Ponies with Dirty Faces

“So what makes you want to join the force” Commissioner Shining Armour of the Charming City Police Department asked from behind his desk.

“I dunno” said Rainbow Dash “I was in the Flying Corps during the war and I guess I still want some action in my life as well as fighting the bad guys for once.”

The two ponies were sitting in the commissioners office alone in a confidential meeting. The former airpony had recently applied to join the CCPD after coming back from the Griffin war but had recently failed her entrance exam. By a small margin of course. Okay a pretty big margin. How could she help it if she just couldn’t study? Didn’t it matter that her heart was in the right place? Anyway that whole malarkey was why she’d been told to come into the chiefs office.

“Then why not just become a stunt pilot like Amelia Strongheart or Charlie Spitfire?”

“I guess I just felt called to be a police officer. I was among Spitfires potential recruits actually but I didn’t agree with her politics. So I quit and wandered from town to town until I wound up in this place and saw an advert in the news saying “CCPD still recruiting” and thought I’d give it a whirl.”

The commissioner sighed and looked at the paper in front of him with a big red E+ on it. “Well you did show great aptitude in physical exercises it’s just the theory where you stumble. So I took the liberty of looking through your old war records and thought it would be a shame to waste such a talent as Wing Commander Dash, two times winner of the Equestrian Eagle Medal for Arial Valour.”

Rainbow Dash looked up looking hopeful as the commssioner laid down the paper and seemed to make up his mind. “Bad news is you needed at least a B- in order to get into the force and you didn’t even come close” he said as Rainbow looked on defeated. Then with a smile he withdrew something from a desk drawer “but the good news is that there’s always a place for somepony like you. You know everyone in Charming City is in the pay of its numerous mobs and corruption runs from the street to Mayor Mare’s office. I’m forming a new division built specifically to tackle these problems, the Vice Squad. What do you say, Miss Dash?” Rainbow could now see that the thing on the desk was a badge labelled Vice Squad and leather case embossed with her name, age, residence and her new rank of Detective.

“Yes sir. Thank you sir.”

***

As a relatively new programme Vice Squad had to convene in an old premise they bought cheap. Ironically it was an old pub “The Washed Bison”.  Heading up the team was ex-police sergeant Flash Sentry. He wasn’t that particularly good an officer but he was in a relationship with the chief’s sister and nepotism could get you far in this world. So calls had been made, knobs had been pressed and the CCPD’s resident white knight got landed the job as well as the new rank of captain.

Rainbow stood at Cpt. Sentry’s desk in the old wine cellar. It was still bare due to finances being unable to afford floorboards and so he’d had to make do with just cleaning it. The result was a bare concrete room that smelled of soap and stale beer and lit only by a single firefly.  She tried not to grimace at the smell as the captain sifted through papers.

“So you’re the new pony my boss’s been talking about?”

“Yeah.”

He then his papers down and chuckled. “Then its glad we’ll be to have you on board” he said “what say we go upstairs and meet the rest of the team.”

“Really that’s it? You’re not going to lecture me on how we’re the best of the best and this is our own little war we’re fighting.”

“I think you already knew that. Besides a decorated, morally-upright mare like you could handle what we do.”

Rainbow nodded and to they went upstairs to the main bar. This was where the rest of Vice Squad gathered in their down time. Smoking, playing pool, piecing together clues but no drinking whatsoever of course.  Right now there were five other ponies in the bar. Flash pointed them out “That’s Champion over by the window  (he motioned to an old stallion with a grey, grizzled mane and moustache), Frank Dobbin over there (drawing attention to a slightly younger one with a closer cut mane focused on throwing darts the wrong way round), Moondancer, our forensics officer (a mare about Rainbows age with bubblegum pink hair over by the corkboard) and of course the brothers Thunderlane and Rumble (two greyish male pegasii over by the pool table.)” He then turned and coughed “Everyone say howdy to our new recruit Detective Rainbow Dash, formerly of the Equestrian Flying Corps.”

Rainbow blushed “Please chief you’re embarrassing me.”

All the squad said Howdy in return and Rainbow eventually wondered over to the corkboard where Moondancer was standing.

“Watcha looking at, Doc?”

“The usual suspects. We know who they are I just wish we could pin them down.”

“Who?”

The forensics officer turned towards her “You know our job is to hunt down the scum making a living out of the governments moral incompetence. Well these are the big four. At least three. We know who these are but we haven’t been able to focus on our fourth one.” She pointed to a photo of a question mark over a black outline of a pony. “We’re merely referring to him as “The Kaiser” ” she said.

“Can you tell me about the others?” said Rainbow.

“Certainly. I already mentioned the Kaiser, but this one” Moondancer said pointing to a photo of a hard staring mare with a curly orange mane “is our main focus. Golden “Carrot Top” Harvest. Owns most of the cider and vice racket in the city and runs it with an iron horseshoe. Also dabbles in extortion and unlicensed horse-fighting. Used to own a small pub back when the Apples had a monopoly that specialised in carrot wine. Then Prohibition happened. But while the Apples fell, she adapted and spread like a cancer into every sector of the city but none of its good enough for her.”

“What about the other two?”

“Well this is “Cherries” Jubilee (a coquettish looking pony with a messy beehive) she’s the city’s vice queen and these are the Flim Flam Brothers (two unicorn in hats and suits, one moustached the other shaven) two recent arrivals with an eye for mass production. But like I said they’re small fry compared to Carrot Top.”

“And you’re closer to bringing them down?”

“No. We know who they are but we’re no closer to bringing them down. And things could get a whole lot worse now that the Apple siblings have returned.”

Apple. The name stirred something in Rainbows memory.  Speeding down Fifth Avenue, ducking through the adults legs as they went. Cool mugs of grape juice on a hot day. Rough and tumbling in the dust in the alleyway. These events and others flashed by. Memories of old friends and simpler times.

“Detective Dash, are you alright?”

Moondancer was calling back to the present. She shook herself getting rid of the memories.

“No doc everything’s fine. Don’t worry.”

But as Rainbow turned to walk away to get a glass of water she knew everything wasn’t fine. So Applejack was back in town was she? Might have to catch up with her old friend before things got really out of control.