The Royal Blacklist

Baltimare is home to one of Equestria’s largest ports.  Every year, five hundred million pounds of goods are loaded on and off the ships that come to rest at its docks.  Every month, nearly two million bits go in and out of its harbor.  Every week, no less than ten ships enter and leave the loading bays near the giant warehouses located along the port.

And every day, at least three hundred of its residents are reported as being the victims of crime, from small crimes like petty theft and robbery to large scale items like embezzlement, kidnappings, and even murder.  Some consider it a shame to the otherwise fine, golden reputation of the seaside city, being one of the highest in standards for education, art, and business, third only to the capital city of Canterlot and the large, glittering skyline of Manehattan.  Others consider it the product of the business boom that started around the time that Starswirl the Bearded first built his institution for magic there, that the fact that crime would inevitably come to the city once the port was built.  Even so, that hasn’t stopped the residents from continuing to use Baltimare’s port and causing it to be one of the largest transit and shipping ports on Equestria’s eastern shore.

To protect the businesses there, Baltimare has one of the largest police forces available to modern Equestria.  Nearly ten percent of the cities sixty thousand foot patrol cops are assigned to the port district to manage incoming and outgoing shipments of goods and passengers.  The average Baltimare cop is expected to have one tussle over the goods and cargo found at the port every month, and for most it is a dreaded assignment.

Despite being on the force for nearly seven years, Officer Peace Keeper is still unnerved whenever put onto an assignment at the docks, particularly during the night shift.  The young officer had a few things going for him; the fact he was a unicorn allowed him full access to all possible weapons for his possession, and he currently had a black .25 Beretta pistol with silencer holstered at his side and currently held a black baton in his magic field.  His dark blue coat helped him to hide in the shadows in case he managed to stumble upon some sort of smuggling ring or any evidence of gang activity.  Even so, he rather enjoyed the company of the stallion next to him.

The stallion was a bright pure white unicorn with an electric blue mane and wearing the dark purple and gold armor of the royal guard.  He stood a little bit taller than Peace Keeper was and currently held a rather sharp spear in his own blue magic field.  Unlike the unicorn next to him, he had no gun, but Peace Keeper knew he had some powerful offensive magic; the two ponies lying in the alley behind them were evidence of that, each with their eyes wide open as though in shock though both were quite dead.

The stallion and Peace Keeper walked up to a stone building just across from Baltimare’s ports and the site of one of the biggest warehouses.  A small, indiscreet green door with zero sign and a single light showing over the entryway marked the only visible entrance to the large building.

“You sure this is the place?” the stallion asked.

“Yes, Shining Armor, sir,” Peace Keeper replied.  “The last time I saw them they were heading into this door with a white pegasus in gold armor.  Seemed like he was wrapped up in some sort of green substance.”

“That’s the one,” Shining Armor said.  “Any way you know how to unlock this door?”

“Not unless you have the key,” Peace Keeper replied.  “There’s no way to enter the establishment otherwise.  The front door key has only two copies belonging to the manager of the building and his secretary.”

“Are the keys different?”

“Yes, sir.  The back door is a service door and used by the workers.”

“I suppose they could change the locks, then.  Stand back.”

Peace Keeper and Shining Armor stepped back a few paces so that they were hidden within the shadows of the alleyway.  Shining Armor set his spear against the side of the wall and began charging magic from his horn.  Once his magic had covered the horn of the white unicorn, Shining Armor fired a large blue bolt at the door.  The bolt hit the door with a bang! and the door burst inwards, revealing a dark interior and an earth pony sprawled out on the floor in view of the light.

“Must have been a guard,” Shining Armor said.  “I think we just knocked him out.”

“Should I call for backup?” Peace Keeper asked.

“No.  They won’t arrive in time.  Besides, I’ve already got company on the way.  Let’s just go inside.  You have your flashlight?”

Peace Keeper nodded and took the flashlight out of its holder next to the Beretta and turned it on, focusing it inside.  He walked first into the room, followed by Shining Armor, and shone the flashlight around the room.  It looked like a storage room for a general store, with shelves full of boxes of various items.  Shining Armor followed Peace Keeper as he shined the light around the room, eventually letting it fall on an open door.

“Where does that lead to?” Shining Armor asked.

“That’s the janitor’s room,” Peace Keeper asked.

Shining Armor nodded and motioned for the dark blue unicorn to follow him.  The unicorn shone the flashlight into the small room and onto a bright white pegasus stallion with a two-toned brown mane covered almost entirely except for his blue eyes in a dark green goo.

“Revenant Wings!” Shining Armor exclaimed.  “I was wondering what they would have done to you.”

The stallion started charging another bolt of energy and scanned it down the pegasus.  The magic slowly dissolved the green goo covering the pegasus, starting from his head and slowly spreading down his body.

As soon as the stallion’s mouth was free, the pegasus coughed.  “Blech!  I was wondering what time you would have found me out.  Who would have thought that a small-time gangster would have been able to utilize Changeling goo as a weapon?”

“Someone who forgets the Captain of the Guard has already fought Changelings before,” Shining Armor smiled.  “Come on and get up.  Did they hurt you at all?”

“No.”  Revenant Wings brushed the last of the green substance off his wings and flared them out to fan them.  “That Changeling goo had me immobilized enough I could hardly struggle.  It feels good to have some feeling back in my wings.  Who’s your partner?”

“The name’s Peace Keeper,” the dark blue unicorn introduced himself.  “I’ve been part of the Baltimare Police Department for seven years and have been looking to take down Black Heart for three of them.  He’s caused a lot of trouble down at the docks for years.”

“So, this Black Heart fellow is who we’re up against, eh?” Shining Armor asked.  “He’s been on the Canterlot Most Wanted list for ten years now.  Wanted for crimes of embezzlement, later gang activity and outright murder.  He’s got quite a price on his head.”

“Sounds dangerous,” Peace Keeper said.

“Most are when we’ve backed them into a corner,” Revenant Wings smirked.  “Now, it’s just time to finish the job.  He’s out of money, out of resources, and for us…”

“…out of time,” Shining Armor concluded.  “Do we have another flashlight around here?”

“There should be one in the closet here,” Peace Keeper said.  “Shining Armor should take it.  Then Revenant can take another weapon.”

Revenant Wings nodded.  “You have my weapon, Shining?”

Shining Armor took a small dagger out of his pack and clicked a button on the side of it so that the blade extended almost as large as the pegasus’ wing.  Revenant grabbed the short sword in his mouth and nodded to Shining Armor.

“I’d switch your weapon to the Beretta if I were you,” Shining Armor said to Peace Keeper.  “You’ll need a bit more firepower than a baton.”

Peace Keeper nodded, holstered the baton and pulled out the sleek black pistol with silencer attached.  With a click of the safety, Peace Keeper nodded to Shining Armor, who took a black flashlight, and walked into the dark confines of the building.

The next door led to the “Main Offices”.  Shining Armor fired another bolt at the door’s lock and the door swung open.  Shining Armor led the way into the next hallway, with Revenant Wings behind him and Peace Keeper in the rear.  The three ponies fanned out and started searching the doors of the offices, checking the locks and opening those that were unlocked.

At the end of the corridor, the hallway split into a T-shape with two possible directions.

“You two go that way,” Shining Armor said, pointing to the end of the hall.  “I can take care of myself.”

Revenant Wings nodded and he and Peace Keeper headed off to one end of the hall.  Shining Armor went off in the other direction, shining his flashlight ahead of him as he passed offices and meeting rooms surrounded by thick glass plates.

At the end of the hall, two earth ponies stepped out from doors on opposite sides of the hallway, one brown and the other grey.  They each held a club in their mouths as they glared at Shining Armor.

“Mooks,” Shining Armor said as they charged at him.  “Figures.”

Before one could start swinging his club, Shining Armor flung himself at him with his hoof outstretched, laying it across the grey one’s face and sending him sprawling in the middle of the hallway.  Spear outstretched, he dodged the brown pony’s swing and returned with a swing of his own spear, catching the brown pony in the back of the head and sending him reeling.

The grey one was up again, and Shining Armor quickly drove his spear into his chest, causing a red line to start trailing down his front.  Shining pulled his spear out from the pony and watched as he collapsed on the floor in front of him and his eyes rolled back in his head.

The brown pony got up and made his way for one of the doors.  Shining Armor bolted after him, flinging open a door the brown pony closed behind him and resuming his charge.  The brown pony was heading for a red-lit button at the far edge of the offices, likely attempting to activate the security system to alert his cohorts.  Shining took as best aim as he could and threw his spear at the pony, not hitting him directly but throwing him off enough he missed the button.

The earth pony was not out of steam yet, however.  He managed to swing twice at Shining Armor, who dodged the first but got hit by the second, flying backwards from the power in the pony’s hoof and crashed against the door, causing it to fling open again.  The unicorn was dazed and simply hoped his horn wasn’t broken as the brown pony came over to him and raised his hoof.

Shining Armor rolled out of the way just in time as the pony’s hoof crashed into the floor beside him.  Seizing an opportunity, Shining bucked upwards, catching the pony in the chest and causing him to make a sound that started as a grunt but turned into a wheeze.  The pony was flying into the air when a silenced gunshot came from behind Shining Armor, making his ears ring as the pony was caught in the hoof, landing on the floor near the red button.

“Keep him away from the button!” Shining Armor said.  “It’s a security alarm.  It’ll warn the others.”

Revenant Wings appeared from behind Shining Armor and moved the blade of his sword towards the brown earth pony’s throat.  Peace Keeper came in shortly afterwards with a large piece of rope and quickly tied it around the earth pony, binding his hooves to his sides.

“How much damage you wager you did to him?” Revenant asked Shining Armor.

“He won’t be going anywhere anytime soon,” Shining Armor replied.  “I’d say it’s a broken rib from where I kicked him, a broken nose from my punching him, and there’s the gunshot wound.”

“Probably wishing he was the one dead in the corridor,” Revenant Wings said.

“Maybe,” Shining Armor said as Peace Keeper rejoined them.  “Well, at least we know Black Heart’s hiding somewhere here.  He probably won’t be trying to use the front entrance any time soon since that would set off the alarms and the back entrance is where we just came from.”

“About time we tracked this bastard down,” Peace Keeper commented.  “He’s been giving the force trouble for months.  Shot a couple of our members down not but a few weeks ago.  My commanding officer will enjoy hearing we’ve finally got him.”

“Here’s an interesting fact: your commanding officer reports to me,” Shining Armor told him with a smile.

After double checking that Shining Armor was okay and Peace Keeper radioed his force to let them know of their location, the three ponies exited the office where the brown pony was and walked out into the hallway.  Across from them was another door that was slightly ajar, one that Shining Armor recognized the grey pony stepping out from.  The three ponies entered there and saw a large room with large glass windows on three walls and three ponies standing at the empty wall on the other side.

In the back corners of the room stood two unicorn stallions, both covered in deep red coats and boasting dark brown eyes that were nearly black.  Between them stood a dark grey unicorn with bright blue eyes and a black heart for a cutie mark.  He was dressed simply; he had a purple cape with gold edges around it and a white collar with a black bow tie on his neck.  The unicorn took a few steps towards Shining Armor and smiled.

“Why, if it isn’t the Captain of the Guard,” the stallion’s smooth voice purred.  “I should have figured you would be the one chasing after me.”

“You should have figured that out after you cut that heart into that poor pony’s hoof two months ago,” Shining Armor said.  “You have two choices, Black Heart.  Either surrender and come back quietly for life in prison, or die fighting.”

Black Heart laughed.  “Ah, and just when the game was beginning to be fun, too!”  Shining Armor noted he didn’t sound angry at all, simply amused.  “I suppose I’ll give myself up, then.  Come on over and do what you must.”

Shining Armor leaned over to Peace Keeper.  “Fire the Beretta at the other two.”

Peace Keeper quickly fired two shots at the two unicorns on either side of the dark grey stallion, but before they could hit their intended targets, Black Heart’s horn glowed dark purple and the two bullets stopped inches away from the unicorn’s heads.

“Quick reflexes,” Revenant Wings commented.

“Oh, it’s more than just reflexes,” Black Heart said.  “Shining Armor, we’ve been fighting against each other for so long it’s getting easy to tell what you’re going to do.  For example, you have your spear and you like to use that, but spurn using more modern technology for the sake of personal morals.  Now, which do you think would be more useful in your situation, your morals or my capture, hm?”

“I could use a gun if I wanted to,” Shining Armor said firmly.

“Ah, but you just told your little compatriot there to fire at them for you, not you doing it yourself.”

Shining Armor took the gun from Peace Keeper’s grip.  The dark blue unicorn pulled out his baton and charged at one of the red unicorns while Revenant charged at the other one.

“Ah, so the game has become more interesting,” Black Heart commented, keeping his gaze locked on Shining Armor.

“Yes,” Shining Armor said, doing the same to the dark grey stallion.  “But it’s my last turn.”

The white unicorn fired three times at Black Heart, who teleported around the room; the first time missed, the second time hit the stallion Revenant Wings was fighting, and the third hit a window and crashed through.  Black Heart teleported twice and charged at Shining Armor, who jumped out of the way and adjusted himself for another try.

Black Heart teleported a third time to get away from a crashing window as Shining fired a fourth shot at him, causing the dark grey stallion to teleport back to where he had come from initially and into the waiting hooves of two other white pegasi wearing gold armor, clasping a set of bright steel hoofcuffs around Black Heart’s hooves.

“The white knight has been played,” Shining Armor said as he approached Black Heart struggling on the floor.  “Those hoofcuffs have been enchanted to resist magic.  You won’t be getting away that easily.  Seems like its check and mate.”

Revenant and Peace Keeper brought over the other red stallion as more pegasi entered through the broken windows.  Two of them grabbed the red stallion and another two bound ropes around Black Heart’s body.

“Fair enough,” Black Heart said, shrugging his shoulders.  “I suppose you’ve won.”

Shining Armor nodded.  “I think it’s also fair to say you won’t be causing Baltimare any more trouble.”

“There are still others,” Black Heart said as the pegasi picked him up off the floor.  “I now am the least of your problems.”

“Not until I’ve seen you go to the block,” Shining Armor said.  “I think Princess Celestia would like that very much.”  He nodded to the pegasi, who took Black Heart and the red unicorn away through the open windows.

Peace Keeper sighed.  “Well, that settles that case,” he said.  “I’d better get back and report what happened to my commanding officer.  I suppose he’ll be sending the reports and Black Heart to you in Canterlot after about a week once he’s been processed.”

“Take whatever time you need,” Shining Armor said.  “We’ll be having to process some reports of our own back in Canterlot.”

Peace Keeper bowed to Shining Armor.  “It’s been a pleasure working with you, sir,” he said.  “I hope we shall meet again soon.”  He picked himself up with a polite nod to Revenant Wings and walked off.

“Congratulations, sir,” Revenant Wings said.  “That’s one major criminal taken down.”

Shining Armor turned to Revenant Wings and smiled.  “We have until tomorrow evening to wait for our train to get back home.  What say we stop in and get ourselves a cider?”

“Are you paying or am I?”

“You are.”  Shining’s grin grew tenfold.  “You said it wouldn’t work.”

Revenant cursed under his breath.