Chapter 4: Elements

By AlphaOmega

November 13, 9:30 A.M., University of Canterlot

2 days before the first bombing.

Twilight never asked to be put in college. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy it, it was just that she had to take several high level classes in engineering. That was natural for a gifted unicorn. However, she didn't understand why she had to go through with it. Magic was her special ability, thus, magic engineering always came easy to her. The concept was easy enough for her to understand. Unfortunately, the company elites did not care for someone who didn't even have a degree. So her parents enrolled her anyway.

So here she was, studying the advanced blueprints of arcane magic engineering. And she had already finished the book in a day.

"UGH! Why do I have to deal with this? Isn't already obvious that the mechanics of arcane magic are equal only the abilities the machinations that the mind can produce?" She sighed. It was all so frustratingly easy. She was taking the highest level course and for a final project, she had to recreate a magic gear, something that was in extreme shortage in even the most up-to-date factories. It required several hours of work and extreme research to balance out all the magics.

She had made 3 for her friends and all received a perfect grade. What Twilight realized she needed was a challenge. Something that would really test her knowledge. Surely there was some problem out there that required her knowledge. Anything-

"Oh hello Twilight!" A voice came from the dorm room door. A pure white pony walked in and pouted. "Look at this mess! Simply atrocious. I will not have you making such a mess in OUR room." She began to levitate empty cans of energy drinks and crumpled paper into the trash. "This isn't just your room, dear. You have to remember I'm rooming here too. "

Twilight barely paid attention. Although Rarity and her had been friends for a long time, it was quite annoying when she constantly kept telling Twilight to clean up. Not that Rarity enjoyed it; she just liked things to be significantly cleaner than what the mess was. Sometimes, she would even do extra cleaning, claiming "always better to leave a room extra clean when SOMEPONY might mess it up even worse". Naturally, Twilight fought her on that. The logic wasn't exactly flowing.

Rarity continued to clean and complain until Twilight couldn’t handle it anymore.

"UGH! Alright Rarity. I get it. I will clean when I have the chance!" Twilight retorted. Rarity looked at her, taken aback by the abrupt comment. She merely smirked.

"And you think I can't get your attention when I need it?" Rarity trotted over to a pile of mail. "Here, Twilight. I wanted to show you something."

With nothing to really do, Twilight strode over to see what warranted her attention, other than her friend. Rarity was sweeping away the mail and such until she got to the near bottom. Two letters were left; one was a letter with a seal on it while the other was already open. Rarity reached for the open one.

"I got accepted to work for Fashion Z!" She exclaimed. "They are one of the hippest, newest, bestest-"

"Not a word."

"Oh shut up." Rarity retorted. "It's my dream to work for them! The head designer, Photo Shop, is one of the- no, THE best in all of Equestria! I will be making clothes for the wealthy and, maybe one day, I can work my way up to assistant head designer!"

Twilight smiled, happy for the white pony. "That is wonderful Rari! When are you moving out?"

Rarity laughed. "Oh Twi. Let's just go out and celebrate. My treat."

"Hmmm....." Twilight thought. She did have a lot of homework....

"Sure. Let's go." Twilight agreed.

Rarity put the letter away on her side of the dorm and prepared a nice dress for going out. Twilight began to put the mail away in the trash, until she noticed the other envelope. "Hey Rarity! Is this yours?" Twilight levitated the strange letter with a red seal.

Rarity paused a moment to look at it. "Well, darling, I think if you look closer you can see it's for you." Confused, Twilight looked the mail piece over. Her name was on the reverse.

"Oh." She blushed. For all her brains, she was running on little sleep and she really didn't pay attention to mail. Unless it was from her parent or Shining, she didn't care.

She broke the sealed and opened the letter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

You probably don't know me. But don't be alarmed, I know you. I have seen you work since you were a child. Your magical talent is beyond compare. However, you must learn to use it.

I can teach you how to do this. But in my current position, I cannot. Nonetheless, it will soon change. Oh and I believe I made a mistake. You may know me, but probably not personally. Anyway, I have foreseen an evil that I wish for you to help me quell, but you must trust me.

In a few days, there will be a bombing. Remain calm, don't panic. Just know that it will happen. I believe this to be the first sign. In a day or so of this letter reaching you, I will deliver a package of various items. Attached is another letter such as this. Follow the instructions and you will uncover the truth.

I know this is strange for me to ask you. But, I promise you this, you have more meaning in this than you know.

May SOMONE have mercy on your soul.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight nearly dropped the letter. "Holy shit." Was the only thing she could say. Rarity trotted over. "What is it Twi? You're not one to use such vulgar language." But she was clearly still in shock. Rarity picked up the letter and did a quick scan.

"WHAT?! A BOMB!?" She yelled frantically. "Twilight! This letter-!"

"I know!" The lavender pony yelled. "I don't know who this is, but they could be the one planting the bomb! We have to get to the police!"

"Wait!" Rarity yelled. As usual, she had to apply some voice of reason before the frantic lavender pony began to REALLY panic. "Let's think this through. We would be questioned. I know your brother is the head of Canterlot police, but you have to remain calm-"

"RARITY!" Twilight said in a hushed yell. "Whoever this is planning to massacre a population! The info we have is vital. We have to tell the police or we could be accomplices!"

Rarity thought it over. "Very well." She agreed then pouted. "And I was looking forward to a nice meal before the day got hectic."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

11:30 A.M., Canterlot Police Department, Head Office

"Twili, you can't just come in like this you know." Shining warned. "Not only does it look completely biased, but there are criminals we have tied up. If one got out and took you."

"Please Shining. I know how to run away." Then Twilight remembered. "You taught me how to fight!"

"Yeah. When I was like a kid and you were younger."

"So you admit you're incompetent."

"No I-" Shining stopped. She was doing it again. "Okay Twilight. But explain to me first how you know there will be a bombing. And where too." He stopped again. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. I can't just-" He went on to list a number of laws in submitting possible threats to security.

Rarity whispered to Twilight. "I've got this." She prostrated herself and threw herself at Shining. "Shining, darling, you must understand that we are just as confused as you. We just heard this information from a few stallions in a nearby alley. We are just concerned." She put on her best puppy face.

Shining was having trouble concentrating with the puppy eye look. But he knew it when he saw it. "Stop the magic Twilight. I know a mesmerize spell when I see one." Shining quickly enveloped his head in a pink forcefield. The haze in his eyes cleared and he simply saw a white pony trying to persuade him.

Twilight's horn stopped glowing. She was laughing uncontrollably. "Oh come now Shining, I could see it in your eyes. You enjoyed it."

"...hmph. Cadence would not approve. I'm a married man." He replied. Then he, again, realized he was off track. "Back to the matter at hand."

He moved over to his desk. "I will file a report, but I'm not jumping to any conclusions. I will send out a report to nearby police departments, but I will not stir up a storm over nothing. Understand, ladies?"

"But-"

"Enough Twilight." Shining trotted over. And gave her a hug. "I will figure this out. I know you just want everyone to be safe, but in this job, we can only do so much."

Twilight, stunned, returned the hug. "I just-"

"I know. Just leave it to us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

12:45 P.M., Fancy Scott Restaurant

It was a perfect afternoon, so Twilight and Rarity, decided to take a table outside. They have ordered a few appetizers and for a main course, a special salad the restaurant made for two.

"So Rarity, tell me more about this job offer."

Rarity smiled. It was good to see Twilight being open. Although they had known each other almost since childhood, she often kept to herself. "Oh it's a wonderful offer! They want me to show them a few dresses. If they like it, I will be working with their Canterlot division to create a new fashion trend!"

"Sounds difficult." Twilight responded. "How do you plan to impress them?"

"Well..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

11:45 A.M., Canterlot Police Department, Head Office

"Yes. Yes I understand. No. Highly unlikely. Okay. I have to go now. I will talk more about this later." Head Captain Shining Armor hung up the phone. He waited a few moments before calling over the intercom.

"Lieutenant Vintard, please come to the main head office immediately." Taking a hoof off the intercom, he sighed. Now his sister was caught up in the mess. It wasn't enough that the bomber had threatened the Headquarters of the Police Departments in Equestria, he had involved his sister. If only-

"You called sir?" A zebra knocked at the open door. Lieutenant Lecros Vintard was wearing his favorite uniform and had his typical officer hat on. While he was not required to, he always insisted that he wanted to be a symbol of justice wherever he went. And his record was surely no joke.

Shining smiled brightly. "Ah Lieutenant. Please let's drop all formalities. I have a personal request for you."

Vintard smiled. "Thank you sir. I would be honored to carry something out." He paused. "Provided it is not laundry." He grinned.

Shining smirked and laughed. "No such thing I'm afraid. I would like you to look into a very private matter. I can trust your confidentiality?"

"Of course sir!" Lecros responded quickly.

Shining thought for a moment. Should be really trust the Lieutenant? His record was flawless but he was only on the force for a few years. Yet, his notoriety and abilities were worthy of his rank. "Very well. I will explain."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November 12, 8:30 P.M., Canterlot Police Department, Head Office

Shining Armor hated paperwork. He hated sitting around doing it. He hated sitting around re-typing it. He hated having to listen to criminals who were murderers. They needed to just be put in jail.

But nonetheless, the Head Captain of the Police Force in Equestria was doing it anyway. The documents required his signature for warrants on high bounty criminals. In any case, the work was almost done and he would soon be home with Cadence.

"Still cleaning up sir?" Asked a unicorn passing by. Shining looked up from his work and smiled.

"It's standard procedures for the me. I don't get much sleep." He smiled. He always appreciated this janitor. Shining didn't really know him, but from what he saw and the janitor's visit, he was a good pony who enjoyed work.

The unicorn laughed. "You really should sleep more often."

"I might say the same for you."

"Heh." The unicorn grinned. "My job is easy. All I do is mop floors. You have to mop up injustice." With a wink, the unicorn returned to his work. Shining turned to get back to his work as well.

"Oh and another thing." Shining looked up. The janitor entered and dropped a message on the desk. "This was found in the mail room. I wasn't sure if it was important or not but I found it on the floor. It was the last of the mail."

Shining blinked. "Th-thank you." As the unicorn left, Shining called out, "What's your name?"

The janitor stopped. "I go by my stage name, Hypnotizer."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the present

"I always did wonder why he had a name with Hypnotizer when he was a janitor. Perhaps a part time job..." Shining's voice trailed off. "Anyway. Here was the letter he found."

Vintard took it carefully and opened it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Head Captain Shining Armor,

Your security detail is quite lax. I was able to deliver this message and escape quite easily. Nonetheless, I do enjoy my share of action in the field.

No doubt you are about to sweep this aside. But I would suggest against that. In 3 days time, I will bomb several sites in Equestria. It is up to you to stop them. All of my pieces are in place to begin. They may not know what their ultimate goal is, but that is for the police to decide.

I will bring out a chance, Captain, and I want you to play a role.

I will leave you this clue about a name to start:

Just as it was there when Celestia reigned,
it is now blotted out in the morning sky.
Where they used to live is the key.

Good luck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vintard put the letter down. "It certainly does perk up one's ears." However, his face was a mask of emotion. Shining had noticed this of the new captain and often admired him for his abilities. It showed professionalism. Although, he had heard rumors of the Lieutenant during interrogations. Again, he was lucky to have such capable hooves as a subordinate.

Shining pulled out a folder. "This is what I have concluded from my own personal study." He took out a folder with three pictures.

"The first one here is Lunas Castle. He is a factory worker in Mannhatten. I am deducing this from the little poem at the end." Shining pointed out the 3 lines that contained the secret to the possible bombing. However, Vintard showed no emotion.

"If you don't mind me saying," Shining looked up from the papers. "I would like to just warn you that this could just be a joke." Vintard explained. "Perhaps we should wait it out a little-"

The words hit Shining hard. While the Head Captain wanted to protect everyone, he knew he could not if he focused on one problem that may or may not exist. Nonetheless, he had to take these threats and treat them as real as possible to avoid disaster. But if it was fake, he would waste his forces and his reputation on a false lead.

Shining stopped shuffling the papers. Then he spoke. "I will not risk the lives of innocent civilians." He continued to pull out a second picture. "This is also another suspect. Her name is Dawn Everfree. She is a coal miner. She has had a history with run ins with the police a few years after "The Incident". Here is my thinking. The first line may refer to "Dawn" while the last line, after some research, I realized could refer to where the Royal Sisters, Celestia and Luna, lived, the Everfree forest."

"But that's just a legend." Vintard interrupted. "We can't-"

"Go off that info?" Shining completed. He sighed heavily. "I know. But it's the only lead we have. Anyway, here is another one." Vintard took the finally suspect's photo.

"She doesn't look like she would hurt a fly."

"Looks can be deceiving. She was wanted 2 years ago for a riot that broke out in Hoofington and is currently unknown. On top, she was suspected of blowing up a factory to oppose the dumping of materials in the Everfree River." Shining explained.

Vintard looked at the three photos. He really didn't like going on such flimsy leads. It was unprofessional and often ended in failure. However, he took one look at Shining, and realized that the Head Captain's famous intuition was working hard. He began to speak.

"I see. What would you like me to do Captain?" Vintard asked.

Shining sat there and just stared. He debated what to do now. If he sent one of his top Lieutenant on a false lead, Shining would surely look like a fool. However, was the lives of civilians, both pony or other species, worth his pride?

He shook his head. How could he think that? He had a commitment to the populace. If he failed now, and something happened, how could he continue to call himself Head Captain?

He made his decision. "Lieutenant Vintard. I am dispatching you to the cities where these suspects live. Apprehend them and bring them in for questioning. Do it in 2 days so we may prevent disaster."

Lieutenant Vintard smiled. "Very well, Head Captain. But do remember my warning..."

Shining caught the threat in the Lieutenants voice. "Is there something wrong?"

Vintard just smiled. "Nothing Captain. I would just HATE to see your record be tarnished because of a FALSE LEAD. But I will do as you command."

He left the room. "Oh and one last thing."

Shining turned to the zebra. "Fluttershy is my mother's closes friend."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

November 13, 12:30 A.M., ???

The janitor stored his items for the night. It sure was a difficult clean tonight. The officers had partied in the break room and left a mess for him. Nonetheless, he made good money to clean it up.

As he left, he passed by the same bar. His guest would arrive soon. He was supposed to be here at exactly 12:35 A.M. to drop off the instructions. He walked inside.

"The usual sir?" The bar owner asked.

"Sparkling in the Twilight." He responded.

The bar owner walked away...to the telephone. The janitor sat and waited with his drink.

"Beautiful evening eh?" A griffin who sat down said.

"If only I could see the ray's of the sun as beautifully as the moon."

The griffin nodded her head. "The time is coming. Be at the mines in Manehatten for the next phase."

The janitor nodded as the griffin disappeared from the table.

"Your message sir." The bar owner said handing him a paper. He opened it and smiled.

Yes. The job would be easy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEAD CAPTAIN SHINING ARMOR'S WISH: DISCOVER THE MASTERMIND.

LIEUTENANT VINTARD'S WISH: FIND THE BOMBER and BECOME HEAD CAPTAIN.

Author's Note

Sorry it is coming out so late. Finals are a pain.

Except 5 to come a little later as well as the first part of Fallout Equestria: Someponies Change (working title; comment your ideas....lol)