the castle?”
I facehoofed.  An accident at Celestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns had brought me to Canterlot.  What were the chances that a directed snatching of myself would also transport me to nearby the spell casting site?  “Why didn’t I think of that?  Yeah, we should check it out.”
Vinyl grinned.  “Do you want to go tonight?”
I was in the mood to accomplish something.  Going downtown to find the bench sounded like a great idea.  The two of us left the hotel.  The clerk at the front desk looked a little surprised to see two guests going out instead of coming in at that time of night.
I was a little worried that nighttime temperatures would drop even further, but my eagerness seemed to make the cold a little less bitter.  We walked for a few minutes to find the place that I seemed to have a connection to.  It was the first time I’d ever really taken to study the location, having previously been focused on leaving it.  It was not quite a park, rather just some benches, litter bins, and trees installed along the street.  The buildings around the place looked just like every other part of the city.
“Here it is,” I said.  Both of us walked around, just to make sure there wasn’t something magical about the bench itself.  Even with my limited experience, I couldn’t feel any magical influence and Vinyl didn’t seem to notice anything, either.  There were no runes or anything else to indicate that it might be something more than a normal bench.
Our attention shifted to the nearby buildings.  One or two of them had a few lights on.  I commented, “There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly special about any of them.”
Vinyl turned to me.  “Yeah.  Then again, maybe one of them is concealing a secret base.”
It seemed far-fetched, but at this point I was willing to consider anything.  I was just about to speak when Vinyl suddenly stiffened.  Her head cocked a fraction of an inch.  Her sunglasses concealed where her eyes were looking.  “Don’t look, Millie, but there’s a pony watching us from a bench at the end of the street.”
I paused, but did as she said.  In a low voice, I asked, “How do you know?”
Vinyl’s voice was just as quiet.  “Who else would show up after we got here and sit there pretending to read a newspaper at this time of night?”
It was a good point.  “What do they look like?”
“Their face is behind the paper, but it’s a grey pegasus.  It’s too far to tell the cutie mark.”
Was this paranoia, considering any random pony on the street as a potential stalker?  I wondered just how many enemies could I make after only being in Manehattan for a couple of days.  Who could this be?  The Lunar Guard not in disguise, some other pony from law enforcement, or maybe even the killer?
The first of those possibilities was shot down as the front door of the nearest building opened and that very pony stepped out.  His cat-like eyes narrowed as he spotted the two of us.
Well, it looked like my guess of a secret base might have turned out to be correct.  I didn’t have time to gloat, however, as the Guard came stalking over.  “What do you want?”
Vinyl jumped in.  “We were trying to figure out why Millie showed up here out of all the places in Equestria.  It looks like you just answered that question.”
“This is the Manehattan operations headquarters of the Lunar Guard,” he said tersely.  “It’s also secret, so we don’t need you hanging around and drawing attention.”
I wanted to point out how him coming out of the building was probably a bigger attention grab than me or Vinyl.  I was rather struck how he was actually addressing her this time.  When they first met back when the Guard had booted me off the train, Vinyl had been the next thing to ignored.  
Instead of questioning that or mentioning to the Guard about keeping a low profile, I asked, “So why did you bring me here?”
He eyed me.  “I’ve already told you.  To catch a killer.”
“But why here?  What’s going on in this building?”
“You don’t need to know.  Now, why did you visit in the middle of the night?  Do you need more money?”  He pulled a bag of bits out from under one wing and tossed it in my direction.  “Here.  Now leave.”
I instinctively caught the bag with magic.  I was getting better at that.  I stood there holding the bits while the Guard turned and marched back into the building.  The door slammed.
Vinyl and I both let out a steamy breath in the cold air, glad that the conversation had been cut short.  A little breeze blew down the street and I felt the chill a little more than before now that my mind wasn’t so set on a mission.
I was glad to have made some kind of progress tonight, but more than a little irked that the Guard continued to be so standoffish.  Sure I was being nosy, but how else was I supposed to find clues to track down the serial killer?  He didn’t have to be such an ass about it.  In fact, if he hadn’t come out of the building to run his mouth at me, I would never have learned that it was a Lunar Guard headquarters.  At least he was pretty loose with the bits.
“Come on,” said Vinyl, nudging my shoulder.  “If we’re up this late anyway, we might as well find something to eat.”
That sounded good to me and I turned to follow her.  As we walked away, Vinyl glanced down the street.  “Huh.  Whoever that pony was with the newspaper is gone.”
Well darn, and I was hoping they would introduce themselves and give me a package of information detailing every single thing I needed to solve the case because they liked me as a fine upstanding member of the community.  Of course, nothing was that simple. I would have been happy to force that aforementioned information out, however.  I wasn’t in any mood to be subtle, not anymore.  In fact, skulking around in the background hadn’t gotten me very far on the case and I was tired of it.  
I sighed.  Sarcasm and anger was not my style.  I really needed to unwind and see this case objectively.  Maybe we could start with the unknown watcher.  I had literally zero guesses as to who it might be.  Jeeze, maybe an as-yet unannounced player in this was following me.  I couldn’t imagine how this situation could get even more complicated.  Maybe it was time to be more active.
Of course, completely ignoring that thought, we decided not to go to the diner where the clash over lack of payment had happened.  I wasn’t in the mood to take guff off anypony, but only if it would help solve the case.  Other conflict I would try to avoid.
Vinyl and I ended up heading to the food court at the train station.  They at least had burgers, albeit veggie, so I was somewhat happy.  Maybe I should ask Gilda where to find a nice meat-serving restaurant.
On the way, the two of us talked a little and tried to make sense of what we had learned that night.  Vinyl wanted to go back and poke around covertly in the daylight.  I felt like I agreed, but thought that there might be a better way.  Perhaps take another run at Ice and see if he’d come off his stoic morals and would actually help me.
After ordering from the food pony at the burger bar, I pulled out the bag of bits the Lunar Guard had given me.  Inside were the coins I expected, but also a small slip of paper.  Curious, I pulled it out and held it along with the bag.
As my eyes quickly scanned the note my grip on the bag slipped and it fell to the floor, scattering bits everywhere.  I didn’t care.  I couldn’t tear my eyes from the message.
You have three days to solve the case, or you can't go home. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The small slip of paper I held seemed to carry the weight of something much larger.  I stared at the printing on it, my eyes working back in forth rereading the message.  Even after reading it through to Vinyl, I still could barely believe it.  I was really, really not expecting news like this.  Three days to solve the case or else I couldn’t go home?  How could they do that to me?  What did I do to deserve it?
“Um, is there a problem?” asked the food court pony, looking across the counter at me quizzically, and probably wondering at the bag of bits I had dropped in surprise.
I opened my mouth to vent my frustration, unfortunately probably directed at the vendor, but Vinyl shushed me just in time.  She collected a few coins to pay for our food and swept the rest back into the bag, allowing me a few moments to compose myself before giving the money back to me.
I stalked over to a nearby table and sat down in a chair.  Vinyl sat quietly with me, carefully considering the situation and watching me grind my teeth.  After a moment she said, “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably a bad idea.”
“What is?  Going back there, hammering the door down, and demanding answers?  I’m so pissed off right now that-”
“You might get thrown in prison and then where would you be?”  Vinyl shook her head.  “You have three days.  I know that doesn’t seem like much, but you at least have time to think things through.”
I closed my eyes and forced a heavy sigh.  “Okay.  From this point, there are a lot of things that need to happen.  We have to get records to indicate how the killer’s other victims were dispatched.  There needs to be a map of killing locations; if the police are worth anything they already have this.  As much as I hate to do it, we should probably contact Ice again.  Even if he won’t help us, we can help him.”
“What if he turns out to be the killer?” Vinyl asked.
I shrugged.  “It gets us closer to him so maybe we can figure that out sooner.”
“You aren’t worried about the danger of that?”
“No.”
Vinyl’s jaw tightened.  “Millie, I know this is important to you, but I really don’t want to see you get hurt again.  I’m sure anypony that knows you would say the same thing.”
“This is... important.  Equestria isn’t my home, Vinyl.  If this is my only shot at going home, I’ll do anything to make it work.”
Vinyl nodded, but reluctantly.  I knew that she cared for me, and me getting beat up again would frighten her.  I didn’t want to think about the possibility that I could die here.  Jenna would never know what had happened to me.  I couldn’t let that happen.
We were served and I ate quickly.  Vinyl noticed my pace and rushed to keep up.  As soon as we were done, I was up from the table and heading for the exit.
Outside, it was just as cold as before.  I paused, suddenly feeling a little foolish for leaving without a plan in place.  I didn’t know what we would manage to accomplish in the middle of the night.  Even a search for public records would be impossible if the establishment wasn’t open.
Okay, think.  There was no internet in Equestria, so I would have to take a different path.  What did they do in the old detective movies?  They talked to people.  I thought maybe we could find ambulance ponies who remembered bringing in the bodies of the killer’s victims.  Learning about the injuries would give us an idea of modus operandi.  At the same time, trying to find those ponies in a city this large would be next to impossible and there was no guarantee that they were even on duty tonight.
Even a simple task like that seemed daunting.  Putting all the pieces together in order to get enough evidence to finger one suspect and prove their guilt...I didn't want to think about it.  Still, there was nothing to do but get started.
“We should keep Octavia informed,” I decided.  "If nothing else, she deserves to know.  Maybe if Ice comes back to the club she could get some information from him."
Vinyl shied away from that suggestion as I figured she would.  I wanted to yell at her for not putting the stupid little argument behind them, but this was not the time.  
As we started to move, the two of us were approached by a stallion who had a bit of a shifty look about him. I was on edge in an instant, but we were still right outside the front door of the food court and the area was well lit.  He came up to me.  “I heard you’re tailing the serial killer.”
I didn’t think I had ever seen this pony before.  He was a bulky unicorn, his coat a chocolate brown.  I asked, “How did you know that?”
“Sources.”  His smile was not pleasant.  “At any rate, you seem like you could use some help.  I can get that for you.”
My earlier apprehensiveness hadn’t gone away, but now I was more worried about who this pony was than what he intended.  “What kind of help do you mean?”
“There’s a lot of us who are concerned about a serial killer on the loose.”  He had yet to identify himself or show a badge.  My instincts pointed more and more towards shady business. I wouldn’t be surprised if what he was about to propose was part of an organized crime effort.  I supposed that made sense if the killer was targeting criminals like I suspected.
I got to the point.  “What do you want from me?”
He smiled that same infuriating little grin.  “I’d like to invite you to a dinner meeting tomorrow.”
I shook my head brusquely.  “No.  It has to be sooner than that.  I don’t have time.”
He looked surprised and displeased, but at least I had gotten him to stop grinning.  “Well, how about breakfast?  That suit you, princess?”
“That’s better, but don’t ever call me princess again.”  I glared at him.
He seemed a little miffed, but went on.  “Come to the Happy Dragon restaurant tomorrow morning at nine.  It’s down in the Chineighese district.”
“Got it.”  I turned away and Vinyl followed my lead.
As we walked, Vinyl said, “I have a few things to check up on.  Maybe I can uncover something.  Why don’t you go meet with Octavia and I’ll hook up with you again before breakfast?”
Again, I wanted to push Vinyl to tear down the wall between her and Octavia but was too concerned with my own situation.  I nodded consent to the plan and the two of us parted ways.
I hurried on to The Metronome, knowing the club was probably closing.  It was past midnight, after all.  To my relief, I found the door unlocked but the club empty.  Iridium was sweeping up and Octavia appeared shortly after I came in.  “Millie, it’s late.  Did something happen?”
“You might say that.  Vinyl and I went to check out the place with the bench where I first appeared and found a disguised Lunar Guard headquarters.  The batpony that came out to reprimand us slipped me a note.”  I showed it to her.
Octavia’s brow wrinkled as she read it.  “You have three days to solve the case, or you can't go home. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Octavia’s eyes widened in shock and snapped back to me.   “Dear Celestia, Millie!  This sounds serious.  What do you mean he slipped it to you?”
“Exactly what I said.  As near as I can figure, he doesn’t want his bosses knowing that we know.”  I began to feel slightly more accepting of his prior rude behavior.  Apparently he was a decent pony who also felt that what was happening to me was unjust.  I just wished we could get some more help from him.
“So what are you going to do?” asked Octavia.
“Well, exactly what it says.  I have to somehow catch a serial killer within the next three days or I’ll be trapped in Equestria forever.”
I saw Iridium’s normally calm demeanor crack for a rare moment.  I glanced at him.  “I guess I didn’t tell you; I’m from a different planet and was brought here against my will and turned into a mare.”
Octavia nodded in his direction to confirm that it was true.  Iridium took a moment to process that, drawing a deep breath and somehow managing to slip back into his usual manner with a shake of his head.  He went back to sweeping.
“What are your plans from here?” Octavia asked.  She motioned to a table and we sat down.
“Just a few minutes ago a pony came up to me and said he had someone who wanted to help find the serial killer.  I seriously doubt he was with law enforcement.”
Octavia pondered that.  “I know the things that happened when you were in Canterlot and fell in with criminals.  Even if they could provide assistance, I don’t think it would be worth the price.”
I heaved a sigh.  “Yeah, I know.  However, I’m going to need all the help I can get.  I’m getting desperate and really don’t know what else I can do.  They scheduled a breakfast meeting for tomorrow and I’ll go see what they want.”
“They simply... scheduled a breakfast meeting with you?” Octavia asked.
“I insisted on it.  If I’ve only got three days, I can’t wait around for the dinner they originally wanted.”  I blew out a breath in frustration.  I got up from my seat and began to pace.  “I just wish there was something I could do until then.”
“Why don’t you spend the night here?” Octavia suggested. 
“Sleep?  But I-”
Octavia’s voice was soothing.  “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but you just said that there isn’t anything else you can do.  Why don’t we get you some chamomile tea and get you off to bed?”
Iridium appeared just then and set a cup of tea down on the table just like he had been expecting that somepony would need it.  I was once again impressed by his prowess at hosting.  Incredibly polite, a good cook, and appearing no more than mildly surprised that I was actually an alien.
“Thanks,” I murmured, picking up the cup for a sip and beginning to calm down.  Maybe Octavia was right.  It still felt like I was racing in neutral, but if there was nothing I could move forward with until I got more information than sleep was probably the smartest thing I could do.
Iridium nodded politely to Octavia and I before leaving the club for the night.  Octavia locked the front door after him and waited until I was finished with the tea before leading me upstairs to the guest bed I had used before.
“Sleep well, Millie.”  Octavia’s tone suggested that she meant every bit of that statement and more.  I sincerely hoped that worrying about me wouldn’t keep her up.
Still, it was nice to know somepony cared.  Octavia was a little more mature and motherly than Vinyl, but I knew they both were very good friends to me.  I was still torn about their animosity to each other, but thought that was slightly less of an issue now compared to the others I was dealing with.  I had tried to help, and maybe their relationship had thawed a little. At least they knew I cared, right?
I shook my head.  This line of thought was only keeping me awake.  I climbed into bed.



Per Octavia’s wishes, I actually did sleep well, if not actually for very long.  I awoke at about seven, or at least that’s what the clock sitting on the nightstand was telling me.  I could hear Octavia moving around a little and decided that I would wait with her until it was time to go to the restaurant.
She was fiddling with a broken chair when I walked into the main room.  “Good morning, Millie.  I’m just trying to see if this thing is salvageable.  One of our more rotund patrons did this last night.”
I examined the pieces.  It didn’t look like there was actually too much damage.  One of the legs had separated from the seat.  While I was at it, I examined Octavia as well.  Her eyes were rimmed with red and she seemed a little spacy.  I asked “Did you sleep well?”
“Hmm?  No, not really.”
I held back from asking if she had slept at all.  Was she really that worried about me?  About everything going on?  I suddenly felt almost guilty for sleeping.  Still, it was her choice.  
That made me think of Vinyl.  Where had she gone last night?  What did she expect to learn?  I just hoped it was something useful.  I wouldn't want all my friends to be staying up late on my behalf without getting some value from it.
I turned back to the chair.  “I think I can fix this.  Could you get me a hammer and some nails?”
Octavia headed towards the utility closet.  I pulled out my knife and worked on the splinters so the chair leg would go back in its socket.  
While I worked, the door opened and Iridium came in.  The door had no sooner shut behind him than it was pushed open again, this time by a blue mare with large sunglasses and a black dress.  A camera hung around her neck.  Behind her was a grey mare who followed along in the manner of a subordinate.
Completely ignoring Iridium, the photographer looked at me from across the room.  I put down my knife and asked, “Can I help you?”
“Yes.”  She said the word as if throwing it at me.  Her voice carried the trace of an accent, although I couldn’t tell exactly what kind. At any rate, I guessed that she was distinctly foreign.  She came walking over, tilting her head this way and that to look at me from different angles.
“Hmm, exactly the right look.”  She looked at her assistant approvingly.  “You are a good spy.”
That comment, combined with the appearance of the grey pegasus she was speaking to, made me realize that Photo’s assistant must have been the pony who had followed Vinyl and I the night before.  Why, I couldn’t imagine.  I didn’t recognize the mare.  Her charcoal coat was about the same shade as Octavia, and her cutie mark depicted a set of happy-sad theater masks with a stage light shining on them.
“What do you want?” I asked.  “Why were you following me?”
“Your picture will be taken,” the photographer said, beginning to adjust her camera.
I shook my head.  “Why?  Who are you?”
She jerked her head up to stare at me.  “Who am I?  I am-”
“Photo Finish!” cried Octavia as she reentered the room, dropping the tools in surprise.
“Yes.  What that pony said.”  Photo went back to fiddling with her camera.
I glanced at Octavia.  “What’s going on here?”
“I, um...”  Octavia couldn’t seem to find the right words.
“I have ponies on the inside,” Photo said.
A long moment passed awkwardly.  I cleared my throat.  “The inside of what?”
“Fashion!” Photo screeched at me.  “To get ahead, you must be cutthroat!  There must be intelligence gathered!  I knew from reporting on the show that you were here.  Despite the models, you were the pony I needed.”
She went back to her camera as if her outburst hadn’t just confused me further.  Luckily, Octavia seemed to understand.  
Octavia nodded in my direction.  “So Mrs. Finish, you’re saying that you want to take pictures of Millie? And you first found her at Fleur de Lis’ fashion show, despite the fact that she wasn’t a model?”
Photo gave a quick nod.  A huge grin appeared on Octavia’s face.  “I don’t believe this!  This is so unexpected.  A famous photographer, here in my club.  And she wants to-”
“Um, hey,” I broke in.  “I could care less about getting my picture taken and we don’t have time for this anyway.”
Octavia nodded reluctantly.  “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
The door opened for a third time that morning and Vinyl poked her head in.  “Hey Mill-uh... mom?”
Photo turned.  “Ah, my little Scratchy.  Come.”
Ignoring Octavia, Vinyl trotted in and eagerly shared a hug with Photo.  “Sorry I haven’t looked you up while I was in Manehattan, mom.  A lot of stuff has been happening.”
Octavia sputtered, her eyes flickering back and forth between the pair.  “Photo Finish is your mother?”
Vinyl and Photo turned to look at her, both pairs of their sunglasses glinting in the dim light of the club.  Vinyl shrugged.  “Well, yeah.  I guess you didn’t know; it doesn’t come up in conversation very often.”
“Uh, anyway,” I broke in.  “Now that you’re here, Vinyl, we should probably be going to breakfast.”
I stepped back from the broken chair and picked up my knife, folding it and putting it back in its holster.  The grey pegasus who had come in with Photo stared at me as I put it away.  I asked, “Something the matter?”
She shook her head.  “It’s just that I don't see many tools like that in Equestria.”
I stared at the mare with wide eyes, hearing her voice for the first time that morning, yet recognizing it.  “O-oh really?”
She nodded, meeting my eyes with a look of her own.  “In fact, that looks exactly like a knife my husband owns.”
I stuttered a little, barely able to believe what I was hearing and yet hoping to God that it was true.  “Jenna?” 



> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Once our respective identities had been established beyond a doubt, Jenna threw herself at me, laughing, crying, hugging.  I gave back as good as I got, nearly beside myself with emotion.  Octavia, Vinyl, and Photo were all talking at once over us, trying to make sense of things.  Photo didn’t have my side of the story, and Vinyl and Octavia didn’t have Jenna’s.
All of us had momentarily forgotten about the nine o’clock breakfast appointment and the three day warning.  It was probably a good thing when Iridium waded into the mess of us and cleared his throat politely but pointedly.
Vinyl took her mother off to the side and out of earshot, presumably telling her an edited explanation of who I was supposed to be.  I was grateful; we didn’t need any more ponies than necessary in on this.
In the resulting lull after Iridium had broken things up, I asked Jenna, “How did you get here?”
She flushed red.  “Well, I guess the same thing that happened to you happened to me.  All those stories you told me about Equestria...well, I believed that you believed it, but didn’t really think that any of this was possible until I saw it for myself.”
“I can’t blame you.  I still sometimes have a hard time getting my head around it.”  She could have confessed to murder right then and I would have forgiven her instantly.  It was just so overwhelming to see her.
Jenna paused.  “And... why are you a mare?  Should I be making a joke about getting in touch with your feminine side?”
It was my turn to go beet red.  “Remember how I told you that last time I got sucked in because of a magical accident?  Well, this time they did it on purpose.  They think I’m qualified to catch a murderer and they gave me a new identity so I would blend in.”
“They just... grabbed you?  Like kidnapping?”
“That’s the long and short of it.”  I frowned.  “But why you, too?  Have any mysterious ponies talked to you about this?”
She shook her head.  “No.  Until I met you, I thought I was alone here.  Nopony told me differently.”
I sighed, my tone dipping into frustration.  “I knew I should have gone back last night and demanded answers from that Lunar Guard.”
“Lunar Guard?” Jenna asked.  “Those are the ponies who protect Princess Luna, right?  What do they have to do with it?”
“They had something to do with me coming here,” I explained.  “Also, I have three days left to catch the killer I mentioned or I won’t be able to go home.  I don’t know if that also applies to you.”
“Perhaps you can find out by going to your breakfast meeting,” commented Iridium, smoothly breaking into the conversation.  “You should get going if you hope to make it on time.”
“He’s right,” said Octavia.  “We should leave now.”
“Mom, can you stay here for a while?” said Vinyl.  “We have to do some stuff.”
Photo gave a quick up-down nod.  “I stay.”
I turned to Jenna.  “Honey, I’m more excited to see you than I can express, but this is important and I need to go to this meeting.  Let’s walk and talk.” 
The four of us exited the building.  I walked next to Jenna.  Octavia and Vinyl formed up on either side of the group.  In this way, both of them could contribute to the conversation while staying as far apart as possible.  It still irked me that they hadn’t managed to come to terms, but we had more pressing things to take care of.
I briefly introduced both of them to Jenna.  I had previously mentioned the pair to her when telling stories from my previous time in Equestria.  Jenna held back on questions for the moment, sensing the urgency in my voice to continue filling her in on the situation.
“So there’s a serial killer in Manehattan.  The Lunar Guard brought me here because for some unknown reason they think I’m qualified to catch the killer.  We’ve had very few leads so far, except that the killer might have white feathers.”
“I actually have more info, dude,” Vinyl broke in.  “All the victims have been criminals.  Not all of them have been killed with blunt force trauma.  A few have been tossed off buildings or strangled.  Some have been stabbed with their own knives that they were carrying.  One was even smothered with a pillow in his bed.  There have been twenty six confirmed dead.”
That was a higher number than the newspaper had reported.  Then again, I could see the police wanting to keep this as quiet as possible.  Twenty six murders in three months; wow, somepony had been busy.  I made a mental note to ask Vinyl where she had gotten the information.
“Okay, so we’re dealing with a vigilante killer,” I said.  I turned to look seriously at Jenna.  “This meeting were going to seems pretty shady.  They say they want to help, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s because they’re friends of all those dead crooks.”
“Then why are you going?” she blurted out, eyes wide.
“Because they might be able to assist us.  I don’t like it either, but if we’re going to find this killer within three days we’ll need all the help we can get.”
Jenna took a moment to process that.  “Is this so important?  I know murder isn’t a good thing, but this serial killer doesn’t sound like they’re hurting innocent ponies. I don’t know if getting involved with criminals is such a good idea.”
That had been my attitude exactly when I heard about it, but I was reminded that putting the killer behind bars was my ticket home.  I sighed.  “See this belt around my neck?  It’s covering a cut.  I was attacked by some thug a few days ago.  The killer we’re looking for probably saved my life by pulling him off me.  Then he got beaten to death.  I don’t like going after this killer either, but it has to be done.”
“So you met them,” Jenna said slowly.
“Not exactly.  It was dark.  All I know is the catchphrase that was used - Miller the Killer.”
Jenna looked up sharply, remembering the stories that I had told her.  “Wasn’t that-?”
“Yeah.  This serial killer is a copycat, or at least thinks they are.  As near as I can figure, that’s why the Lunar Guard brought me here.  I have a connection to the case.”
“But then why is your wife also here?” Octavia asked.
It was a very good question.  I glanced at Jenna, meeting her eyes.  There was still so much we didn’t know.  I felt a little better, however, now that we were together again.
“Oh, before I forget, I was meaning to ask something,” Jenna said.  “While I was following you on Photo’s behalf, why did you go to that bench?  It’s where I first appeared.”
“Me too,” I said, surprised.  “There’s a Lunar Guard headquarters in the area.  I guess that means it was them that grabbed you, too.”
“I woke up there six days ago.  It was the early morning just as the sun was rising,” Jenna recalled.  “It took me most of that first day just to accept that I was in Equestria.”
While I sympathized, something struck me.  “Wait, sunrise six days ago?  I got here on the same day but a little bit later.”
“You don’t think they grabbed her by mistake and then went back and got you?” suggested Vinyl.
“Would the Lunar Guards really be so amateurish?” questioned Octavia.
I didn’t like to think so, but then from what I had seen so far the Guards weren’t run very well.  And they were using magic that probably hadn’t been thoroughly tested.
Going back to the original point, Jenna asked, “So what do we hope to accomplish with this meeting?”
“We’re going to see what help we can get with catching this killer.  I don’t like working with ponies who are probably criminals, but I think it has to be done.”
Jenna bit her lip, her unease growing.  “Is this safe?  How are you so comfortable with it?”
“I’m not.  I don’t see any other way, though.  Maybe when this is all over we can stab them in the back by calling the cops, but until then we might have to work together.”
“How can you do this?  Once you get involved with the mob it’s nearly impossible to get un-involved.”  Jenna’s voice wasn’t judgemental, merely disbelieving.
I sighed.  “I’m doing whatever I have to.  I can’t help anything else that happened to me, but I can try my hardest to fix it.”
A thick silence blanketed the four of us for a moment.  Seeking to perhaps put Jenna’s mind at ease, Octavia offered, “If it helps, Millie is very capable.”
Jenna glanced at her.  “Well, I knew he was good with his hands but this a little outside his skill set.”
I sighed.  “Yeah, I know I’m out of my league here.  I’ve just been getting by any way I can.  It sucks, but I don’t see any other options.”
“You are pretty good at adapting,” Vinyl put in.  “Even to a new name.”
Jenna smirked.  “I know you went by Miller the last time you were in Equestria.  But Millie?”
Vinyl chuckled.  “That was my idea.”
I grumbled a little.  “Well, surely the ponies didn’t accept your real name.”
“Coincidentally, Photo seemed to prefer calling me Miller, discarding my first name completely.”  Jenna shrugged. “Though I prefer Curtain Call.”
“Where did you come up with that?” I asked, surprised.
Jenna grinned.  “Well, I needed something that sounded plausible.  I couldn’t run around calling myself ‘Jenna Miller’ when everypony has some sort of crazy name.  ‘Fancypants’ or ‘Hayseed Turnip Truck,’ to name a few.  Becoming somepony else is what I do, remember dear?  I not only have a name, but I’ve also come up with a backstory.”
I nodded.  Jenna was an actress, hence the theater masks for her cutie mark.  She probably had a much easier time fitting in here than I did, especially with the preparation I gave her from the stories.  “Well, if we have to bluff, I’ll let you take the lead.”
“I’m sorry,” broke in Octavia.  “Did you say Fancypants?”
“Yes, Photo introduced me to him,” Jenna replied.  Over Octavia’s gasp of admiration, she went back to our conversation.  “How much bluffing do you think will be involved?”
“Hopefully none.  I’m not any good at it.”
Jenna smiled again but it disappeared quickly.  “I still don’t like this.  What do you know about this meeting?”
“It’s at a restaurant called the Happy Dragon.  I don’t know much past that.”
“Do you know who we’re meeting?” asked Vinyl.  “Are they ponies or something else?”
I shrugged.  “Griffons are probably more dangerous.  I guess it could also be dogs.”
“There are some sapient species I don’t think you’ve met,” said Octavia.  “Like cattle.”
Vinyl snorted.  “Yeah, gangster cows.”  She went on in a more serious tone.  “I guess similar to them are the buffalo.  There’s also mules and donkeys.  I can’t really think of any other creatures that are sa-sap...”
“Sapient,” Octavia provided.  “I can think of one more.  Dragons.”
This was all a review for me, although it had been a long time since I had read anything about Equestrian demographics.  “How likely are we to meet a dragon?”
“They aren’t really common, especially not in cities,” Octavia said.
The Happy Dragon restaurant didn’t look like much.  The interior was a little dark, especially compared to the bright sunshine and snow outside.  The brown unicorn I had met the previous night was positioned near the door.  He glanced at me and then looked over my three companions.
Without a word, he motioned us towards the back of the dining area.  I observed that his attitude today was a little less brash, a little more reserved.  Maybe it was the setting.  If we were meeting with his boss then I would expect him to be respectful.
His boss turned out to be a no-kidding dragon.  Even sitting, the scaly creature was taller than any other creature in the room, although I thought he was still pretty small by dragon standards.  Maybe that’s how he could get away with living in a city.  
The dragon didn’t get up as we approached, merely gesturing to the booth across from him.  Vinyl and Octavia hung back, taking up position facing away while Jenna and I sat down.
“So you’re Millie,” said the dragon, his gaze settling on me.  Not that I knew what dragons in Equestria were supposed to look like, but he didn’t look well.  His wings were disproportionately small and seemingly deformed.  The scales on his lizard-like body seemed dull.  His movements were slow and clumsy.  A few scraggly whiskers or whatever the reptilian equivalent was sprouted from his chin.
“That’s me,” I confirmed.  I tilted my head to the side.  “This is my associate, Curtain Call.”
“What do we call you?” asked Jenna, adopting the same cool tone I used.
“The name’s Joe,” he said.  Of all the names he could have given, I think that - so simple and human sounding - probably threw me more than any other.
Jenna, however, jumped in with a comment.  “You’re named after coffee?”
To be fair, that was probably what a real pony would have said.  The dragon gave her a look but did not reply.  He turned back to me.  “So you want me to help you pin down this pony who’s been an uncatchable killer so far?”
Here was where I had to be careful.  My angst at the situation I had been dumped into made me more aggressive than usual.  Hopefully that didn’t cloud my judgement.  Using a passive voice, I replied, “Actually, you want my help.  I’m not the one who has been losing henchponies to this killer.”
Joe’s eyes flattened into slits and his mouth opened just far enough to expose sharp teeth.  “That’s a big assumption to make.”
“Do you want to work together on this or not?  Let’s be clear on something: I want this serial killer caught too, but I’m not your subordinate.  I don’t want money or business from you.  The only thing I’m asking for is respect.”
A puff of grey smoke came out of Joe’s nostrils as he snorted.  “Respect?  Why should I give you that?  I’d never even heard of you until a week ago.”
I nodded.  “Do you wonder why that is?  Have you had any luck trying to find information going further back than that?  I wasn’t born in Equestria.  I don’t own anything here.  There are literally no public records about me.  You only know what I’ve allowed you to.”
I didn’t even need Jenna’s acting skills to deliver that line with conviction.  Not only was it true, but I must admit some satisfaction in saying it.
Joe glowered at me, trying but failing to contain all his anger.  He certainly didn’t want to give me the satisfaction of knowing how much I had just annoyed him.  I doubted he was used to ponies telling him off.  After riling him up, however, I decided that I should probably bring him down again by doing what I came for.
I cleared my throat.  “All right, I’ll tell you what I know.  You tell me what you know.  No matter if you catch this killer first or if I do, we’ll both be happy.”
Before Joe could retort, Jenna and I launched into the evidence that had been amassed so far, spending the next few minutes talking.  Joe actually appeared to calm down a little, occasionally asking a question or two for clarification.  I noticed Jenna begin to subtly shift the conversation in Joe’s direction.  Unfortunately, either he was a good actor, or he didn’t know very much that we hadn’t already learned.
A waiter brought out a plate with a cooked and seasoned bird on it.  I thought that it seemed like a strange breakfast food, but then what did I know about dragons?  Speaking of Joe, he seemed to have lost all interest in talking when the food appeared.
“That’s all you know?” I prodded.  “Nothing helpful?”
He glanced at me.  “Make no mistake, lady.  You might have a fancy secret identity and know a lot of things, but that doesn’t make you better than me.”
To punctuate his point, he ripped the leg off the cooked bird and took a gaping bite, chewing slowly with his sharp teeth while continuing to stare at me.
I thought I had been pretty reasonable in the conversation and didn’t deserve this kind of attitude.  Besides, Joe had used the L word.  
I pulled the other leg off with magic and chomped at it.  My eyes shot open wide.  “Oh my God, this is amazing!”  I pushed the plate towards Jenna.  “Here, try this.  It tastes like duck Peking style.”
She carefully peeled off a wing and licked it before beginning to nibble.  “Wow, you’re right!”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Joe’s lip twitch in astonishment.  Even as a meat-eater himself, two ponies who apparently had no qualms about such food surprised him.  He managed to get his emotions under control, but it was all I could do to keep a grin of satisfaction off my face.  Miller the Killer strikes again.
I dropped the bare leg bone on the plate when I was finished and got up from the booth.  I said to Joe, “I’ll be looking forward to hearing any new information you come across.  We’ll do the same.”
Collecting Vinyl and Octavia, we left the restaurant.  I nearly ran into Gilda on the sidewalk.  All of us seemed surprised.
“What are you doing here?” Gilda demanded.  “Coming out of Little Puffy Joe’s place?  This is a bad part of town!”
Well, with a moniker like that I could see why Joe preferred a shortened version of his name.  But to the point at hand, Gilda didn’t sound like she would tolerate a halfhearted explanation.  Luckily, Vinyl was more than willing to fill her in; on the aspect of catching the killer at least.  Not to be outdone, Octavia took up position on the other side of Gilda as we walked, adding more detail and facts to the explanation.
By the time we had arrived back at The Metronome, Gilda knew that we were trying to stop the local serial killer and the extent of the data we had collected so far.  Vinyl and Octavia both seemed to understand that if Jenna and I wanted Gilda to know about the whole alien thing then we would tell her ourselves.
“This is stupid!” Gilda declared loudly.  “You could get hurt!  Millie already did!”
“But the police haven’t been able to do anything,” I retorted.
She eyed me.  “And just why are you so interested?  Is it because you got hurt?  I mean, I guess I can understand revenge, but...”  Gilda trailed off, searching for another point to make.  She dropped her gaze and rubbed the back of her head.  “Look, I just don’t think this is a good idea.  At least let me help.”
Well, that was a no-brainer.  Having a griffon bodyguard could come in handy, especially now that Joe and his associates were involved.  I gladly accepted.
Octavia held the door for the rest of us.  Stepping into the club, Jenna looked around and muttered, “Well, it looks like the tables have turned.”
“Yeah, my mom likes to reorganize furniture,” agreed Vinyl.
Sure enough, Photo was studying the layout of the room and occasionally making adjustments.  Iridium stood by patiently, gesturing to Octavia that he would put things back when the photographer left.
“What’s going on, Photo?” I asked.
She glanced my way, twirling to face me.  “The room must be correct.  I will need it to take your picture.”
My eyebrows went up.  “Uh...”
Vinyl came up.  “Mom, we’re kind of in the middle of something right now.  Can it wait?”
Photo glanced between the two of us before nodding once.  She turned and trotted out the door.  With as much drama as she had displayed so far, I was almost surprised at the lack of it in her exit.
“Well, it’s been an interesting morning.”  I sighed and sat down in a nearby chair.  
Jenna drifted over and sat down next to me.  “I’m just glad we found each other.”
I felt a little bad about putting an emotional discussion between us on hold earlier, but it seemed that Jenna understood.  It’s not everyday that you meet a dragon mobster.
My hoof rested on the table and she touched it with hers.  She looked up at me.  “So how have things been going for you?”
“I think you’re taking this better than I am.”
Jenna smiled faintly.  “Oh, I’m actually freaking out on the inside, although it helps that you’d prepared me for this place with your stories.”
“What about preparing you for this?”  I gestured to my body.
“Be honest, which is a bigger change: getting transported to a different world and turned into a unicorn, or just swapping genders?”
I sighed.  “I guess when you put it that way, if I can handle being a pony I can handle being a girl.”
She winked.  “I do it every day.”
I looked around to see if anypony else had heard the joke, but the room seemed to be mysteriously abandoned.  I gave silent thanks, especially to Vinyl and Octavia who were probably enduring each other’s company in another room to give Jenna and I some private time.
I scooted a little closer and my hoof moved around to cradle Jenna’s back.  “I’m just glad you’re taking this so well.  I feel kind of emasculated.”
She smiled and stretched a wing around me.  “Back at the restaurant, you were tossing out insults without thinking and messily chowing down on whatever was in front of you.  Sounds pretty manly to me.”
I chuckled and leaned my head until our brows touched.  I was careful to keep my horn out of the way.  “I’m just so happy to see you.  We still need to get home, but I feel a lot better about it knowing that you’re by my side.”
Jenna continued to smile and stretched her wing further, sliding a few feathers around my side as we leaned even closer.  It was then that I discovered that my belly was ticklish.
	
	
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	We had some lunch in the early afternoon.  Iridium seemed to have gotten over any lingering feelings he may have had regarding my status as an extraterrestrial.  The club wasn’t open yet, and since Iridium had more time to work than if a customer was ordering, the feast he laid out for the group was probably the most extravagant meal I had ever seen in Equestria.
Iridium, Vinyl, Octavia, Gilda, Jenna, and I sat around a few tables that had been pushed together.  Despite the fact that we now had just over two days to find the killer, the conversation was kept light and I was happy to find the meal very relaxing.
Honestly, talking business might have been difficult.  With Gilda in the room, we couldn’t cover the finer points of the case, such as the Lunar Guard’s role.  Iridium took the news about Jenna and I pretty well, but he was also the most calm pony I had ever met.
I realized that I didn’t really know Gilda that well.  As a regular at The Metronome, maybe Octavia or Iridium were on more familiar terms.  Still, Gilda was friendly enough and seemed committed to the cause.
That raised another question; why?  Other than maybe protecting us, what stake did Gilda have in this?  For what reason was she so intent on getting the chance to stand up to a serial killer and maybe to Little Puffy Joe and the presumably bad ponies who worked for him?
I glanced to the side, seeing Jenna talking animatedly with Vinyl and Octavia.  Whether it was her intent or not, the pair of musicians were at least tolerating each other for Jenna’s sake.  All three seemed to be swapping stories about whatever they had in common. That pretty much came down to two things: show business and me.  Still, I was happy for them.
Gilda was eating slowly, probably feeling a little left out.  I gave her a tentative smile and said, “Sorry for getting you involved in this.”
She looked up and shrugged good naturedly.  “It’s okay.  You needed the help.”
“I wouldn’t want to take you away from anything.”
Gilda chuckled.  “I work at a gym coaching meatheads every day.  This feels like an adventure.”
“As long as they’re okay with you taking time off.”  I don’t know why I was so worried about it.  My problems were bigger than that.
Gilda seemed to appreciate my concern though.  “It’s okay, really.”
Changing the subject, I asked, “So what do you know about Little Puffy Joe?”
“I’ve heard his name around.  From what I understand, he’s kind of a cripple.  He can’t fly and only puffs smoke.  Still, he’s the only dragon around and influential enough that ponies are willing to work with him, even if it’s only for the money.”
“What do the police have on him?” I asked.
Gilda shrugged.  “I don’t know anything about the police.”  
She glanced down at the end of the table where Octavia, Vinyl, and Jenna were still absorbed in conversation and then looked back at me.  “So who’s Curtain Call?  A friend of yours?”
I smiled.  “My best friend.”
Gilda seemed to relax slightly.  “So tell me why you and all your friends are doing this again - citizens trying to catch a serial killer?”
“It’s... complicated.”  I shook my head.  “I’d rather not talk about it.”
There was a question in Gilda’s eyes and I could tell that she wanted to pry, but restrained herself.  I steered the conversation back to where it was earlier.  “So we were talking about Joe.  Do you know what he does?  Any idea why this killer is going after his associates?”
Gilda put on a thoughtful look.  “Well, somepony killing criminals sounds like a vigilante, not a serial killer.”
I paused.  “How did you know criminals were dying?”
Gilda chuckled.  “Well, who else would Joe associate with?  I’m right, aren’t I?”
I nodded.  My question hadn’t been of suspicion, only mild surprise that she had guessed.  “That angle hasn’t appeared in the newspaper.”
“Could be a lot of reasons for that,” Gilda speculated.  “Maybe the police haven’t told the reporters about that kind of connection.  Maybe they don’t want to move the population to actually support this kind of thing.  If this vigilante gets famous, who knows what could happen.”
“Miller the Killer,” I muttered.
“Huh?”  Gilda glanced at me.  “Where’d you hear that?”
“Canterlot.  That happened a few months ago; somepony took down a drug ring.”
“I think I remember something about that.”  Gilda shrugged.
I couldn’t resist a little self-indulgence.  “The police never caught him.”
“Well, I hope we do better than that,” Gilda said.
Iridium appeared at my shoulder, interrupting my line of thought.  He had been alternating between tending to the rest of us and eating his own meal.  “Somepony’s at the door and wants to speak to you, Millie.”
“Who?”
“It’s a Lunar Guard.”
I got up.  Gilda gave me an inquiring look, but remained in her seat.  I moved around the table, stepping around my giggling wife who was becoming fast friends with Vinyl and Octavia.
Pushing open the door, I stepped outside.  Sure enough, the batpony was there waiting for me.  I hoped this wasn’t too important so I could go back in and get out of the cold as soon as possible.
There was something off about him today.  He didn’t look like an ass.  In fact, was that some kind of shame or nervousness I spotted on his face.  Rather than immediately tearing into him about the three days - well, now two - I had left, I warily asked, “What is it?”
“I need to come clean with you.”  He paused and looked away for a moment.  “I really shouldn’t be here telling you this, so I’ll make it quick.”
He heaved a sigh as if preparing himself.  “The project is going to be shut down in two days.  The only way you can stop that is by getting results; catching the killer.”
“What project?”
“When you first came to Canterlot months ago it was a mistake, right?  Since then, the magic was refined and this time it was on purpose, a spell specifically targeted for you.”
I broke in.  “What about my wife?”
“I’ll get to that.”  He gave me a look and went back to his story.  “This is a very secret and experimental project that very few ponies in Equestria know about.”
“A project to kidnap me,” I broke in again.
Surprisingly, I still hadn’t managed to antagonize the Guard.  He nodded.  “It was decided that your results in Canterlot might be applied to Manehattan in order to catch this serial killer.”
“What happened in Canterlot was an accident.  I was just a regular guy trying to go through life and then this happened.  I’m not some sort of super universe-hoping badass justice-spreader.”
The stallion considered his next statement for a moment.  “I realize that.  Not only isn’t this part of your skill set, but it was wrong to bring you here without your consent.”
“You’re damn right it was!”
The Lunar Guard took half a step back and held up a hoof.  “Look, don’t kill the messenger.  I’m only telling you all this because I agree with you.  Maybe the project had the idea that we would only bring in some sort of automaton, not a honest-to-Luna sapient creature.  If any of this gets out - the fact that we inadvertently made contact with another world and then experimented on it - the uproar would be huge.  That’s part of why the project is being shut down.”
I bit my lip, thinking hard.  “And what if I succeed in bringing down this killer?  Does that make the project a success?  Will it continue?  With me or anyone else from my world?”
“I...”  He shook his head.  “I don’t know.  I’d like to think not.  It isn’t very accurate, as evidenced by the inadvertent transfer of your wife.  It also causes memory loss.”
“I noticed,” I said dryly.  “So if it’s a bad project, why don’t you just send us home now and forget about it.”
The Guard hesitated.  “There’s been talk about a fire sale - everything must go.  If you can’t at least get some return, I’m afraid they might just bury any evidence that you existed.”
That wouldn’t be hard.  I had no ID or records.  The problem was, I couldn’t tell if that meant the government would just ignore me or hunt me down.  I was suddenly too afraid to ask.
“Now you know the stakes.”  The Guard sighed deeply, as if releasing a heavy load.  He started to turn, as if wanting to get as far away from this as possible.
“Hey wait,” I called.  “You’re with the Lunar Guard.  Does that mean Luna is involved?”
He stopped.  “I’ve never heard her say anything about it.  Truthfully, I don’t know if she’s aware.  She doesn’t sign off on every project.  There are a lot of other ponies in high places in the government who would take a hit if this came out.”
“What if I went to the press with this?” I asked.  “They can’t just sweep me under the rug and pretend that this didn’t happen.”
“The reporters would think you’re crazy,” he advised.  “Even if they ran the story just imagine what would happen.  The whole planet would be different with the knowledge that we can reach into other universes by using spells.  What could happen if that magic fell into the wrong hooves?  Furthermore, just what kind of ramifications would that have for your world?”
“Well, what do you want me to do?” I demanded, my voice rising again.  “Does an easy choice even exist?  Who am I supposed to complain to if it isn’t your fault?  Where is your boss?  Who’s leading the project?”
The Guard looked away.  “I... I can’t give you that.  I’m sorry.  What happened to you is wrong, but you’re one pony.  I have the rest of Equestria to think about.”
He turned again, spreading his wings.  I started after him.  “Wait!  You can’t tell me this and then just leave!  How am I supposed to catch this killer?”
Ignoring me, he took off.  “Come back!  HELP ME!”
I kept screaming at the stallion until was out of sight, but he never looked back.


> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The batpony had left me alone after dropping a bombshell of a threat.  Either I caught the killer, or I wasn’t going home.  Or worse...
I was still standing there glaring at the sky when Ice came down from the clouds and landed next to me.  I glanced at him, my anger at the Lunar Guard bleeding away to irritability.  It wasn’t directed at Ice, but that didn’t mean he didn’t deserve any.
“I heard you shouting about something.”  He looked concerned, although it took a moment for me to realize that it was just professional interest.  Ice was the kind of guy who was almost too good at his job - by the book or die.
Rather than telling him what I was angry about, I immediately pressed on our little trust issue.  “Do you have anything to tell me regarding the killer?”
Ice glanced around.  “You and I should talk.  Privately.”
That didn’t answer my question, but sure sounded like progress.  I turned back towards the door and it opened before I got there.  Jenna stood in the doorway looking worried.  “What happened?  Are you okay?”
“Fine, just got some bad news.”  I tossed my head at Ice. “This is Ice.  He’s with...”  I raised an eyebrow.
“Equestria National Police,” he supplied, “Manehattan office.”
“And this is my wife,” I introduced him.  “Oh, speaking of that, I have a second kidnapping to report.  The Lunar Guard grabbed her, too.  Please tell me you’re finally going to do something about it.”
It took Ice a few seconds to process that.  No doubt he was also considering the awkwardness of a heterosexual couple becoming something else.  He nodded, though.  “Let’s go inside.”
Everyone inside the club turned to look as we entered with Ice in tow.  He swept his eyes over the group, settling for a moment on Gilda.  The look he gave her was somewhat suspicious, but also not completely unfamiliar.
“Have a seat,” I invited.
Ice glanced around.  “I said that I needed to talk to you alone.”
“We can give you some space,” said Octavia, speaking for the group.  She and Iridium got up and headed for another room.  Vinyl and Gilda both hesitated for a moment before following suit.  All of them looked curious at Ice’s presence and some carried varying degrees of suspicion.
Ice glanced at Jenna, who hadn’t left.  He opened his mouth, but I was ready with a statement.  “Anything you can say to me, you can say to her.”
It looked like Ice was still having a hard time believing my story about being an alien. In addition, now he had two of us to worry about.  Still, he pulled out a chair and settled into it. Jenna and I took seats across from him.
“I came to talk about your supposed kidnapping,” he said.  “I’d like to know more about who was responsible.”
“We need to know more about the information the police have on the serial killer so an arrest can be made,” I argued.
“I’m not giving you anything from those files,” Ice said.  “I’m not here to talk about that at all.”  
“But... how are the two not related?” I demanded.
“You reported a kidnapping and I’m here to investigate.  After all, it is my job to enforce the law.”
I stared, at a loss for words.  This was lawful neutral taken to extremes.  He wanted to help me but only because I was here against my will, while still refusing to allow someone outside his department to see confidential information.
I was already taking a breath to scream at him, but Jenna touched my shoulder, effectively tag-teaming her way into the conversation.  “Detective, perhaps you don’t understand the gravity of the situation.”
Ice considered her carefully for a moment.  He didn’t know nearly as much about her as he did about me, and it was clear that former humans were on his regard-with-suspicion list.  Ice said, “Please explain.”
“I’ve just arrived here from Canterlot after collecting records related to the case,” she lied smoothly.  “That’s why until now Millie wasn’t aware that I was here.  I’ll admit, this situation has been challenging for us both, but we have managed to make some progress.”
Her lines were delivered as if she had thoroughly rehearsed them, probably because there was at least some truth blended in.
“Why were you in Canterlot?  What records?” Ice asked.  I’ll admit, I was curious myself.
“I got a job working as a private investigator for Parliament's Spending Oversight Committee,” said Jenna.  “A few legislators want to know that the Lunar Guard is taking care of federal funds as they should.  Since I reunited with my, er, husband,” she said pausing to glance at me. “I believe that his case is exactly the kind of irresponsible project the government leadership needs to know about.”
“That sounds ridiculous,” Ice spat.
Jenna let out a little gasp and actual tears came to her eyes.  “Look, I know this is hard to believe, but do you think I could just make this up on the spot?  I know how ridiculous this sounds, believe me, I’m living it! But, I’m trying to simplify it as much as possible.  Unfortunately with what I’ve learned, everything only gets more complicated.”
Ice studied her critically for a few seconds.  It looked like he was trying to decide if sticking around would be worth his time.  As a supportive spouse, I decided that I needed to do something.
I cleared my throat.  “Ice, I know you and I haven’t gotten along very well.  I’ll admit that I’m kind of practical and straightforward, and our personalities clash.  The reason I tried introducing you to my wife today was because she’s much better at face to face interaction.  She’s a people person...er, I mean, a ponies pony.  I really want to cooperate with you, Ice, and I’m trying to make it work.  Please, just hear us out?”
I am not a very good liar.  Fortunately, my statement had contained even more truth than Jenna’s.  Ice regarded me critically for a moment, but eventually nodded.  “All right.  I’ll give you a chance.  On one condition.”
He placed a small snowglobe-looking thing on the table.  The inside of the glass was frosted completely white.
“It’s a truth-teller,” Ice explained.  “I believe you’ve seen one before.”
I nodded.  I almost said, “I have nothing to hide,” but quickly closed my mouth.
Jenna seemed interested.  I glanced at her and explained, “It’s a magic lie detector.  I’ve seen them before.”
She nodded, frowning almost imperceptibly.  This was going to be difficult.
Ice nodded to her.  “If you’re a private investigator, what kind of cutie mark is that?”
Jenna glanced down at her hip.  “I have a talent for drama.  It helps me know how to act in many situations.  Sometimes that helps me persuade information from ponies.”
The truth-teller did not indicate a lie.
“Tell me about the records you mentioned earlier,” Ice said.
“I know what happened in Canterlot, and that gives me a better idea of the killer’s actions here in Manehattan,” she explained.  While Jenna didn’t get that information from any paper records, her statement was still true.
“Were you a private investigator back... where ever you’re from?”  There was still skepticism in Ice’s voice. 
“I try to do my best with what I have, no matter where I am.”  Jenna smiled demurely, revealing nothing more.
Ice thought for a moment, his brows furrowing deeply.  I was concerned that he had figured out that Jenna wasn’t answering his questions directly.  Sure enough, he tried to ask something more complicated.  “What made you go into your line of work?  To catch a killer?”
Jenna paused to collect her thoughts.  With a tiny grin, she said, “I will travel across the land, searching far and wide.  I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.  To catch them is my real test.  To-”
She bit down on the last part, putting on a confident smile instead.  I gave her a hoof bump under the table.  God, I love her.
Looking back and forth between us, Ice appeared to understand that he was being played with, mostly because I could barely keep a straight face.  Ice snorted.  “I’m trying to help you here and catch whoever it was that took you from your home.”
“You aren’t doing a very good job of it,” I retorted.
All three of us looked at the truth-teller.  It remained passively white.
Ice reached for the device and covered it with a hoof as his face went red.  He sighed.  “It’s a fake one.  I wasn’t issued a real lie detector because I’m still a junior agent in Manehattan.”
“Well, I’d fault you for the dirty trick but at least you’re honest about it,” I muttered.
“But why are you here?” Jenna asked him.  “It’s pretty clear that you don’t trust either of us enough to actually work together despite what you said earlier.  Maybe you yourself are the killer and trying to get close to us.”
I saw Ice scoop the glass bauble off the table.  It still hadn’t indicated a lie, although a sudden shot of anxiety went through me as I realized that we had nothing other than Ice’s word that it was non-functional.
Ice got up from the table, giving both of us a very unpleasant look.  Without another glance he hurriedly showed himself from the club, leaving me and Jenna alone. 
Jenna and I looked at each other.  Despite her skill in acting, she looked worried.  “That didn’t go well.”
I nodded.  “Honestly, I don’t know what he was hoping to accomplish by meeting with us.”
“Didn’t he say?  About catching whoever brought us here?”
I shrugged.  “Maybe.  Ice does love his rules and regulations.  Having said that, though, he isn’t afraid to bend them a little.”
“And if he actually is the killer?” Jenna asked.
I considered it, but didn’t want to believe.  Ice was an unlikeable pony, but I didn’t think he would do something like that. It felt so out of character for a pony like Ice.  Worse, “I’m more concerned if he isn’t the killer.  That means we know just as little as before and might be accusing a cop of a fake crime.”
Jenna stared at the table for a moment before glancing up at me.  “So, what if we can’t figure this out? What if we’re stuck here?” Her voice was hushed, and packed with tension.
I didn’t answer immediately.  I hadn’t put much thought into that scenario because I hadn’t yet been willing to consider it.  I swallowed hard.  “I guess we’ll have to make the best of it.”
Jenna leaned sideways, resting her head on my shoulder.  I put my front leg around her wings, gently adjusting a few feathers that weren’t straight.  As a former pegasus, I had some experience with the importance of good preening.
I paused a moment in thought.  When we returned home to Earth, I would be even more in tune with my wife’s wants and needs.  When I got back to my old self, then I would technically be a former female.
God, how weird things had gotten.  Jenna looked at me with concern, feeling me start to tense with anger.  I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, letting myself relax.  As long as I had her, at least things weren’t as bad as before.  I didn’t want to consider what would happen if we failed to catch the killer, but at least we would be together.
I managed to smile for her.  We were both quadrupedal, under pressure to catch a serial killer, and a long way from home.  But we were together.  And honestly, I couldn’t think of anyone I would rather have by my side.
“I really like the way you handled Ice,” I said.  “That Pokémon reference was golden.”
She grinned.  “I’m glad you liked it.”
“The tears were a nice touch, too.”
Jenna chuckled.  “These huge pony eyes are really easy to manipulate for effect, as we say in the business.  You know, I could give you a few lessons on acting if you want to be more involved in the discussions.  Maybe we should continue with this private investigator schtick.”
“I’m okay with that.”  I pulled her closer.  “I feel a lot better now that you’re here.”
There was an amused twinkle in Jenna’s eyes.  “We make a good team.”



> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was late in the day and we hadn’t made much progress towards figuring things out.  We’d been at the club for quite awhile, trying to come up with ways to solve the case. During the long hours, I once thought I saw a few snowflakes falling outside the window.  Despite my earlier positive attitude, harsh reality was beginning to take its toll.  The six of us brainstormed around one of The Metronome’s tables until the evening came and it was time for the club to open.
Iridium and Octavia went about to perform their duties.  Vinyl, Gilda, Jenna, and I stayed put for a while longer, but didn’t seem to be making much headway.
We had a few plans, but mostly that involved going back to talk to Little Puffy Joe or his lackeys. Ice had shown that he wouldn’t provide direct help, and other than small sympathy the lunar guard I kept encountering was little use.
Ultimately, there were only a few options open to us.  We could proceed with questioning and gathering information.  Alternately, we could go to the press with what little evidence we had and try to expose the operation, banking on public outcry to get what we wanted.
The first was the equivalent of banging our heads against a wall. We’d already shown that it had little effect and caused headaches.  The second plan meant exposing the public to the idea that the government had contacted other worlds and hoping that everypony would believe the limited amount of proof we had.  Neither of them sounded very hopeful.
It was still awkward with Gilda not being up to speed on the whole story.  By the end of the night, I’m sure she was suspicious.  It’s hard to have a conversation and keep self-censoring yourself on half the topics.
I was despondent that we hadn’t made any progress by the time the club closed for the night.  At the same time, I was looking forward to getting some rest.  Maybe an idea would come to me.  However, the thought of losing precious time to sleep set me on edge again.
“You’ll think better if you're rested,” Jenna prodded.  I noticed she was gently herding me towards the stairs.  I don’t know if she noticed, however, or if it was just an effect of her being just a little taller than me for once and exerting her subconscious will.
Regardless, I took the hint and went up to the bed Octavia had lent us for the night.  It was large enough for two, and Jenna snuggled close to me under the covers.  Cold night that it was, I found the shared body heat very comfortable.  It wasn't easy to sleep, but now that I was in bed I couldn't just keep worrying.  Hopefully I wouldn't dream too much.  I couldn't imagine what sort of bad things my mind would come up with in the state I was currently in.



Equestria must have some kind of dream police or something because I slept far better than I expected to.  Something nagged at me as I awoke, a half remembered thought or something, but a few seconds passed and it slipped away.
I didn’t know what had awakened me.  The light coming through the thin curtains was still dim.  Jenna continued to sleep, her mane a little tousled and wings spread out under the covers.  One was on top of me, and I gently ran a hoof along the leading edge.  Reflexively, the primary feathers spread like a fan at my touch.
“Mmm, good morning,” Jenna purred, now awake.  She brushed aside some mane and smiled at me.
“Did you sleep well?” I asked.
“Excellent, since it was next to you.”  She grinned wider, apparently recognizing the sappy romantic angle.
I chuckled and rolled slightly to my side, a little closer to her.  I felt feathers creep down my back as she folded her wing around me.
“I know yesterday I said how much I missed you, but I don’t think words really do it justice,” Jenna observed.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
She moved her head forward slightly and planted a kiss on my lips.  The kiss was a mild surprise, but not an unwelcome one.  I was happy to be so close and intimate with my wife again.  Honestly, the most unnatural thing about it was how far our faces were apart.  Kissing when you have a muzzle to get in the way is weird.
Her hoof touched my cheek gently, sliding down my neck while carefully avoiding my knife scar.  She moved to my chest, sliding lower.
There was a knock on the door.  I heard Iridium’s voice.  “Good morning.  I hate to trouble the two of you, but we have a bit of a situation downstairs.”
Thank God he’s so polite to knock first.  Iridium went up several points in my book, just for that.  I reluctantly took my lips from Jenna’s, turning my head to talk to the closed door.  “What is it?”
“Ms. de Lis has arrived and she has some very bad news.”
Jenna gave me a quick peck on the lips.  “We’d probably better go see what this is about.”
I agreed, but I didn’t have to like getting out of bed.  The two of us opened the door to find Iridium standing there.  He looked preoccupied, perhaps with what was going on, and led us downstairs to see for ourselves.
Octavia and Fleur were facing off in the middle of the floor.  I say it was a faceoff because neither looked pleased to be talking to the other.  Also, they were practically shouting.
“What have you been doing behind my back?” Fleur demanded.
“There’s nothing in our contract that says I have to tell you about everything.”  Octavia’s voice was harsher than I had ever heard it.
“What was Photo Finish doing here?” asked Fleur.  Octavia’s eyebrows went up and Fleur chuckled.  “Oh yes, I have a few spies of my own.  She thought she could just sneak in and I would never notice.”
“Photo Finish was visiting her daughter,” Jenna put in.  “You know, Vinyl Scratch, the DJ?  She’s friends with Octavia.”
I thought I detected a slight expression from Octavia that indicated that friends was pushing it, but she looked grateful for the support.
“Then why has the furniture been rearranged?” Fleur glanced around the room.  “Some of it cleared away for sight lines, some organized to appear casual but still easy to access...Photo Finish wants to take pictures here, doesn’t she?”
“She wanted to, but she hasn’t,” Octavia told Fleur.
“And see that she doesn’t,” Fleur spat.
Octavia gritted her teeth, and I could see that she’d found some resolve deep inside her to take no more of Fleur’s attitude.  “You can’t give me orders.  I’m the majority shareholder of The Metronome.”
That gave Fleur pause for a moment, but then she put on a nasty smile.  “You know, I bought forty percent because you couldn’t afford it.  I could afford the whole thing if you’d sell.”
“I won’t.”  Octavia glared at her.
Fleur shrugged, her sudden shift to a causal manner putting me on edge.  “You say that now, but unusual circumstances might happen.  For instance, fines and complications that might come up if the city found out that you were living upstairs, in a building that is legally designated as a place of business.”
If that wasn’t a threat, it at least sounded like one.  Fleur seemed to think that was the last word and prepared to leave.  While her eyes still locked with Octavia and she was turning to go, the front door of the club started to open.
Fleur walked face-first into Gilda, who was just coming in.  She stumbled slightly, as if running into the fit griffon was like bumping into a brick wall.
“Watch it,” Gilda growled.
Fleur wasn’t about to show her intimidation in front of the rest of us, but quickly scooted out the door.  Vinyl came in, glancing over her shoulder at the departing Fleur.  “Did we miss something?”
“Just Fleur being unpleasant,” Octavia said.
Gilda shrugged.  “Anyway, we’re here now.  How do we want to continue this investigation?”
“Hold up a moment,” I said.  “Since when are the two of you hanging out together?”
“Gilda showed up this morning.  Apparently the hotel is on the way to her place.  Anyway, she wanted to talk and I didn’t see any problem with that.”  Vinyl tilted her head.  “Information sharing and all that.  We’re working together, after all.”
That did make sense.  I cleared my throat.  “Alright, I guess we need to decide how we’re going to go about today’s schedule: who we need to talk to, what we need to do.”
“I actually have plans for that,” said Gilda.  “I was thinking about some places that need to be checked out.”
Her attitude so far made her a natural leader.  I felt a little miffed that I, the one who was trying hardest to send myself and my wife home, was not in charge, but quickly acquiesced.  This was about results, not about figurative genital measurements.
Gilda laid out her plan.  “Vinyl and Octavia, you should go to the city coroner.  Do what you have to in order to obtain medical records on all the deceased.  Iridum, you should stay here to handle any problems that come up.  Millie and Curtain Call, come with me.  We’ll meet back for lunch and discuss what we’ve found.”
I could already tell that Vinyl and Octavia weren’t pleased with this plan.  Gilda’s tone and seeming experience kept arguments from breaking out, however.  She put on her gloves and headed for the door.  Jenna and I hurried to catch up.
Gilda set a quick pace for the first few blocks, her breath trailing behind her in the cold air.  Looking at Jenna and seeing the confusion on her face reminded me that I, too, had no idea where we were going.
Pausing for a moment, Gilda looked around and said, “Let’s go up there.”  She nodded to the roof of a nearby building.
I opened my mouth to remind about my lack of flying ability, but Gilda simply grabbed me by the forelegs and beat her wings hard, hauling me into the sky.  I flailed slightly in surprise before deciding that it might actually be a worse idea.  I did not want to be dropped.  Jenna was quick to zoom after us.
After the initial surprise, I found myself set down gently on the building’s flat roof.  It was breezy up here, and the snow hadn’t been removed like the sidewalks below.
“What’s so important about being up here?” I huffed.
Jenna landed softly beside me.  Gilda glanced between the two of us and a businesslike look settled onto her face.  “Before we go any farther with this investigation, the three of us need to have a talk.”
I asked the obvious question.  “About what?”
“From what I’ve picked up, little pieces of conversation and a few questions I asked your friends, the two of you are hiding something.”  Gilda’s tone was level, as if building up to a point.  “I dug into your backgrounds and came up with a big blank.  Your identities don’t exist.”
“Just what do our names have to do with the problem of tracking down a serial killer?” I asked.
“Has it ever occurred to you that we have a very good reason for not using our real names?” added Jenna.  “Maybe we don’t want certain ponies to know why we’re investigating?”
“Yeah, it has.”  Gilda stared at us.  “I also checked you out through some sources.  You aren’t undercover.  You don’t have any kind of clearance.  No PI license, either.”
I snorted.  “And just who are you to have that kind of access?”
Gilda glowered at us, ignoring my question.  “I think it’s more important that you tell me who you really are.”
Jenna and I traded glances.  Back home, we didn’t quite finish each other’s sentences, but were still pretty in tune mentally.  I gave her a questioning look.  She nodded.
I turned back to Gilda.  “All right, normally I’d ask to see a badge, but you’re exactly the same kind of ass that every other law enforcement representative in this city seems to be, so I guess you check out.”
Gilda gave me an ugly look but said nothing.  I sighed and began my story.
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, my wife and I lived together.  We were happy.  Then, Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns had a magic accident and I was transported to Equestria, Canterlot to be specific.  That was three months ago.  The sacking of the top drug barons in the city was my doing.”
Gilda’s eyes popped wide open, looking astonished and off balance.  Good.  I went on.  “After that, I was sent home, however the Lunar Guard saw what had happened and decided that I was the perfect candidate to solve their little serial killer problem here in Manehattan.  This time, it wasn’t an accident that brought me here, it was a straight up kidnapping. They put me in the body of a mare so nopony would recognize me.  Also, they brought my wife along by mistake.”
I paused long enough to gesture at Jenna.  “Anyway, due to political and ethical pressure, I’ve been informed that if I don’t catch this killer very soon, the Lunar Guard is going to cover up our existence and strand us here.  We aren’t supposed to be ponies, and we aren’t supposed to be in Equestria.  Now do you understand why your background checks didn’t work?”
“Wha...how...”  Gilda babbled a little, her eyes wide as she tried to process my little speech.  “Did you say you were in Canterlot?”
“That’s right.”  I nodded curtly.  I had her shaken up and needed to press this advantage while I could.  While I didn’t like talking about what happened in Canterlot to earn me my unfortunate reputation, this was not the time to hold anything back.
I took a breath and forged ahead.  All or nothing.  “My name is James Miller.  Maybe you’ve heard of me.  I’m Miller the Killer.”
Gilda jerked in shock, looking like she’d been punched in the gut.
“Now,” I said, taking a step forward to get in her face.  “Who the buck are you?”



> Chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I tried not to show how cold I was, standing in the snow atop the building.  The wind was stronger up here.  Gilda stared at me, caution and still some astonishment on her face after I had told her who I was.  She glanced at Jenna.  “So both of you aren’t from this planet?”
“That’s correct.”  I nodded.  “We need to catch this killer so the Lunar Guard will hold up their end of the bargain and send us back.  It’s a terrific injustice that they did this to us to begin with, but right now I would settle for just putting this behind me.”
Gilda shook her head.  “And why should I believe you?  That you’re actually the infamous Miller?  This sounds insane.”
I stared at her.  “Ask me a question about what happened in Canterlot.”
She studied me for a long moment and then shook her head.  “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m really not able to come up with a better explanation for this than you being an alien.”
“I thought you were with law enforcement?” Jenna asked.  “Isn’t getting proof kind of your job?”
Gilda glanced at her.  “I’m with the Manehattan Police, Homicide Department.  And yeah, facts are what I’m looking for.  But I already said that I couldn’t find anything on you two.  It’s like you, uh, just appeared out of thin air.”
“So now you know.”  I glanced away for a moment and scuffed a hoof in the snow.  “So what are you going to do about it?  Detective Ice, Equestrian National Police, only wanted to catch those responsible for kidnapping us.”
Gilda snorted.  “Oh, him.  If I wasn’t a professional, I could tell some stories about Ice.  He didn’t leave the Canterlot police force on a good note.”
Her tone changed.  “While I’m sympathetic to you being kidnapped, I think taking down a murderer is more important.  However, it sounds like that’ll help you, too.”
“Just checking,” I said, “But are you sure you’re a cop?  I can hardly believe talking to you has been so easy.”
“I do things my way when I’m out of the office.”  Gilda chuckled.  “All right, now that we’re on even terms, I think I can get my mind back on the murders.  No offense, but like I said earlier, that’s more important.  Let’s get back to business.  Where do you want to start?”
I thought about it for a minute.  “We still have no solid leads on who the killer might be.  Ice might have more evidence that he isn’t telling us.  Does your department have anything useful?”
Gilda frowned.  “Such a high profile series of murders has attracted national attention.  The feds have been slowly taking over this case.  Maybe that’s why they brought you in.  To answer your question, I personally don’t know much that you haven’t already figured out on your own.  I’m just the griffon on point, doing what I can.  The higher ups might be better informed, although I doubt it.”
I sighed.  “And we’re back to where we were before.  No info.”
Gilda studied my wife and I for a moment.  “I suppose I can suggest a few places to start looking.  I shouldn’t kid you, though.  It’s probably going to be dangerous.”
“Millie has already been attacked once,” said Jenna.  “That didn’t slow either of us down.  If anything, I think it made it more apparent that we’re willing to do whatever needs to be done.”
I nodded.  Couldn’t have said it better myself.
“All right, then,” said Gilda.  “My biggest lead so far has been Little Puffy Joe.  That’s why I met you outside The Happy Dragon.”
“What do you mean biggest lead?” I asked.  “Surely he’s not killing his own crew?”
“No, but I think he knows more than he told you.”  Gilda thought for a moment.  “For instance, how did that brown unicorn stallion that works for Joe know who you were and where to find you so he could ask you to meet at the restaurant?”
That was a good point.  I thought for a moment.  “Speaking of the ‘how did they know’ category, were you the one who told Octavia that I was in the hospital?  Vinyl missed me when I didn’t show up to her concert, but I was wondering how Octavia found me so quickly.”
Gilda nodded.  “Yeah.  I knew she was your friend.  When I saw her at the club, telling her that you were hurt may have risked my cover a little, but it just seemed right.”
“Thanks.”  I gave Gilda an appraising look.  “So going back to Joe, where do you want to start?”
“If we monitor some of his associates, maybe we can catch the killer in the act,” she mused.  “Even just catching somepony else also doing monitoring would raise some suspicions.”
“That still leaves a lot to chance,” commented Jenna.  “We’re running out of time.”
Gilda sighed.  “I know.  I think we may have to force something.  And the one who knows the most is Joe himself.”
Abducting and interrogating Joe was not something I wanted to do.  Not only did it not fit with the good-guy image that I was trying to cultivate, but he was a freaking dragon who was surrounded with henchponies who probably would not hesitate to get violent.
But wait a minute, if Gilda was a cop, then could she really do something like that?  Suddenly, I saw the downside of being on the right side of the law. There were lines to cross everywhere and tripping over one would be too easy.  The problem was once you crossed a line where do you stop?  Huh, so this is what Ice obsessed about all the time.  Was that sympathy I was feeling?  No, couldn’t be; he was still a jerk.
“Tell you what,” said Gilda.  “I know a place where you can set up some surveillance.  Joe has a warehouse that some of his illicit activity is connected to.  Across the street, I know of an abandoned apartment.  You can set up there and watch who comes and goes.  It’s a bad part of town, but I’m sure you both can handle yourselves.”
While the plan didn’t promise direct results, it was still more than we had been doing previously.  Gilda gave us directions to the place.  Like Joe’s restaurant, it was in the Chineighese district.
“I’m going to go work some angles of my own,” she said.  “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Gilda spread her wings and took off.  I paused for a moment.  “Hey, she forgot me.  How am I supposed to get down from here?”
“I remember what you told me about pegasus weight manipulation,” Jenna replied.  “I think I can get you back to terra firma.”
I would say that Jenna hooked her fetlocks in my armpits to carry me, but since I didn’t have arms I don’t really know how to say it.  Legpits?  Whatever.  Having front legs instead of arms makes phrasing weird.  Anyway, she was able to carry me back to the ground without much trouble.  I was a little concerned that she would be unstable, but she seemed to have no problems.  After all, I was a little smaller than her.
The two of us set off towards our surveillance outpost.  Before leaving The Metronome that morning, we had all agreed to meet back for lunch.  I figured that gave us a few hours to spend watching Joe’s warehouse.
While Jenna and I were both eager to get to work, we hadn’t had breakfast.  We stopped by a bagel shop and picked up some to go.  She was the only one of us who had the money to pay. 
God, my chauvinistic ways were really taking a hit today.  I suppose it made me appreciate a little more how much Jenna and I depended on each other.  I knew what I could do alone, but we worked better together.
We were just passing by a coffee shop when Ice came out, blowing on a steaming travel mug.  He saw the two of us and pointedly turned his head to look down the street in the direction we were heading, which was towards the Chineighese district.  He did not seem to be surprised.
Turning his eyes back to Jenna and I, Ice edged into our path.  I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to him, but obediently stopped to see what he had to say.
“Where are you headed?” he asked.
“We’re walking,” Jenna replied.  “That’s not a crime right? This is a free country, yes?”
“They say so,” I told her.  “The government regulations supposedly agree.  It isn’t quite like home, though.”
“‘Murica,” she said, throwing in an accent.  I had a hard time keeping a straight face as I looked back at Ice.
“Are you going to see what you can gain from Little Puffy Joe?” Ice asked.
“And how did you know that?” I blurted out.  Nuts.  I really needed to have better control.
“I am a federal agent,” Ice retorted.
“A junior one who they won’t issue a real lie detector,” Jenna shot back.
While I appreciated her sticking up for me, I decided that maybe we should disengage from the conversation as quickly as possible and continue on with our task.  “Look, just leave us alone, Ice.  Not that you’re worried about us, but we have a Manehattan police officer helping out now.”
We started to walk past.  Ice asked, “Who is it?”
If Gilda was undercover, then telling anypony would be a breach of her faith in Jenna and I.  Also, I didn’t trust Ice.  Plus, I felt like giving him one parting shot by telling him no.
I glanced over my shoulder.  “Nopony you know.”
“Gilda must have told you she was a cop.”  I froze at Ice’s statement and slowly turned my head back.  I am a really bad actor.
Ice cocked an eyebrow.  “She did, didn’t she?  Cute.”
“Just what is that supposed to mean?” I demanded.
“It means that you have even fewer friends than you thought.”  Ice sipped his coffee and then took off into the sky.  I glanced at Jenna.  I guessed that her face probably showed about as much worry as mine.
“What do you think he meant by that?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, probably just what he said,” Jenna replied.  “You have to admit, Gilda doesn’t have a lot of proof on her side.  I like her and I want to trust her, but we have to be careful.”
“But what about Ice?” I frowned.  “I know he was with the police in Canterlot, but so far we don’t have any proof he is who he says he is in Manehattan.  And you have to admit, he is being very cagey about this.”
Jenna considered that and nodded.  She leaned close for a quick nuzzle.  “At least I can count on you.”
“And I can count on you.”  I closed my eyes and smiled, enjoying being close to her.
Our reverie was interrupted when I lost concentration with my magic and dropped the bag of bagels.  We pulled back a bit reluctantly.  I picked the baked goods up again and we went on our way.
No matter what Ice and Gilda had going on, spying on Joe was still something we could do.  We made it to the building we had been told about.  The warehouse was positioned close to the street.  It had a few large doors for bulky items and a small walk-in door.  Across from it was the housing building.  The abandoned apartment was on the second floor.
We slipped in the back way of the apartments and went up the stairs, careful not to be seen.  The apartment door was unlocked.  Trash and graffiti decorated the main room, showing that we were not the first to stumble upon the place.
The window provided a good view of the building across the street.  Jenna and I sat down, munching on our bagels.
Time ticked slowly by.  While I understood that surveillance could take a while, I still felt antsy that our time to catch the killer was still ticking down.
Jenna and I talked a little.  Just quiet conversation to keep us from boredom.  She glanced at me, her eyes traveling down and to the rear.  Almost involuntarily, my tail swished between us.  Jenna grinned.  “I’m not looking at your butt, I swear.  Just the cutie mark.”
Only slightly relieved, I asked, “What about it?”
“It still seems to be for fabrication and engineering,” she noted.
“I’ve done a few odd jobs and fixes around the club,” I confirmed.
“Do you have any specialized magic?” she asked.  “I’ve heard that some unicorns do.”
I shrugged.  “I’m good at using tools?  Hammering things, maybe?”
“What’s that like?" she joked.  "Applying a force along a straight line to impact a small area, like the head of a nail?”
“Maybe.  Kind of useless, I guess.”
Jenna snuggled close to me.  “Well, with your skill set you were able to get a job in Equestria before.” 
Her tone was comforting, but I didn’t like the implications.  I didn’t want to stay here long enough to be gainfully employed.  But she did have a point; if it came to that, I could get a job and start a new life with her here in Equestria.
That was not a happy line of thought and the two of us sat silently for a few minutes.  Our time to deadline was still ticking down, but I supposed that being with her was about the best way to spend it.
The traffic on the street was light, and almost all of it was pedestrians.  Jenna and I both perked up when a white unicorn who looked out of place on the shabby streets came into view.
“What’s Fleur doing here?” muttered Jenna in surprise.
“Octavia would love this,” I replied.
“Photo, too,” Jenna added.
Fleur seemed to be on edge.  She kept looking over her shoulders as if suspecting that she was being followed.  She went right up to the warehouse and knocked on the door.  A few seconds passed and it opened to let her in.
I could hardly believe it.  To say the least, this had certainly put a new spin on things.  I grimaced.  Just what we needed, more complications.
“What could this mean?” I asked.
“Either a huge coincidence or a huge problem,” answered Jenna.
We were still discussing it when several sets of heavy hooves tromped up the stairs and came down the hall.  We both fell silent, hoping those ponies weren’t looking for us.
But of course they were, and four large stallions burst into the room.
We got up to run, but they surrounded us before we could get away.  I glanced at Jenna, reading her expression.  The window behind us might be dangerous to break through, but after that she could fly away.  And it was only the second floor, so the drop wouldn’t outright kill me.
Before either of us could move, however, I heard another set of steps approaching.  Gilda stepped into the room, casting her eyes around.
My heart lept up in relief.  In the next instant, however, it crashed again.  Gilda gestured to the stallions.  “What are you idiots waiting on?  Get them tied up and over to the warehouse.”
	

	
> Chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Jenna and I faced off against Gilda and the four thugs she commanded.  I would like to say that I played the hero flawlessly, pulled out some kickass moves, saved Jenna and myself, and galloped off into the sunset.
Sadly, that is not what happened.
Thug one, a burly earth pony who looked like he'd done ten rounds of steroids meant for a minotaur, reacted first.  He flung an odd device consisting of rope between two leaden balls toward me before I could even react.  I didn’t get out of the way fast enough and the rope hit me right across the chest, the weights twisting and binding my front legs.  I struggled against it, but only ended up falling onto my back, getting a prime view of thug two, a pegasus, in a furious aerial fight with Jenna.
Jenna swooped around the other pony, her nimble grace as a human translating effortlessly into flight. Two blades strapped to the bad guy’s wings glinted ominously as he stretched them out, trying to slash her out of the air, but she was having none of that.
In the small space of the room, I was astonished - but relieved - that it was possible for one pegasus to chase another and not catch them.
I think Jenna and I both knew that she should just go for the window and make an escape.  As much as that made sound suvival sense, she wouldn’t leave me. 
“Hold still!” the assailant growled at her.
“Not on your life, buddy!”
It was then that thug three came into my vision, a crossbow pointed right between my eyes.  “Maybe on your spouse’s, then.”
Jenna flashed her teeth in anger, but reluctantly landed.
And then thug four hit me on the back of the head.

It was pain that woke me up.  In my admittedly short experience, that’s the worst way to come out of a blackout.  My forelegs were tied by ropes and strained outwards, holding me in an upright position on just two hooves.  Effectively, I was making a “Y” from the YMCA dance.
I tried to stand up straighter, easing the pressure of the ropes that tightly bound my front fetlocks.  Something brushed against my nose, and combined with my lack of vision I surmised that there was a bag on my head.  And oh yeah, the back of my skull throbbed with pain.
I couldn’t think of a word or phrase that adequately surmised the situation, so I just settled for a groan.  In response, I heard a slight movement behind me.
Jenna’s voice asked, “Are you awake?”
“Yeah.”  
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she blurted.  “They carried you in here and I didn’t know how badly you were hurt.”
“Eh, I’ll be fine, I guess.”  I stretched a little, again trying to gain some small comfort from the awkward position.  “What happened?”
“Aside from Ice turning out to be right about Gilda?  And her apparently telling her goons enough about us to know that we’re spouses?  Well, they dragged us across the street and tied us up here in this little bathroom.”
“I can't see.  How little of a bathroom is it?”  That was actually not intended as a joke.  I was just suffering from my concussion.
“Maybe eight by eight feet.  There's a sink and mirror on one wall and a toilet next to it.  The door is opposite the sink.  The ceiling tiles have been ripped down and we're tied to the overhead beams, back to back.  The whole room is kind of grimy, so you aren’t missing anything pretty by not being able to see.”  Jenna paused for a moment.  “Why did they put a bag over your head, anyway?”
“Unicorn magic can only be used by memory or line of sight," I replied.  “I'm basically useless like this.”
Jenna was silent for several seconds.  She asked, “Do you trust me?”
The question was unexpected, but I didn’t pause. “Yes.”
I felt something brush my back as she moved slightly.  She said, “I’m going to try to swing high enough to kick the mirror.”
I had no idea why she wanted to do that, but didn’t take the time to ask.  Jenna backed up against me to get a running start and then leaped back in her own direction.  I heard a crash and tinkle of what was apparently a breaking mirror.
“Well that’s seven years. Guess I’m not winning the lottery anytime soon,” Jenna muttered under her breath.  She came down from her leap, hooves clacking on the floor.  She grunted in pain, probably as the ropes tugged at her outstretched forelegs.  I heard some scratching, like a piece of mirror being carefully scooted across the floor.
One of her legs bumped mine.  Jenna said, “Okay, now I need you to pick that up.  It’s a piece of glass about three inches long and roughly triangular in shape.  It’s beside your back leg.”
She carefully touched my hoof with hers, telling me exactly where I should reach for.  I carefully got my magic going and attempted, without looking, to aim for that spot.  It took a few seconds, but I thought I felt the shard.
“Good,” Jenna encouraged as I picked it up.  “Can you cut yourself loose?”
“I don’t know how I’m tied,” I admitted.
Jenna thought for a moment.  She leaned until I felt her touching my back.  “Feel that between us?  That’s the rope holding my wings.”
I carefully raised my improvised cutting tool to that area.  With careful directions a fraction of an inch at a time, Jenna steered me in.  “Good, good.  You’re there.  Okay, start cutting.”
I hesitantly put a little pressure on the edge, unwilling to either risk slipping and hurting Jenna or breaking the fragile cutting tool.  Slowly sawing back and forth, it took several minutes to fray the rope enough to get through.
Jenna asked me to stop and managed to break the last few strands on her own.  I heard her wings flutter and stretch out the kinks.  One of them brushed over my back and neck.  “Just give me a second, dear.”
She hovered off the floor.  By the sound of it, she must have been using her teeth to work at the ropes that bound her hooves.  In another few minutes, she was done.
Jenna pulled the hood off my face.  I leaned forward to kiss her.  “We are an awesome team,” I murmured.
She chuckled and said, “Let's see how good you are at untying knots without fingers.”
I hadn’t yet explored the intricate side of magical knot untying, but managed to do the job.  Dropping back to four hooves was welcome relief.  Not that I wanted to continue walking quadrupedally for much longer, but getting loose was the first step to solving that problem.
I still had my knife, sitting in its pouch in the belt around my neck.  That discovery actually gave me pause.  Were they really bad at searching us before stringing us up?  A Swiss Army knife was not common in Equestria, but surely they might be a little worried about it being useful to me?
Or, I thought, did this mean Gilda was very deep in her undercover work, but still trying to help us out?  Did that mean we could trust her?  How did Ice’s comments factor into all this?  Could we trust him?
The answers to all of those questions were either “I don’t know,” or “no.”  It was at that moment that I decided not to trust anypony but the one right beside me.
Speaking of Jenna, she turned to me.  “They didn’t come bursting in when the mirror broke, so I’m guessing that the hallway right outside this room is not being monitored.”
I nodded.  “Okay, so how do we get out of here?”
“Through the door, down the hall.  There’s another door to the warehouse floor and then we have to cross the building to get outside.”
“Wow, how do you remember this stuff?”
She gave me a smile.  “Once you memorize your lines in a couple of plays, the little stuff gets easier.”
I knew that, but even the little things kept amazing me about her.  I would have called the feeling too good to be true, but when you and your wife are fighting for your lives, enjoying the small stuff was important.
We opened the door cautiously.  The hallway looked about as run down and worn as the bathroom.  There was nopony in sight.
Making our way down the hall as quietly as we could, Jenna and I came to the door we were supposed to exit.  Unfortunately, we heard a mutter of voices from the other side.
“Well, what are we supposed to do?  No way is Joe coming down here himself to approve the deal.”
“Dunno.  Let the griffon take care of it.”
The information didn’t seem to pertain to us directly, and hanging out there to listen more was a risky idea.  Instead, Jenna and I would have to find another way out.
Down near the other end of the hallway was a large air vent in the ceiling.  As it was part of a large building, the ducting also had to be quite voluminous.  The vent was held on by a screw on either side.
“Do you have any idea where this goes?” I asked, staring up at the vent.
“I think I remember some vents going towards the opposite wall,” Jenna recalled.  “If nothing else, we can hide in there until they leave.”
It was simple work to use the screwdriver on my knife to get the grate off the vent.  With Jenna’s help, we both got up inside it.  Then, I put the screws back in and slipped the knife through the bars of the grate.  I secured it back in its holster and we set off.
Even as a little pony inside a large vent, there still wasn’t that much clearance.  Luckily, most of the run was horizontal.  Crawling on our knees, Jenna and I picked our way towards possible freedom.
I was tempted to try casting light from my horn, but really didn’t want to know what was inside the vent.  It felt filthy.  Plus, there were other grates at periodic intervals and I didn’t want anypony to see light coming from within.
Speaking of the grates, Jenna paused at one and then motioned me forward.  “Take a look,” she whispered.
We were near the back wall of the warehouse.  A few crates and pieces of equipment dotted the floor.  There was an enclosed area off to the side that must have been where we were being held.  I saw two stallions standing in front of the door.  If we could find some way to exit the duct in a place that was out of their sight, then maybe we could sneak close enough to the exit door to escape.
The two of us kept crawling.  Sure enough, we did find a convenient grate.  There were several boxes and pieces of cargo between it and the two guards.  I set to work on the screws and got them out as quietly as possible.
Operating the screwdriver with magic was kind of novel.  With magic, I didn’t have to keep stopping to get a better handhold on it, so it was almost like using an electric screwdriver.
Jenna and I were both covered in dirt and whatever else had accumulated in the duct.  That was a minor problem for the moment.  We crept towards a few nearby barrels and crates.  Jenna pointed to the exit door on the opposite wall.  “There.”
I measured the distance with my eyes.  If the thugs guarding the door were still where we had last seen them, then we could probably make the dash across the floor and be outside before they caught up.
I carefully began looking for a sightline through the obstacles to confirm that the two stallions were in fact where we expected them to be.  Instead, I caught sight of Fleur coming across the floor.  I had forgotten she was there, what with other problems and all.
To my even greater surprise, I saw Gilda step out from wherever she had been waiting to meet Fleur.  I gulped.  Gilda had been behind a stack of freight near the door.  If Jenna and I had made a break for it, she would have easily intercepted us.
“What do you want?” Gilda asked, giving Fleur an impatient look.
Fleur drew up short.  “Wait, you’re the griffon I saw at the club earlier.”
“So what?”
Gilda’s question was delivered in a tone that wasn’t quite rhetorical, but severely discouraged an answer.  Fleur took a moment to regain her composure.  “I’ve come to discuss the terms of my deal.”
“Which deal?” Gilda asked.
“I made it with Joe.  He provided me financing to buy into The Metronome.”
“What about it?”
“The plan is not paying off as it was supposed to.  Octavia has interfered, to say nothing of her associate Millie and-” 
She was cut off by Gilda’s chuckle.  “Sounds like you’re in over your head.”
Fleur glared at her.  “I am not.  I just need a bit more time in order to get full possession of the club.”
“What makes you think that you can get the deal to work?”
“Well, Octavia is feeling the pressure, and I happen to know a few things about Millie that could-”
This time, Gilda cut her off with a wave of her talons.  “Millie?  You have no idea who you’re up against - what you’re up against.”
Fleur snorted.  “Oh really?”
Gilda nodded.  “Just cut your losses.  There’s no way you’re going to be able to hold up your end of the deal.  That’s a lot of money to pay Joe, money you don’t have.  Maybe if you’re lucky he’ll let you work it off.  I heard there’s an opening at the gym that he owns to give employees like me the illusion of gainful employment.”
“I don’t believe this.”  Fleur scoffed.  “I just asked for one favor, a little more time, and you-”
“Just who do you think we are, a charity?” Gilda went beak-to-nose with Fleur, her expression hostile.
If I was standing in Fleur’s horseshoes, I would have backed off.  Not only out of common sense, but fear for my life.  Instead, she insisted, “It’s not a big deal.  I mean, Millie is just some small timer that nopony’s ever heard of.”
“Millie is a lot more concerning to me than you are,” said Gilda, a note of growing anger in her voice.
Fleur smirked.  “What, are you afraid of a pretty little mare like that?”
Gilda ripped her face off.
My gasp of shock was masked under Fleur’s screams as Gilda’s talons raked her flesh.  I jerked back from where I had been watching, eyes wide and heart rate spiking.
Jenna hadn’t seen what happened, but the sound of a somepony being skinned got the point across.  We both looked at each other.  Jenna’s ears were pulled back with panic and I’m sure mine were, too.  It was time to leave, now.
I threw open the door with magic and sprinted as hard as I could for it.  Gilda’s head jerked up and she started to turn but I was already past her and nearly to freedom.
Jenna and I went through the door simultaneously, her flying above me.  Standing on the sidewalk outside were two mares.  One was white with a slicked back green mane and tiny John Lennon sunglasses.  Her cutie mark was some sort of complicated orchestral piece, and overall she looked like a slightly dated musician.  The other was sky blue with deep indigo eyes and a pale grey mane.  The mark on her hip was a six pointed star surrounded by five smaller stars, like a spark or something.
I probably remember the pair so well because I collided headlong with them as I burst out the door.
“Call the cops!” I blurted, picking myself up and turning to run.  There was an angry roar from somewhere behind me as Gilda cleared the door and gave chase.  I galloped as hard as I could, cursing the Lunar Guard that they would put me in a female body of average fitness and below average leg length.  
Jenna could fly faster than I could run, but kept pace with me.  She looked back and I could see in her grim expression that Gilda must be gaining.
“Go!” I shouted at her.  I didn’t really have time or presence of mind to tell her where, or what to do when she got there.  I trusted her ability to get help, but didn’t know if it would arrive soon enough.
Jenna locked eyes with me for a long second.  It was like a high-bandwidth connection, we exchanged so much raw emotion with just one glance.
The link was broken as a shadow passed over us.  Jenna dodged to the side as Gilda dropped from the sky right where she had been.  Gilda swung her attention to me and with one slap of her talons sent me flying off my hooves.
I landed hard on the sidewalk, rolling and trying to get up.  Gilda hit me again, in the shoulder this time.  She drove me to the ground and latched a set of talons around my throat.  Then, she took off, carrying me with her.
I had no idea where Gilda was taking me, carrying me with her front legs ahead of and below her, but there was no time to think about that.  My instinctive reaction to being choked was to kick at her belly.  I probably should have thought about the possibility of her dropping me, but in the heat of the moment it didn’t come to mind.
I wasn’t in the greatest position for an effective kick, but Gilda grunted as I made contact.  She scrabbled with me, trying to subdue my movements.  With magic, I yanked the leather belt from around my neck and flipped it over her head, cinching it up.
Gilda squawked and managed to get her left talons up under the belt before it cut off her windpipe.  She strained to hold me with just her right.
I focused as hard as I could, trying to end this fight.  I didn’t care that we were somewhere in the sky over the city.  I didn’t consider what might happen if I failed.  I just kept tightening the belt around her neck.
“You-you really are Miller,” Gilda gasped with the breath she could muster.  Her tone was completely out of place for the situation.  It was complementary, admiring.  And it surprised the heck out of me.
I never paused in my efforts, not even for a fraction of a second, but Gilda took advantage of my astonishment and her talons sliced right through the belt.  She balled them into a fist and hit me in the face.
The first blow stunned me into submission.  The second knocked me out.
	
	
	
	
	
> Chapter 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Getting two concussions in less than a day is never a good idea.  When I awoke, I wanted to just lie there, wherever it was that I had ended up, and quietly deal with the pain.  If I was still in danger, though, then that wasn’t an option.  I had to figure out what had happened to me and what to do about it.
I forced my eyes open, staring at a plain ceiling above me.  It did not look industrial, and I wondered where I could be.  I felt weak, and looked to my right and left instead of trying to get up.  The room was dark, although some illumination slanted through a window from a streetlight outside. There were a few tables around.  I surmised that I was lying on top of one just like them.
I tried to sit up.  My aching head swam, but I pressed on.  Then, I reached the limit of the ropes around my body and couldn’t rise any further.
I lay back, gingerly trying not to knock my head on the table.  I wanted to pound on it until the wood splintered and broke, though.  Caught, again!  Of course this wouldn’t be so easy.  What was with these people and bondage, anyway?  I glanced around again, trying to figure out where I was.  The walls were decorated and a few carved wood columns were spread across the room.  By their thickness, I presumed that they had a secondary load-bearing purpose. 
It took a moment to remember the furnishings, but I slowly realized that this must be the Happy Dragon restaurant.  It just looked a little different without customers and being dimly lit.
A clock on the wall said it was evening.  Wasn’t that the time that most restaurants were occupied?  Maybe they hadn’t opened today in anticipation of me being a special guest.
Okay, now I knew where I was.  How was I supposed to escape?  I craned my neck, able to see a few of the ropes that wrapped my torso.  They were looser than my previous bindings, and lying down helped a lot with the comfort.  I still couldn’t just slip out of them, and the knots were on the underside of the table where I couldn’t see them.
It was then that I realized I hadn’t been hooded again.  Well, I’m not one to look a gift pony in the mouth.  I searched for something nearby I could use to cut myself loose.  Being a Chineighese restaurant, there wasn’t a lot of silverware, just chopsticks.  I saw a drinking glass and thought that maybe I could break it to obtain shards.  That method had worked the last time, and why mess with success?
However as I attempted to grasp it telekinetically, nothing happened.  Huh, maybe I was tired.  Or more likely, getting knocked around had scrambled my brains.  I concentrated harder, my eyes narrowing as I stared at the glass.
I felt a little bit of warmth on my forehead.  I had never known magic to do that before.  Cautiously, I tried again.  This time, there was a definite feeling of heat centered around the base of my horn.  What in the world?  Had they done something to me?  Magic horncuffs?  Or...was I hurt?
I felt slightly panicked at the loss of magical ability.  Not that I’d ever had it before becoming a unicorn, but the feeling of a piece missing was disconcerting.  I can only imagine how something like that must feel to a native who’d had magic since they were born.
At least that explained why there wasn’t a hood over my face; they weren’t worried about my magic.  I was still trying to figure out the reason for the more comfortable bindings, however.  Given enough space and high enough ceilings, they could have strung me up any way they pleased.
While I was trying not to be so morbid, it did occur to me to wonder why I wasn’t dead.  Admittedly, that would have been a lot easier than trying to capture me after I managed to escape the first time.  Was I more important to somepony alive?  Why?  Some sort of revenge scheme on, uh, Miller the Killer?
That thought was terrifying all by itself.  I could think of several characters out there who wouldn’t mind killing me as slowly as possible.  I shuddered and tried to think of other things.
Jenna knew I was missing.  Hopefully she had managed to contact the police.  Would they immediately think to look for me here?  Maybe.  At least she could tell them that Joe was involved.  At least somepony was probably out looking for me.  But will they find me before something bad happens?
I heard a door at the back of the restaurant open and a few quiet voices.  One of them sounded like Gilda and the other sounded like Joe.  A small part of my brain that wasn’t suddenly freaking out noted Well, there’s the answer to my previous question.
Pessimistic as that may have been, it was justified.  The griffon and the dragon did not look particularly benevolent when they stepped into the room. I tried to control my breathing, but it got difficult when my eyes happened to notice that there was still blood on Gilda’s body, particularly her talons.
Joe seemed pleased, regarding me like he might an unopened present.  A present that Gilda had gotten just for him.  He walked closer, although never came within a half dozen feet.  “So, is this the infamous Miller the Killer?”
“The very same,” Gilda confirmed.  “I tied her here myself.”  She was not as cautious, apparently confident in her knots.  She came right up to my side.
“Interesting,” Joe murmured, leaning a few inches closer to the table.  “Tell me, Miller, what was your motivation for attempting to work with us to ‘find’ the killer?  Just trying to get close to me?  Do you get some kind of thrill from doing things up close and personal?”
I considered my options.  I decided to go with the truth, or at least a truth.  “You don’t have the whole story about what is going on here.”  
Joe nodded.  “You’re right.  We haven’t found the stallion who was doing your work for you in Canterlot.  But no matter.  Since you decided to take a more personal touch here in Manehattan, all the better for me to meet you, you sick freak.”
Well, now we were into the insult phase.  I was offended, but there were worse alternatives.  Hopefully we would go through quite a few other phases before we came to the torture one.
I thought about what Joe had just said.  Wait, Gilda knew I was back in Equestria to hunt a killer, not be one.  I’d told her myself.  Why hadn’t she passed that information to Joe? 
Several possibilities went through my head.  Was it possible that Gilda thought I was telling her tall tales in an effort to conceal the fact that I actually was the killer?  Did she believe me but was intentionally throwing Joe off?  And if that was true, then again, why?
Another possibility came to mind: Gilda herself was the killer.  From what I could see, however, there were a lot of flaws in that hypothesis.  The killer we’d been tracking seemed to prefer blunt force attacks, not slashing talons.  Also, said killer was something of a vigilante, murdering criminals and even saving my life in the process.
“I should have known something was wrong with you,” Joe said to me.  He gestured to the walls of the restaurant.  “Not even the police are willing to come here, and you just walk right in and start eating my food.”
“It tasted great,” I muttered before common sense caught up with me.
Joe put on an ugly look, his sharp teeth, or what remained of them, on full display.  As an old dragon, he looked rather less intimidating without a complete set of chompers.  Still didn’t make me feel better.
He continued.  “We still need to catch up with your associate, but you can handle that, right Gilda?”
The griffon nodded.  “Yeah, I’ll find Curtain Call.”
I couldn't help but give a sudden jerk against the ropes.  “I swear to God, if you hurt her…!”
Gilda and Joe both jumped back when I moved, but gained confidence as the ropes held me down.  I didn’t struggle much, channeling my emotion into an scathing expression.  I also felt whatever it was on my horn grow hot.  Apparently I had been subconsciously trying to make their heads explode or something.
Joe put on a contemplative look.  “Hmm, I heard you had a reputation for cold emotion.  Clearly we’ve found something to get to you.”
I swallowed and gritted my teeth.  “I’m tired of talking and playing games with you.  Get on with it.  What do you want from me?”
“I was going to just kill you, but maybe we should wait and get her here so you can watch each other die.”  The line was like something a cartoon villain might say, and Joe punctuated it with a chuckle.
This was perhaps one time in my life that I would prefer to be female, what with the “no hitting girls” rule or whatever the murdering mafia equivalent was.  Clearly, however, being a mare wasn’t going to turn them away from their plans for me.  Stupid pony gender equality.
As Joe quieted his chuckles, the restaurant’s back door opened.  I heard it first.  Gilda saw my ear twitch and looked in the direction of the door.  Joe caught her expression and glanced up.  I twisted as much as I could to see who it was.
Fleur de Lis stumbled into the room.  The skin of her face was shredded and the fact that she was still alive, much less standing, kind of astonished me.  There was a pair of hair cutting scissors in her magical grip.  A long second passed as the four of us traded stares.  Then, Fleur flung the scissors at the table where I lay.
The blades came within a fraction of an inch of stabbing me, but they found their target in the rope wrapped around my body.  Snip, snip, and I was free.
I jumped up, throwing off the ropes, and planted my hooves in a solid stance on top the table.  A quick brush of my foreleg knocked a ring made of some kind of metal off my horn.  
Gilda and Joe retreated, eyes wide.  I lowered my head and fixed my glare on them.  Any lingering cartoonish supervillian humor from the previous situation had bled straight out of their expressions.  Joe in particular looked very uncomfortable with the prospect of facing down a supposed serial killer that he’d just threatened.  I didn’t know how he and Gilda would react to me getting loose, and frankly I wasn’t interested in giving them a chance to make the first move.
Of the floor-to-ceiling columns in the room, I selected one that stood closest to Gilda and Joe.  Remembering what Jenna had speculated about my special talent being applying forces to small areas, I decided that an area the thickness of a sheet of paper and as wide as the column would do.  Basically, I was slicing it finer than an ax could have.
I guess rage must really be good for something, because the effort I put forth split the column neatly in the center and it fell over.  Gilda grabbed Joe and yanked him towards the front door as the ceiling on that half of the room came crashing down.
I stood there on the table as the dust settled, slightly shocked at how things had turned out.  Gilda and Joe had probably escaped, but not without a good scare.  At least they wouldn’t be a problem for a little while.  All the plaster and wood framing that was dumped in the center of the room had created a barrier between me and them.
Us and them, I corrected, turning my head to spot Fleur.  She wobbled where she stood.  A few drops of blood rolled out of the gashes on her face and dripped to the floor.  I jumped off the table and approached, cringing at her wounds.
She collapsed into my hooves as I got close.  Her breath was ragged and there was no telling how much blood she had lost.
“Why?” I stammered.  There was really nothing else I could say.
“At the warehouse, you distracted Gilda from what she was doing to me,” Fleur whispered.  “You saved my life.”
I heard sirens in the distance, coming closer.  One of Fleur’s tattered ears moved a little.  I took it as a good sign.  “Hear that?  Help is on the way.  Just hang in there.”
Her lips pulled back in what might have been a smile.  Honestly, trying to figure out what Fleur’s expressions were with her face so screwed up was giving me fits, not to mention freaking me out.  Her eyelids sliding closed was certainly not what I was hoping to see, however.
“Aw, Christ!  Fleur!”
I heard voices approaching and the back door slammed open.  “Manehattan Police!”
“In here!” I called.  “Get an ambulance!”
A couple of cops came into the room.  Seeing the disaster area that the inside of the restaurant had become, they paused in surprise.  A second passed and the medical ponies entered the building.  They came over to me.
I let them take Fleur.  The cops tried to ask me a few questions, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk.  I took a few steps and found myself near the door.  Getting out of there sounded like a good idea.
Ice was in the crowd of law enforcement ponies outside.  He came over to me.  I didn’t look at him.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Gilda apparently works for Little Puffy Joe.”
There was nothing in his manner that said I told you so, and for that I was grateful.  I asked, “How did you find me?”
“A tip from a concerned citizen.”  Ice shrugged.  “What took place inside the building?”
I told him the story.  He listened well, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.  Also, I didn’t care.  This day had already given me too much else to care about.
After I finished telling Ice what I knew, I asked him what he knew.  “Where’s my wife?”
“She’s safe.”
“That’s not what I asked,” I growled.  Ice probably didn’t deserve the tone I used, but I was so, so done with screwing around.
“I don’t know where she is,” he admitted.  “Maybe at the jazz club.”
“If you don’t know, then why did you tell me she was safe?” I asked, leaning into his face and showing more teeth than was really necessary.
“Because I assigned six agents to follow her for protection.”  Ice frowned.  “I know you don’t like me, but I’m good at what I do, okay?  Now, you’ve been through the wringer today, but I need your help for a few more things.”
I considered that for a moment before reluctantly sighing.  “Like what?”
“You said Joe and Gilda were here, but we didn’t manage to catch them.  You’re arguably the most knowledgeable about those two.  If we’re going to track them down, you would be a big help.”
It wasn’t a true compliment, but I did appreciate that Ice at least acknowledged what I could do.  However, more important things were at stake.  “I can’t go after them.  I still have to find the serial killer so the Lunar Guards will let me off the hook.” 
Ice looked annoyed.  “That again?  Look, the reason I haven’t been enthusiastic about that case is because I was trying to take down Joe’s enterprise; something that could actually be done!  Right now, we have this opportunity to catch Joe and one of his top goons.  You, on the other hand, want to put an entire case together and identify one pony out of this whole city who has been killing crooks.  If I remember correctly, you have a day or less left.”
That was true.  I didn't even know if the Lunar Guards would give me until midnight or just declare times up at an arbitrary point during the day.  Still...
“We choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” I muttered.  Ice didn’t get the reference, but I wasn’t expecting him to.  This is what I had to do to get home.  Impossible, but yet I had to do it.
I frowned.  On the other side of that...I painfully admitted that Ice had a point.  I could go on a wild goose chase of some killer that we knew next to nothing about, or I could eliminate the top figure in organized crime and his psycho griffon enforcer.  Heck, maybe the killings would stop when there were no more criminals to kill.
But I couldn’t make that decision without Jenna’s say.  She was just as invested in this as I was.  “I’m going to The Metronome.”
I turned to leave, but paused.  I gritted my teeth and let out a forced sigh.  “Thank you for rescuing me.”
Ice nodded, but said nothing.  I started walking.
Two agents followed me.  I didn’t talk with them, but appreciated that I was finally getting some help.  We headed through the night, straight for the club.
Pushing open the door, I stepped in out of the cold.  Iridium was there.  There were a few ponies around, but not enough for a real crowd.  Considering that they seemed to know the agents that had come in with me, I assumed that they were the ponies Ice had sent with Jenna.  Speaking of her… “Iridium, is my wife here?”
“She came in just a few minutes ago.”  Iridium gestured to the agents sitting there.  “These gentlecolts practically had to drag her.  She was very distraught about you.”
“Well, I’m fine.”  I was still dirty, tired, bloody, and concussed, but in one piece.
Iridium nodded.  “I’ll go find her for you.”
As he exited the room, Octavia came in with the pair of ponies I had run into outside the warehouse.  All three of them locked me in a tight, enthusiastic hug.  
“So glad you’re okay, Millie!”
“We were worried sick.”
“I am glad.”
I appreciated their sentiments, but was a little confused about the newcomers.  Now that I wasn’t running for my life, I suddenly realized that I was looking at a disguised Vinyl and Photo.
Vinyl’s blue mane had easily turned vibrant green with the addition of yellow dye, and a change in sunglasses had altered her appearance significantly.  Her simple cutie mark, drawn on with a permanent marker, had been easy to modify.
She caught me staring and chuckled.  “I guess one good thing about being albino is that it’s easy to change my looks.  Mom used to use me as a blank canvas for modeling all the time.”
Her mother nodded.  It was the first time I had seen Photo without sunglasses or a dress and I barely recognized her.  I frowned in thought as I looked at her cutie mark, shaped like a star with smaller ones around it.  “That’s an interesting mark.  Is it a camera flash or something?”
Vinyl jumped in before Photo spoke.  “That’s probably what it means to her.  Strangely enough, though, it looks almost exactly like Element of Harmony Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark,  so mom likes to joke that she makes ‘ de magicks’ with her work.”
They both chuckled.  I didn’t get the joke.
Octavia broke in.  “From what we heard, you were lucky to get away.”
I nodded.  “It was good that the cops showed up when they did.”
“We did that,” said Vinyl.  “Or rather, mom started it.”
Photo nodded modestly.  “I was following my rival, Fleur de Lis.  Imagine my surprise when I saw you kidnapped.”
While it was creepy that she was so serious about fashion to go to the lengths of stalking her competitors, it was still fortunate for me.
“Photo came to find Vinyl and I and we developed her film here at The Metronome,” Octavia explained.  “Dim lights are good for things besides setting club atmosphere.”
“The police don't really like going into the Chineighese District because it’s so full of hard core criminals,” Vinyl explained.  “They wouldn’t come until we had proof that you had been taken.  Octavia convinced them with the pictures while mom and I got a closer look.”
“What was with the disguises?” I asked.
“Extra security,” Photo replied.  She didn’t elaborate further.
“We didn’t want to be noticed.  Joe had seen me at the restaurant and mom is kind of a celebrity,” Vinyl pointed out.
“And my regular exercise routine to stay in shape made me the fastest runner, so we decided that I should summon the police.”  Octavia rolled her eyes.
“But how did you all find me at the restaurant?  And how did Fleur get there?”
The three of them looked at each other in confusion.  Octavia was the first to speak.  “Fleur?  What do you mean?  We knew she’d slipped out of the warehouse somehow because she wasn’t there when the police entered.”
I blinked.  Fleur, while bleeding to death, had somehow made it several dozen blocks from the warehouse to the restaurant.  How had she even known where Gilda was taking me?  
And where had Ice come from?  Even if Fleur did know about the Happy Dragon, she couldn’t have encountered Ice to tell him because he would have gotten her some medical attention.
I looked up as Iridium came into the room. His face was as flustered and worried as I had ever seen it.  “I’m afraid that I can’t find your wife anywhere.”
My heart skipped a beat.  “What do you mean?”
“I’m terribly sorry.  She’s not in the building.”
The agents that were supposed to be protecting her all jumped up, but the glare I fired in their direction froze every one of them in place.  
“Which one of you do I need to hurt first?”  My teeth slowly clenched.  I had to force them apart to keep speaking.  “I was kidnapped twice today, and all I wanted to do was come back and find that my wife was safe!”
One of them stepped forward.  “It’s not like that.  We didn’t think she would-”
“No, don’t put this on her, you don’t get to make excuses!  You had one simple thing to do; watch her, and now she’s gone!  I don’t care if she left on her own, you shouldn’t have let her out of your sight!”
My muscles twitched and my breath came sharply through my nostrils.  The pony in front of me tried to move forward and appease me.  I stabbed a hoof at him.  “Take one step closer and I’ll break every bone in your body.  Don’t look so surprised; threatening a federal agent is the least dangerous thing I’ve done today.  With my wife missing, I literally have nothing left to lose.”
I had all of the agents so nervous that when the door slammed open they all jumped about a foot in the air, more for the pegasi.  I wasn’t looking at them, though.  Jenna walked through the door.
I rushed forward, meeting her in the center of the room.  We initiated the most appreciated hug I’d ever had the pleasure of partaking in.  It was amazing how my anger could just bleed away like that.  I still wasn’t sorry about making the threats, but I could fake an apology later.
“Where did you go?” I asked.
“I had to get out of here and find you,” Jenna murmured against my neck.  “I waited outside that restaurant for so long.  I was just about to go in all by myself.  When Gilda and Joe ran, I followed.  I’m so sorry that I didn’t wait for you.”
“It’s okay.  I’m okay,” I told her.
“Wait, so you know where Little Puffy Joe and that griffon who works for him are now?” asked one of the agents.
I did not appreciate the interruption, but he had a point.  Jenna nodded in confirmation.  “They’re in a small apartment near the train station.  I think it might be Gilda’s place.”
The room suddenly burst into a flurry of activity.  Octavia, Vinyl, and Photo quickly started developing plans with Jenna and I.  The agents were all creating their own plans and contacting their friends.  Iridium saw that the late night was going to get even later and went to make coffee.
Ice showed up in only a few minutes.  He listened patiently to the information we had gathered.  When he turned for the door to join the agents that were going to head to Gilda’s place, I stopped him.  “We’re going, too.”
He looked at me.  “I thought you had your own case to solve.”
I shrugged.  There were several reasons Jenna and I wanted to go.  Maybe for the satisfaction of seeing those who had wronged me punished.  Maybe because I thought the killer would go after Gilda and Joe and I wanted to be there when that happened.  Regardless, Ice didn’t stop us.
“We’ll keep working from here,” Octavia told me.  Beside her, Vinyl nodded.
“Thank you both.”
“For everything,” Jenna added.  “You’re good friends.”
We left them there.  Jenna and I followed Ice out the door.  We tried to get across town as quickly as possible.  The freezing weather didn’t help, but I barely noticed it.
The apartment building Jenna pointed us towards was not too shabby, but being right next to the railroad tracks probably drove the rent down.  I wasn’t concentrating on the building, though.  If we were going to end this tonight, we had to move quickly.
The crowd of agents, Jenna, and I went through the front door.  The building was four floors tall, and according to the directory posted in the foyer, Gilda lived at the top.
We went up.  I was beside Ice as we came up the final staircase and pushed open the hallway door.  Gilda and Joe were just exiting her apartment.  Her talons were gloved, and she had the dragon in a controlling headlock.
It was a long hallway, giving Gilda more than enough head start.  She dashed for the roof access door, managing to drag Joe along.
The group of us dashed after them.  I actually beat Ice onto the roof, skidding to a halt as I saw Gilda standing over the fetal position of Joe.  Closer now, I saw that his face and body were covered in bruises and a little blood.
Gilda stared us down from across the snow-covered roof.  The wind picked up a little.  Somewhere in the background, I heard a train whistle.
“Stop right there!” ordered Ice.  “You’re both under arrest!”
“Nah,” said Gilda.  “You’re not taking me, not after what I’ve done.”
Her flippant remark to him was so casual, almost like something I would say.  Gilda’s eyes flicked to me, expression softening.  “You’re the real deal, aren’t you, Millie?  I didn’t believe you at first, but I should have.  Sorry I used you to get closer to Joe.”
I shook my head.  “What are you talking about?”
Joe started to get up.  Gilda grabbed him and landed half a dozen hard punches to his gut.  He wheezed in pain and stopped moving again.  Gilda looked up at me again.  “You inspired me, Millie.”
And suddenly, it made sense.  I took a step towards her.  “Are you serious?  You infiltrated Joe’s gang just to take it down from the inside?”
“What can I say?  I’m a fan of your work.”
My mouth opened and closed.  I glanced at Ice.  It was pretty obvious that he’d figured it out, too, and was giving me an unkind look.  Whatever, I could explain later.  
I turned back to Gilda.  “All this time, you were the one we were after.”
She nodded.  “I didn’t realize who I was dealing with.  If I’d only known who you were earlier…”  Gilda shook her head.  “Sorry again.  I didn’t want to fight you, but I had to in order for Joe to be where I wanted him.”
Joe made the mistake of moving again.  Gilda delivered another few hammer blows, this time to his face.  He coughed and spit out blood.
I started forward again.  “You’ve got him now.  The cops are here.  We can put him away for a long time.”
Gilda looked at me for a moment, her expression turning sad.  She glanced over the edge of the building.  The train I’d heard earlier had come into view.  Gilda grabbed Joe by the throat and hauled him up to stand beside her.  She put one foot on the edge of the roof.
“Stop!” I gasped.
She gave me one final look and then went over the side with Joe.  I tried to reach out, to do something, anything, but the two of them were gone.  Four stories below, the train’s brakes started to screech, but it was too late.
	
	
	
	
	
> Chapter 19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many cops in one place before.  After Gilda hauled Joe off the roof with her and into the path of a train, there were a whole crowd of police officers by the tracks inspecting the area.
Another group of cops had surrounded the building to keep curious onlookers and media out until everything had been taken care of.  While I didn’t make a habit of visiting crime scenes, I understood the need for proper documentation.  It wouldn’t do to contaminate any evidence or bother those investigating it.
The third group of police had descended on Gilda’s apartment.  Jenna and I stood with Ice as we watched the forensics specialists examine everything.  There was remarkably little to sift through.  Gilda had apparently taken the legend of Miller to extremes, and had almost no possessions.
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.  We knew Gilda was a little quirky - okay, she was nuts and homicidal - but following an idea so devoutly showed admirable dedication.  Or it would have, if it didn’t involve me and murdering a bunch of ponies.
The clock had ticked past midnight and was edging into morning.  The morning of my last day, if the Lunar Guard was to be believed.  If you didn’t count the times when I’d been knocked out, I hadn’t slept for more than twenty four hours.  During that period, I’d run for my life, fought for my life, and hadn’t eaten a bite since breakfast.  
I swayed a little, barely keeping myself upright, nevermind the clutches of fatigue.  Jenna had already dozed off in the corner of the room.  Her expression was remarkably peaceful.  After all, we were through the dangerous part.  In slumber, I thought she looked like an angel, wings and all.
We might have finished with the murdering and whatnot, but that didn’t mean we were done.  I still had to figure out how to come up with more evidence than Gilda’s word that she was our killer, and how to convince the Lunar Guards that it was a good enough reason to send Jenna and I home.
Ice saw me blinking hard and trying to focus.  He offered me his travel mug.  I accepted it and drained the coffee in one pull.  He looked a little miffed, but not too much.
One of the searchers came up to Ice.  “We found her diary.”
Ice took the small book and flipped through a few pages.  His eyebrows went up.  “I don’t think this is the kind of thing the public needs to know about.  The media getting ahold of it would be...”  He glanced at me.
“What?” I asked.
Ice shook his head.  “I’m normally a stickler for the rules.  But I don’t think Equestria is ready for the kind of things Gilda wrote down.”
The other cop looked confused. “I’ll guess I’ll put it with the classified evidence, then.”
Ice gave the diary back and the other pony walked away.  I asked, “What kinds of things did Gilda write down?”
Ice considered the question for a moment.  “The truth, actually.  All of it, everything that happened, unfiltered and raw.”
I caught myself almost falling over again with fatigue and lost interest in what he was saying.  I shook my head vigorously and asked, “Can I go now?”
Ice appraised me for a moment and then nodded.  “If I need you again, where will you be?”
I shrugged in honest ignorance and turned away.  Ice was an upstanding guy, and for that I admired him, but there was only so much of his personality that I could take.  Still, he really was good at his job.
I walked over to Jenna, slightly envious of how she’d managed to doze off.  I wished I could have done that, before I got the chance to think too much about what had unfolded before my eyes.
I’d seen bad ponies do terrible things during my time in Equestria.  Despite that, I couldn’t figure out why Gilda’s last act had rattled me so much.  Maybe it was her sense of purpose.  She had believed in what she was doing.
Jenna awoke with the touch of my hoof.  We were both eager to leave, and the two of us walked out of the apartment and down the stairs.  The cold air was biting as usual, but refreshing.  
Behind the building at the railroad tracks, the scene had apparently been cleaned up.  I didn’t want to imagine or even think about what it must have looked like.  I shivered a little, but with emotion rather than chill.
An ambulance moved away slowly, its lights and siren not activated.  The train began to roll again, making the cutest little choo choo noise with its whistle.  Seriously?  Did it have to do that when everything else was so ugly?
Jenna and I didn’t talk much, just leaned on each other as we headed down the sidewalk.  I didn’t at first know where we were going, but didn’t much care as long as it was away from the scene.  I glanced backward, but quickly turned away again.  I still felt confused and torn about what had happened there.  It was harder to say in retrospect, but Gilda had, for a little while at least, been a friend. 
The wind picked up for a moment, but I didn’t spare any effort to shudder against the cold.  I huddled a little closer to Jenna and she reciprocated in kind.
We passed by an all-night diner and my stomach rumbled at the same time.  Jenna steered me through the door.  We found seats inside. A waitress came over to take our orders.  I asked for a burger.
“Make it two,” Jenna amended.
The two of us sat quietly as the waitress walked away.  Our eyes met across the table.  We both leaned closer.
“I’m glad this is over,” she said.
I almost disagreed, intending to bring up how we still weren’t home, but realized she was right.  We’d brought the case to a close.  It had been a long, violent affair beginning before we’d even arrived in Equestria.  And overall, it was a lot more important to a lot more ponies than just us.
But now that it was over, we could go back to the subject next at hand.  I reached my hoof across the table towards Jenna’s.  “I can’t say it was a perfect solution, not exactly what I wanted, but it does let us move on.”
I felt like I should say something more, but Jenna’s look told me she understood.  Her hoof made contact with mine and we sat for a few moments.  
I mentally reviewed what I had gone through to get to this point.  Had we been gone from home for a week?  Eight days?  My brain was not good for counting at the moment, but we might be able to call something like that an impromptu vacation when we got back.  It was certainly easier to explain than the weeks I was away the last time.
But explaining ourselves back home was still a pittance compared to actually getting there.  I could feel myself starting to tense up again at that thought.  Who were we supposed to contact now that the killer was identified?
Our best bet might be knocking on the door of the Lunar Guard outpost hidden near the bench where they’d beamed us in.  Somepony should be there, even in the early hours of the morning.
But we couldn’t just leave.  Our friends deserved a goodbye.  All of us had been exposed to even more danger than last time, and yet they had never wavered in their support.
With that happy thought in mind, I absolutely destroyed my burger when it came.  Jenna noticed, raising an eyebrow.  “And I thought all your manly habits were going by the wayside lately.”
“Wuh?”  I swallowed.  “Sorry.”
She smiled.  “Don’t worry about it, dear.  I love you because you’re you.”
It was the nicest compliment that I, as a mare, had ever received.
We finished up eating, paid the bill, and left.  Feeling invigorated, although only slightly, from the food, the walk back to The Metronome seemed to pass quickly.  Despite the hour, the lights were on and the door was unlocked.  Iridium, Photo, Vinyl, and Octavia were all there, all still awake.
Their reactions varied from a nod and smile from Iridium to simultaneous hugs by Octavia and Vinyl.  I heard a camera click in the background as Photo recorded the moment.  I’m sure the picture she took showed a lot of joy, relief, and tired from all of us.
The group hug broke up after a moment.  Some of the government agents that had stayed back at the club had apparently received word of what had happened.  I was kind of grateful that Jenna and I wouldn’t have to explain where we’d been.
Things went in a different direction than expected, however.  Octavia’s tone turned more somber.  “Just before you returned, we heard about Fleur.”
I must admit that in the shuffle, I had lost track of the day’s events.  My mood instantly went serious at the memory.  “Nopony deserved what happened to her.”
Even Photo nodded in agreement, although I was the only one who had actually seen the torture Gilda had inflicted.  After all the ponies she’d killed through beating, why change her attack to something like that?
“What are you going to do now that she’s gone?” I asked Octavia.
“Huh?”  Octavia’s face blanked in confusion.  “Fleur isn’t dead.”
Now it was my turn to be confused.  “Really?”
“A case like hers was serious enough to authorize magic healing,” Vinyl said.  “She won’t make a full recovery, but it’s really amazing what hospitals can help patients to survive.”
I stood there for several seconds, just processing it.  “Well...I need to go visit her.”
This time it was Photo who responded.  “Why?”
“She saved my life.”
Of course, I was going to have to tell the whole story.   I begged for a few minutes to take a shower first, though.  I was still covered in unpleasant things, and the water helped me wash away the previous day - in more ways than one.
Reinvigorated, I told the story about Fleur on the way to the hospital.  By the time we got there, everypony seemed to have formed an opinion.  I didn’t ask about them, but I already knew how I felt.
Fleur’s medical overseers really didn’t want the six of us disturbing her.  Iridium stepped forward and spoke to them quietly and cordially.  The effects were a near-instantaneous turnaround in their attitude.  I swear, Iridium uses politeness as a superpower.  The nurses let us in as long as we promised to be quiet.  Apparently deciding that we were safe enough, the law enforcement agents stayed in the hospital lobby.
A mummy probably had fewer bandages on their face than Fleur.  There were slits for her eyes, but pretty much everything else was covered.  She was resting when we came in, but apparently only lightly.  Her eyes struggled to open and she shifted slightly on the bed.
Realizing that she might not know who had entered, I moved to make sure she saw me.  Her pale violet eyes focused on my face and she seemed to relax slightly.  
I couldn’t blame her for being suspicious.  If I was injured like that, I too would be worried about somebody trying to finish the job.
“I want to say thank you,” I began.  “I appreciate you going out of your way to help me.”
“No other choice,” she whispered, her lips barely moving.
“What do you mean?”  I bent closer to listen.
“I got involved with Little Puffy Joe because I needed money.” 
That explained the conversation she’d had with Gilda.  Had Fleur really been so confident to spout off to an angry griffon that way?  Or rather, was that show of bravado an attempt to conceal her desperation?
Fleur’s hoof moved slightly, in a limp gesture to her face.  “After this happened, I...I had to go after her.  There wasn’t anything else I could do.”
I didn’t know whether Fleur intended revenge on Gilda or was going to beg for leniency.  Either way, heading for the restaurant in her condition truly illustrated how desperate she was.  It was the mother of Hail Marys, a last act in a gamble for something, anything, better.
And she’d given up her final chance for me, walking into the restaurant and using the last of her strength to cut the ropes.
A single tear ebbed from Fleur’s eye and wet the bandages.  Her eyelids closed and I took the opportunity to glance up.  There was emotion on every face in the room.
Photo walked over and sat at the edge of the bed.  Fleur felt the shift and managed to blink through her tears at the photographer.
“I don’t believe it,” muttered Fleur darkly.  “After all this, so much that I couldn’t change, I can’t even die with dignity.  You’re here.”
“Photo might have stopped you from bleeding to death by helping to alert the police,” I put in.
Fleur’s eyes glanced at me, her expression changing slightly before hardening again.  “Doesn’t matter.  What do I have to live for?  My money’s gone, the hospital bills will put me in debt, and I can’t even go out in public looking like this.”
Photo spoke quietly.  “I’ve watched you for a while.  You’re one of the best ponies I’ve ever seen at makeup and styling.  I could use your skills.  I’ll also pay your for your stake in The Metronome.”
A second passed as the offer hung in the air.  Fleur took a stuttering breath and then broke down crying.
The nurses were not pleased with us for taking their patient away from her much needed rest, but Fleur didn’t want them to kick us out.  We stayed as long as we could, until the unicorn healers came in to work on Fleur.  She seemed to be in good hooves, so we took our leave.
The morning sun was coming up as we exited the hospital.  It seemed like a good time for breakfast.  Iridium offered to cook, so the six of us headed back to the club.
I did worry about finding the Lunar Guards and going home, but the day was far from over. Surely they would hear about Gilda soon enough and come looking for me.  Either that or I could just go over to their headquarters.  Besides, breakfast would give me a little more time to say goodbye to my friends.
Iridium didn’t hold back.  The table soon filled with all kinds of tasty breakfast foods.  Also, coffee.  I couldn’t have stayed awake otherwise.
We all knew that it was our last chance to really be together as a group.  Nopony was saying goodbye, but I could tell it was on our minds.
For a while I just drifted.  The conversation wasn’t anything that required my full attention, not that I could have given it anyway.  It was just all of us, happy to be together.  We’d fought hard and won, and now were enjoying our well deserved victory.
This continued for quite a while after our plates were clear.  Even through my tired thoughts, I knew it couldn’t last and that Jenna and I would eventually have to leave, but for the moment it was nice.
My eyelids had started to droop despite the caffeine and a nice mid-morning nap was sounding better and better.  I heard the door open, and was slow to turn my head.  It took a couple of seconds to focus on the batpony who had just come in.
There were two mares with him.  More alert now, I got out of my seat and crossed the room to meet them.  Jenna was beside me.  To the Lunar Guard I asked, “So I take it you heard what happened?”
He nodded.  “We would have preferred Gilda and Joe alive.”
I stared at him. “You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.”
Apologies to the Rolling Stones, but I was too tired to think of a good line of my own.
I turned to the pair of ponies who were with the Guard.  One was blue and the other was white.  “And you are?”
One of them held up an envelope.  “We got your letter.”
It took a second to remember the message I’d sent to Canterlot.  I had gotten so tied up in taking care of the problem myself that getting help from the outside had completely slipped my mind.  So, I was a little displeased that they had shown up now that the action was over.  However…  “Can you send me home?”
“We can.”
To put it mildly, that was the best news I’d gotten all week.  Home, yay!  Jenna’s smile split from ear to ear, and her eyes shimmered.  It was a wonderful sight to see her so happy.  I’m sure that I wore a similar expression, and our joy sort of built on each other like some sort of  ecstatic feedback loop. 
“It will take some time,” cautioned the white mare.  She shot a glance at the other one before turning back to me.  “And we apologize for the inconveniences you’ve gone through.”
“How much time?” I asked, focused on the part of her statement that I actually cared about.
“We should be ready by tomorrow morning.  Until then, we’d like to ask you some questions about your experiences this time.”
I eyed the pair of them, as well as the Guard who seemed to have taken a backseat in the conversation.  “Can you promise me that it will be the last time?  Because if you notice a crime problem again, your first response shouldn’t be ‘let’s just pull the pin on Miller and toss him in there.’”
“This project will not be continued, we assure you,” replied the blue mare.
“Especially after you accidentally grabbed my wife?”  My tone was a little sharp, and apparently I touched on a sensitive topic.  
Her expression hardened.  “What do you know about complex spells and the creation of untested magic?  It can not be guaranteed to produce perfect results.”
Behind her, the Guard’s expression changed slightly, appearing to conceal his feelings on the subject.  The white mare was slightly more expressive, looking at the other with reprimand.  She turned back to me.  “Perhaps we can explain a little more about this.  I hope that we can put these events behind us and have a dialogue.”
I sighed and nodded.  “All right then.  Let’s talk.”
With more coffee, I was able to focus long enough to get through the interview.  We used one of the back rooms of the club.  Jenna was there too, and the two of us talked with the three of them.
It bothered me a little that I ended up not remembering much of the conversation.  I’m sure we covered important things, like the loose ends in the case that I hadn’t managed to solve on my own.  Frankly, I didn’t even remember sitting there for a couple of hours, but I wrote the forgetfulness off to being crazy tired.  At any rate, I didn’t much care that I was in a haze.  We were going home tomorrow!
At least we managed to produce more of an understanding.  Especially the blue mare, who I had taken an initial dislike to, had convinced me to like her.  Jenna and I saw them off cheerfully.  
When the visitors left, I decided that I should rest.  No better way to make tomorrow come faster, right?  Octavia let Jenna and I use her spare bed.
My wife and I curled up together and had just enough time for a kiss before we both drifted off.  Despite what I had been through before going to bed, I didn’t dream about it, or in fact anything.  It was nothing but uninterrupted, restful sleep.  And boy, did it make the morning come almost instantaneously.

In the morning, we all were once again gathered around the breakfast table.  Photo still didn’t know the whole story, but had gotten the idea that Jenna and I were going to be leaving soon.
“And it is a shame that I was never able to capture your image,” she lamented.
Jenna elbowed me.  I glanced at her, seeing a mischievous grin on her face.  I sighed and turned to Photo.  “Well, I suppose I can spare some time to model for you.”
After that, things came together faster than I would have thought.  I don’t know where Photo got those clothes from, but she didn’t hesitate to start dressing me.  Vinyl helped her with the details.  Octavia set the stage and got the lighting ready.  Jenna stood by, offering moral support and just barely concealing her laughter.  To be fair, it was pretty funny, even if I was the butt of it.
Iridium disappeared for a while and came back pushing Fleur in a wheelchair.  She was still heavily bandaged, but looked focused.  Working with her magic alone, she started in on my mane and makeup.
I was slightly surprised by Fleur’s turnaround in attitude.  Perhaps going back to her talents, doing something she was good at, was therapeutic.  She wasn’t as helpless as she might have thought, and had found something useful that she could still do.  And if I had to stand there and let her fix me up, then I must reluctantly admit that it was worth it to see that on her face.
I think the Guard and the two mares with him were somewhat taken aback to walk in and see all of this going on.  I waved to them with one polished hoof as Fleur was finishing with my tail.  “Is it okay if you guys wait a few minutes?”
The two mares looked amused and sat down at one of the club tables to watch.  The Guard gave me a look as if he no longer knew what to think of me.  I hadn’t had time to really get to know him, but the look on his face appeared to indicate that he knew me - or up until this moment thought he did.
I didn’t dwell on it.  Photo finished setting up her camera and called for me to take my position.  The set of stairs I had built for the last fashion show were still next to the stage and I climbed them
The lights were bright, but I could see everypony watching me.  Most of them were my friends, and had helped me get here.  Well, yes, on the stage, but more importantly, in a position to go home.  They’d all done so much, some of them despite their differences.
Octavia and Vinyl had set up their respective music equipment in the back.  With a glance and a smile to each other, they began to play an interesting string/electronic version of You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
But sometimes you get what you need.  I looked at Jenna, seated in the front row.  God, I sure had what I needed in her.  
Jenna had been a wellspring of support for me.  The two of us had gone through this together.  I’d loved and appreciated her before, but after this, maybe I would understand a little better.  Make all the jokes you want about female hormones.
Jenna met my eyes and we held the connection for a few moments.  I didn’t care the both of us were ponies at the moment.  This was who I’d decided to spend my life with, and despite everything that had happened, she felt the same way about me.  I felt like the luckiest man ever.
“Yes, that’s what we need, Millie,” called Photo from behind the camera.  “Show us the emotion.”