New Trottland Yard Case 02 - Silver Cross and the Dancing Demons

Silver Cross

and the Dancing Demons

Chapter 4

My first day of work was actually quite pleasant. Quickie had put me into a Prance maid outfit and put me in front of the Lusty Licker. I was to “attract” potential customers. It was so much fun to flirt with some of the stallions, that I actually forgot to look for evidence. I wouldn't have believed it, but my trainers advice was actually worth something. Be it a colt that was barely old enough to be considered a stallion, or somepony old enough to be my grandfather, they were all like butter in my hooves.

Even a few mares fell victim to my charm. The stallion at the door, Loudspeaker, was amazed at what I did. After about four hours, Quickie approached me and put a hoof on my shoulder.

“Good job Preacher. Ya can go inside now and mingle with the other mares or with the customers if ya want. Haven't had the Licker this full in years!”, he said with a sly grin on his face. I noticed that he had his eyes on my tail once more. I didn't like my undercover name too much, since it clashed with the rest of my fake persona, but it was the only thing Gruff Voice was able to come up with that fitted my Cutiemark...

“My eyes are up here buster, or do you already want to go another nine rounds?”, I joked, catching Loudspeakers shocked look out of the corner of my eye. Quickie just chuckled at my remark.

“Nah, nah! If Ah did dat, ya'd have ta call an ambulance fer mah! Ain't as young as Ah used ta be after all.”, he mused, giving my flank a playful tab when we both went back inside. He hadn't joked about how full it was in here. I couldn't even turn around without bumping into several other Ponies. Had I done this? Cold terror overcame me when I realized that I had just brought in several dozen Ponies, who could very well be the next victim of whatever was going on here.

I decided to mingle with the customers for a while, mostly to try and memorize as many of them as I could. If any of them won the lottery this evening, and turned up crazy the next day, I would know which girl I would have to investigate. It may not have been the best strategy, but it was the only idea I had at that moment. I couldn't very well follow them up to their rooms.

I scanned the room, and spotted somepony I had not expected here. There, in a dark corner of the bar, sat a familiar green Pegasus mare with an orange mane. I made my way towards her, ignoring several stallions that tried to call me to their tables. As soon as I reached her, she looked up at me and smiled, gesturing for me to sit down next to her. It was the first time I was this close to her. Up until now there have always been a few hooves between us. Now I could smell her scent, that was so subtle that one could miss it if one was more then one hoof away from her. She smelled sweet and a little dangerous. Yet I couldn't detect any hostility from her.

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“You have a good eye brother.”, she said, leaning in closer. Her eyes were fixed on mine as usual, and I just couldn't seem to avert my gaze from her.

“I told you before, I'm a mare.”, I replied weakly.

“And I told you before that destiny does not care for gender.”, she whispered into my ear, while a mare named Chocolate Donut danced on the stage. I only registered it on the very edge of my consciousness, that Quickie had told me that she was the prize tonight.

“Who... Who are you? Why... Wh...”, I wanted to ask, when her lips sealed my mouth in a passionate kiss. I could feel my eyes grow heavy and I gave in to her tongue that tried to invade my muzzle. Our tongues danced a passionate dance for a few moments and I felt safe in her presence. All the worry about my mission, the sorrow of Frostmanes death... statistics of how often contraceptive implants failed... all of that faded from my mind.

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I awoke in my bed on the Lusty Licker the next morning. I had no idea how I had gotten here, or what had happened last night. Thinking back I made sure that didn't have a single drop to drink, nor did I take any drugs. Instead, all I could see when I thought about last night were those beautiful amber eyes.

The dampness between my flanks indicated that I had sex last night, and the fact that even the sheets were a complete mess, made it good sex. It frustrated me even more that I didn't remember a single thing! On my way to the bathroom, I saw a folded piece of paper on the only table in the room. Hoping that it held some information about what had happened last night, I redirected my steps towards the table. The letter I found was indeed informative.

“My dear brother in destiny, all your questions shall be answered very soon. You have asked my name, and I will give it to you. My name is Dancing Cross. You also wanted to know why I was in that lowly bar last night. The answer is, that I was there to protect you. You were in great danger once again. A creature of many faces was watching you. It already knows that you are on to it, and seeks your demise. In order to protect you, I spent the night with you. I must say that I wouldn't have expected you to be this skilled in the art of love, since that is my virtue, not yours.

Let me give you a little piece of advice for your further investigation. You should look for Ponies that are missing something essential. Something that would be needed to work in a place such as this.

In love and loyalty

your sister in destiny

Dancing Cross”

I wasn't quite awake yet, so I didn't get the hint on the first read. After I got the message that was written between the lines, I blushed hard. I had spent the night with a mare? Oh dear Celestia! It was... worrisome, since up to that day I had thought I wasn't into mares. Still... it was strange that I didn't remember a single thing about it.... I would have to ask her about this the next time we met.

The more serious implication of her letter was, that there were Changelings involved in whatever was going on here. And Ponies that miss something that I would expect of a Pony working here? OH! I got it. Changelings had no genitalia! I blushed once again at that thought. It meant that I would have to... check each and every employee in this place... Looking under their tails... Great... Now I didn't only have to be a playmare, but also be a peeping tom! I just hoped Dancing's hint was accurate. I would feel pretty silly otherwise.

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My second day of work progressed much like the first one. The only difference was, that some of my co-workers, and even Quickie, teased me about taking a mare to my room. They didn't know me so well, so they naturally assumed that I was a filly fooler. Only my “boss” was convinced that my barn door swung both ways, and didn't get tired of suggesting mares to me under the condition that he could watch. It seemed that talking about sex and all things related to it was something natural in the Lusty Licker.

That some of the mares caught me staring at their tails, didn't help my reputation one bit. Some of them were nice enough and raised them for me, giving me a quick wink. One of them even offered me to “scratch my itch” during our lunch break... It was very embarrassing, but also tempting. The only two Ponies that seemed pretty offended when I tried to look at their behinds, were the announcer, Smooth Tongue, and one of the mares, Slippery. I soon learned that each mare had a stage name, and that this wasn't her real name. Nopony seemed to know what her real name was however.

I more and more came to the conclusion that the cult I was after didn't actually run this place. They were just using it for their means somehow, without Quickie knowing about it. I remembered his teasing from earlier, and approached him with my best bedroom eyes.

“Say Quickie, what can you tell me about Slippery? What do I have to do to get under her tail?”, I asked him casually.

“Slippery? Ya want dat mare? Well not much Ah can tell ya about her. She and dat announcer guy just showed up here one day. She's the only one who didn't pass the usual test though. Took her in on probation, cause her buck friend promised they had an idea to lure in more customers. They sure did with dat lottery idea of them. And I think a have ta disappoint ya. She only ever beds with the ones that win her in da lottery. Some kind of freaky fetish she has apparently. Nothing to uncommon here. Many of da mares have similar fetishes.”, he leaned in closer to me, whispering his next words into my ear.

“Ya know, Ah wanted ta put you up a da prize tonight. But Ah wouldn't want ta get into trouble, Inspector Silver Cross.”

My eyes widened at that. How the hay had I blown my cover? My surprised look brought a smile on his face, and he continued whispering.

“Oh don't act so surprised. Ah might run a brothel, and Ah might not be da brightest bulb, but even Ah read da paper. Yer the heroine of Haunchington. Ah couldn't exactly pass up on the opportunity ta buck a celebrity, now could Ah? You could have just asked me ya know? Ah might have one or two skeletons in ma basement mahself, but Ah've always been know to work with the authorities. Don't like foul eggs in mah omelet, if ya know if Ah mean. So if dat mare has dirt under her tail, ya have mah full support.”

I didn't regret having sex with him, but I did regret deceiving him. I started to really like that stallion. Since I didn't want to blow my cover any further, I agreed to be the price of the night, much to Quickies surprise.

I did my show, ignoring the crowd for the most part. Quickie had outfitted me with only a single piece of clothing, and it didn't even deserve the right to be called that. It was just a red veil that covered most of my muzzle. A young Unicorn stallion ended up catching it, when I tossed it into the crowd at the end of my show. He was nice enough, and no trouble at all. It could very well be that I popped a cherry that night, since he fell asleep before the horizontal show had even fully started.

I had Loudspeaker escort him outside after letting him sleep for an hour in my bed. Quickie was so considerate to have one of the maids change my sheets afterwards.

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The next morning I got the key to Slipperys rooms from Quickie. He regretted that I would return to my original job, once I had solved this case, but he promised to pay me for a full week of work nonetheless. I wanted to decline, since I had only worked two days so far, but he waved a hoof at me.

“Missy, ya have brought more business mah way then anything Ah've tried in the twenty years Ah do this now. If ya ever quit being a cop, yer always welcome here.”, he had said before pretending not to see me sneaking up to Slipperys room...

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I gaped at the beauty of the room I had just unlocked. I had thought the the room I was given was nothing special, until I had tried the bed, but THIS was just overdoing it! I was still staring the the expensive furniture, when a silky voice came from behind me. I froze. I knew that voice.

“Finally showing your true colors now, little rat?”, the Changeling behind me mused, narrowing it's eyes as it's horn glowed. My cross started to warm up a little, as the far wall of the room slid upwards. Behind it I could see dozens upon dozens of Changelings... I was so screwed! Even my cross wouldn't be able to get me out of here. I could only fire that sunlight beam once every few days, and even it's amplifying magic only worked for four hits until it ran out of juice... Not knowing any other way, I grabbed the only straw that I could think of.

“You're under arrest!”, I shouted at them as I moved slowly backwards towards the bed. They began to laugh loudly at that. Figures that this last straw would be a dud... The fight began non-ceremoniously. One of them simply charged me, and I knocked it back with my cross, hoping to give the others pause when they saw the strength of it. I couldn't be so lucky, could I? The rest of them swarmed me. Several of them received cross enhanced hits to the face, throwing them back into the crowd and knocking some more of them over. It wasn't enough though. They just kept coming. After a very short struggle, they had overwhelmed me and the one who was posing as Slippery stood above me. Ten others held me on the ground, apparently afraid of my Earthpony strength.

“You came here to find out what we are doing here, didn't you , little rat? Well... it does hardly matter now. I will show you what you came here for, before you will feed our mistress!”, she said coldly. It was then that I noticed something odd about these Changelings. They all had midnight blue, sparkling, eyes. They carried me, while I was screaming profanities, through the secret door.

I was no Unicorn, but even I recognized it for what it really was. This wasn't just a door. It was a portal of some kind. As they carried me down the stairs, I began to calm down. Not because I wanted to, but because what I saw in depths made my blood freeze in my veins. A pit that was filled with midnight blue, sparkling mist. What the buck was that?

When we reached the bottom, they put me down again, holding onto me with their magic. I couldn't move an inch...

“You came here to see this, little rat. This is where our dear mistress will be reborn, and it is here where you will loose your sanity!”, “Slippery” boasted, while gesturing to the pit. I didn't understand a word she said. Suddenly a tendril of smoke formed in the pit and wrapped itself around my right foreleg. It felt as if somepony had stuck my leg into a freezer, and I began to scream.

I had expected the thing to pull me in, but that didn't happen. It seemed content with torturing me. The Changelings were suddenly scattered by a small explosion in their midst.

“LET HER GO!”, I heard the voice of Dancing cross echo though the dungeon. When I looked up, I spotted the mare flying above us, dropping small metal objects into the crowd of Changelings. They exploded as soon as they came into contact with the inset like creatures, but not harming me in the slightest. Soon there was only Slippery left. The leader of this cult turned around and jumped into the pit. Only seconds later, something else stepped out of the misty depths. The mist dispersed to reveal... an Alicorn? A pure black Alicorn with dragon like irises rose from the pit like a newborn foal from it's mothers womb.

I looked up again, to see if I could expect any further air support from Dancing, but the mare was long gone. I backed up slightly, not sure if I was dreaming or not. If I saw this right, then this was...

“Nightmare... Moon...”, I choked out, and the Alicorn began to laugh wickedly, then stopped abruptly as she noticed her own high pitched voice. Then I realized it. I had thought that she seemed small because she was far away, but what stood in front of me now, was an actual hoof sized version of the mare of darkness herself. I chuckled.

“Fools! Why did you awaken me? My resurrection is not even halfway complete!”, she whined, adding, “And you stop laughing you disrespectful foal! I shall destroy you for this!”

She shot a blast of magical energy at me. I didn't think that a creature this small would be able to do much harm to me, so I didn't even attempt to dodge it. The pain as the blast cut right through my left hoof was enough to convince me otherwise.

“OK that's it, you animated inkstain!”, I shouted, rearing up and crushing the perplexed, miniature creature under my good right hoof....

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When I had finally limped my way back up the stairs, and found the actual door to this place, I found myself in quite a bind. I wasn't in Trottingham anymore... Instead, I found myself in a ruined underground city, on the outskirts of Zebra territory...

“Oh great... The boss is so going to kill me when I send him the bill for my traveling expenses...”, I mumbled, making my way towards the nearest settlement. Even by chariot, it would take at least a week to get back to Canterlot...