Broken

Broken: Chapter 8

Ignatius

The Trottingham streets were eerily quiet this time of night. A wayward cart trundled past here and there, and our little entourage passed another pedestrian who hardly gave us a passing glance. As we made our way out of the residential area I made my home, Silver grew more and more restless.

“I don’t like this, Lav.” She whispered. Her words sounded muffled on the foggy air. I knew rain was in the forecast, and the dark sky overhead gave us no light. We navigated by street lamps, which were growing more and more scarce the further into the commercial district we trod. “Why would the republic want me to come along?”

“It’s to keep tabs on you, I’m sure. They suspect you and I are working together, and if I’m in, then you’re probably going to have to be in as well.”

“Yeah, but to threaten Plat like that? I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.” I saw Silver’s wings twitching, her eyes constantly flitting upwards. A rumble of thunder hinted at lightning, which was probably the only reason she hadn’t taken off already. Leave it to a pegasus to be so flighty.

“Silver.” I pulled up short, drawing the three of us to a halt. Lily looked at us curiously, having remained silent the entire time. I’d almost forgotten she was there. “Relax. The republic isn’t some wild group of miscreants. If they’ve avoided the attention of the guard for this long, I’m sure they’re smart, rational ponies. At least, most of them are – the ones in charge. Just let them know you mean them no harm, that you’re just curious. I’m sure if you tell them their threats have struck home, they’ll leave you be with a warning. Sure, you’ll have someone keeping an eye on you, but we’ll figure out how to shake them once we blow this thing out of the water. Okay?”

I could see my words had a calming effect on her. Chalk it up to years of schmoozing, but I could put a pony at ease, even if I wasn’t plotting behind their back. My predecessor hadn’t had the slightest clue it was me taking his spot until I arrived at his door with a box of my possessions, and him carting his box.

I didn’t speak with him anymore.

This just happened to be an entirely different ballgame. Here I was with a slave of the republic whom I had bought (and now technically owned,) and I was shepherding what would amount to another right into their grasp. At some point, I began to wonder who was working angles and who was being worked in this whole scenario.

Several times over the past two weeks I’d had to has myself if I was in over my head. The answer was almost always a resounding (triumphant, even) ‘YES!’ Yet despite the danger, I’d dug myself deeper and deeper. Now, with my instructions in my saddlebags, I tried my best to calm Silver down.

“You’re right. I’ll just tell them that I’m going along with them. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Platinum safe.” She glowered, stomping a hoof into the road angrily. “Then I’ll rip their damn heads off. The whole city will know it when that bitch Pestle goes down.”

“There’s the Silver I know and love.” I nudged her flank as we continued walking. Lily pressed against my side, and I gave her a reassuring nudge as well. Together, we followed the map I’d been given, until the street lights were every other street, and stinking alleyways lurked in deep shadow. I lit the way when I could with my horn, but for the most part I was looking at nothing. It wasn’t until we arrived at our destination that we even saw anypony else; a guard, it seemed, with a lit cigarette hanging from their mouth.

“You’re Lavender Sky?” The guard was a stocky Earth Pony, a little larger than myself, but much more muscular.

“I-I am.” I nodded, flourishing the map. “I take it this is where Ignatius wanted to meet me?”

“This is the place. Follow me.” The guard jerked his head to the side, pawing open a wide double door leading into the closest warehouse. It looked the same as all the others had for the past six blocks, indistinguishable from the rest. Inside was what looked to be a storage room floor, with pallets and boxes stacked in neat rows. All of the bay doors were closed, but there were lights on. The bare bulbs cast yellowy light between the aisles of crates and boxes, down which our escort led us. It wasn’t until we reached the middle of one of them that anypony else showed up; a unicorn mare with a steely-grey coloration.

“Lavender Sky.” She smiled at me. “So pleased to meet you at last. And Lily, it’s been a long time.” Her iron gaze slid over me to the poor mare at my side. Lily cringed away from her, cowering up against my side. “Aww, no need to be so shy.” She pouted. “I wasn’t that mean the last time we met, was I?”

“N-no, Mistress Aurora.” Lily whimpered. I could tell, she knew this pony. And the way Aurora spoke, she obviously knew Lily. Probably on a deeply intimate level. I scowled at her, ushering Lily a little further behind me.

“Aurora, is it? Do I know you?”

“You don’t, but we’re going to be getting awfully familiar, you and I.” Aurora buffed a hoof on her chest, smiling at me disarmingly. I caught a glimpse of her mark; it looked to be a dark wand with bright white specks of light about it. “I am Master Ignatius’ assistant. Nopony speaks or deals with him until they go through me. I handle a fair amount of the minutiae revolving around the republic’s business here in Trottingham, as well. So if you need anything, you come to me first. Lucky for you, love, that Ignatius has a personal interest in your situation.” Her eyes danced dangerously, and I found myself somewhat entranced by her smile. She was certainly attractive; easily on-par with Lily herself. But she had a sort of easy grace to her, one that I found disarming.

She would be a formidable foe if she were in journalism.

“And you must be Silver.” Aurora’s gaze slid next to my partner, who was trying her hardest to avoid running just then. “I’m so sorry you’ve been wrapped up in all this mess; I assure you, it’ll be over before you know it.”

“Over?” Silver’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, ‘over’? You threatened my family.”

“All necessary, love, I assure you.” Silver’s voice seemed genuine, but I could tell. She was lying through her teeth. She was good. She was damn good… I began to wonder if Ignatius would be even more intimidating than his assistant. She continued, walking forward to offer a hoof to Silver. “You have my word, by the end of the night; you’ll be disassociated with the republic. I mean, obviously, we’re going to keep tabs on you, but no more threats. No danger to you or your darling little sister.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t indulge.” Silver backed away from the hoof with a wary expression. “It’s bad enough this fucker’s got me wrapped up just because he wanted to get his rocks off. I just want to go back to the way things were. You keep out of my business, I’ll keep out of yours.”

“Of that I have no doubt.” Aurora let her hoof drop back to the warehouse floor, that disarming grin still on her lips. “We’re waiting on Ignatius to arrive now. Forgive me, but I need to check your bodies; ensure there’s no enchantments or nasty spells hiding under those coats. Relax,” She lifted a hoof to cut Silver off. “I won’t touch your naughty bits. This is just for our safety.”

“Hmmph.” Silver glowered but stepped closer, and Aurora’s horn leapt to life. Contrary to her grey coloration, her aura was actually a bright pink, and powerful to boot. She was casting some advanced magic on us, and I could feel the tingling field of her energy wrapping around me. It settled on my bags, and I saw her eyes flicker to me momentarily. In that look, I saw all I needed to. Gone was the posturing and pomp; Aurora bore the very truth of her soul to me in that moment. And I knew, without even trying, I had done the exact same.

“Perfect, you’re clear. Brawn, are we ready?”

“He’s just pulled up now.” Our escort from earlier grunted.

“If you’ll follow me, then.” Aurora turned away from us, giving me a good, long look at her cutie mark (and her backside. She kept her tail trimmed short. It was hard for me to focus.) We followed her deeper into the warehouse, towards what appeared to be a series of offices along the back wall. Aurora slipped into an open door, out of which a warm, golden light poured. As our little entourage crossed into that square of light, I felt a chill run up my spine.

Inside were some of the most dangerous ponies I’d ever had the displeasure to run across.

“Good evening, Lavender Sky.” I was greeted by a voice that was silky-smooth and as sweet as sin. It was an empty office that we stood in, with Aurora standing to the left of a hooded pony. He was smaller than me, his hood drawn up over his face so that the warm light hid his features, but the point of his horn rose under the fabric of that hood. I couldn’t even see his hooves where the hem met the floor. It looked almost as if shadow incarnate stood before me, his voice coming to me as if from beyond whatever mortal realm we languished on.

I felt Lily tense up against my side, and a quick glance betrayed my suspicions. The poor girl was dumbstruck, her entire body frozen with fright. The only part of her that wasn’t locked solid were her eyes, which constantly darted between the shadowy figure and the ground. Even Silver seemed to be more on-edge than usual, her wings lightly fanning the air beside me. Once more, Ignatius spoke, taking a few tentative steps towards us.

“I see you have with you my prized possession… though I suppose she’s not mine any more.” Ignatius lifted his head slightly, though there was no doubt in my mind that he had beckoned Lily to him. “Come here, my love. It’s so good to see you again.”

“M-master…?” Lily ‘s voice quivered, her hoof lifting tenuously.

“Go on.” I nodded, afraid to oppose someone so influential. I had no doubt in my mind Ignatius could kill me on the spot and nobody would bat an eye at my absence, nor find hide or hair of me. Lily padded forward, meekly standing under the dark hooded pony before us. A hoof emerged from the cloak, this time a shocking lime-green. It lifted towards Lily’s face, gingerly cupping her cheek. She quivered under it, a faint whine escaping her throat.

“Oh, my darling, you look beautiful tonight. I can tell, your new master is treating you well. My gosh, you’ve even put on some weight.” He chuckled, a soft, easy sound, almost like it were his Luna-given right to laugh in such a manner. “Well, he’s new.” The hoof descended back into the cloak, and Ignatius began walking a slow circle around Lily. “Hmm, your marks and bruises have healed as well. Has he not given you any?”

“N-no, Master.” Lily whimpered. She wasn’t a small pony; hardly smaller than myself. She even stood an inch or two taller than Ignatius. But this mysterious pony seemed to tower over Lily as he walked a slow circle, forcing the poor mare to cower and look down at the ground. I could smell the fear rolling off of her; it was sharp, and set my nerves on edge. If Lily were so scared of him, what had I to fear?

I prayed I never had to find out.

“Well, as I said, he’s new.” The dark hood turned to me next. I couldn’t help but feel as if Ignatius was smiling at me from under there. “Lavender Sky, as I live and breathe, it is good to finally meet you.” He advanced on me next, leaving Lily to cower in the middle of the room. “I’m a huge fan of your work; I read your column every day.”

“You do?” I inquired, finding myself shocked despite what I figured would be common knowledge. Of course the leader of the Lunar Republic in Trottingham would keep up with the news. He probably read every paper we had. “I’m flattered; it’s not every day I meet an avid reader.”

“Aah, I loved your piece on Trilby’s infidelity scandal. That poor haberdasher lost his whole business in the proceedings.” I could hear the sarcasm and malcontent slowly creeping into Ignatius’ voice. I found myself cowering next, feeling dwarfed by this mysterious pony before me. “Curious, how with one single article, you could bring an entire shop to its knees. Why, imagine what you could do with your information of the republic…” The darkness beneath the hood shifted off of me, instead gliding over to Silver next.

“Imagine what you could do if you were the Editor in Chief.”

Silver backed away a tentative step.

“Relax, my dear.” Ignatius crooned, reaching his hoof out to beckon her closer. “It’s not a threat, I assure you. Just know that I’ve been watching Lavender Sky’s ascent through the ranks of journalism for several long years. I knew he would run into a barrier with you, however.” His off-hoofed compliment disarmed Silver, and I watched in awe as she stepped forwards. Ignatius’ hoof reached out to rest against her foreleg, an almost tender display of affection and understanding. “This must be so scary for you; especially with Aurora’s brutal tactics in seeking out your family.” I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or not. That, more than anything else, worried me. “Don’t fret, my dear. We’ll get this unpleasantness sorted out in due time.” Ignatius turned away from her at last, and it felt as if I’d just been released from hoofcuffs. My whole body sagged, breath returning to my lungs in an instant. Ignatius commanded such presence in a room that I found myself simultaneously focused on his every movement, and unable to glean anything from underneath the hood.

“I’ve called you here today because I’d like to welcome you into our ranks, Lavender Sky. You’ve obviously already been introduced to one facet of our business in Trottingham.” He gestured empathetically to Lily. “But there’s so much more that we are responsible for. It isn’t just ponies like your dear, aah, what did you call her again? Right, ‘Lily.’ She’s but one facet of our operation. Though, I suppose at the end of the day, it falls to you to decide exactly how, hmm… How should I phrase this…?” He bobbed his head side-to-side, as if debating what to say.

“Involved. You want to become.”

“Involved?” I echoed. “How do you mean?”

“Well, aside from slave trade, the republic prides itself on controlling local politics, substance trafficking, tax evasion… Why, you name a law, I can probably put you in touch with a pony who can get you around it. We’ve even some more… legitimate avenues of commerce. Business ownership, agriculture, even media production. We’ve a myriad of writers, artists, farmers, merchants, and ponies of the like who pay homage to us.” I could hear Ignatius’ lips spread in a smile. “The question falls to you, Lavender… What do you want from us, and what can we expect from you?”

I found myself rather overwhelmed. The republic didn’t seem to be just in the market for such ponies as Lily, but they had their hooves in all manner of goings-on in Trottingham. Once more, I found myself convinced that I could be murdered on the spot without anypony outside of Lily and Silver batting an eyelash.

“I’ll be perfectly honest with you,” I somehow managed to find my voice. “I’m legitimately only interested in ponies like Lily. Eer, slave trade, I suppose…”

“Hmm…” Ignatius lifted his head a little, and with it came mine. I could feel his eyes under that shadowy cowl boring into me, as if he were examining my very soul for the truth. I prayed; hoped against hope, that he couldn’t see beyond my brave façade. Perhaps he could. Maybe this was as interesting to him as a ball of yarn would be to a cat. Highly amusing and worth a few minutes of his attention, but ultimately completely harmless.

“Well then,” Ignatius turned to Aurora, nodding at her. “I’ll leave you in the hooves of my capable assistant. And Lavender,” he looked over his withers at me. I could see the outline of his muzzle beyond that, a faint grin painted on his lips. “It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

He disappeared through a door on the far side of the office, leaving Aurora alone with Silver, Lily, and I. As he left, he felt like he took all the warmth with him, and all three of us sagged in his absence. Aurora snapped me from my funk with gentle touch.

“We’ve requested several items from you. Have you brought them?”

“Yes, here.” I opened my saddlebags, taking out the sheaf of papers I’d compiled in preparation for this evening. “These are my father’s notes on the enchantments he built into my house.”

“Very troublesome bit of magic, there.” Aurora grinned, waving the notes as she took them from me. “It’s kept our seekers from finding Lily, and even following you home. A very interesting bit of anti-sleuthing magic, to be certain. I’m guessing your father worked in the Inquisition?”

“He did.” I grimaced. “Hunted down Luna-sympathizers until his retirement to Saddle Arabia six years ago. He left me the home.”

“Aah. Well, I assure you, we’ll keep the enchantments in-place, we just need to find a workaround for our agents to use. We’re understanding about the need for privacy,” she gestured to Lily empathetically. “And if anything, we’d be willing to offer advice on, aah… Soundproofing. Safety and security, in case you were interested in more ‘acquisitions.’” She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively, and I found my cheeks heating. “Speaking of,” she moved into the next article, smiling at Silver.

“You’ll be pleased to know that your work with the paper hasn’t gone unnoticed, Miss Silver.”

“I’m sorry?” Silver’s lips turned into a frown. “What do you mean?”

“Your interviews with the mayor and Pestle, or shall I say, Mistress Moonbeam. Prying into our affairs every twist and turn. You’ll be happy to know that it’s thanks to you and your journalists; ponies like Lavender Sky here, that we’ve had to cancel or re-arrange several very important articles on our agenda. Why, we were this close,” she lifted her hooves a mere inch apart. “… to having you killed just to spare us the trouble.”

Aurora sighed, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. “Ah well. Murder is messy and leaves a trail. We prefer to use other methods of handling our business.” Aurora stood opposite Silver, their eyes locked. I could feel the tension between them, hot enough to start a blaze, if given the proper fuel. I watched as they waged war with their stare, Silver’s bull-headedness trying to trump the cool ease of Aurora’s intense gaze.

In the end, Aurora won.

“I want your promise to never investigate or pursue any leads into the republic’s business ever again. We’ll use Lavender to communicate with you, and you’ll keep him and other sleuths far and away from our business dealings. In return, you have my word that we’ll leave you and your sister alone.” An easy smile passed her lips. “Naturally, if you go against us in this, we’ll have to re-negotiate. I know several ponies who are really good at that.” She licked her lips lasciviously, the sudden act lending a shocking highlight to her point. “I’d be half-tempted to do the job myself.”

“Fine.” Silver huffed, seemingly undeterred by Aurora’s cool grace. “You have my word, no sniffing about the Republic’s tail.” She lifted one hoof, as if she were a scout giving her pledge. When her hoof dropped, her expression remained serious. “You just keep your goons away from Platinum and I, and we’ll be golden.”

“So I have your promise, then?” Aurora smiled disarmingly. “You swear it?”

“Eer, yes, I thought I made that abundantly clear…”

“I have your word; that you’re never – ever – going to investigate the republic or any of its dealings ever again?” Aurora took a step closer, and Silver took two back.

“Of course, I-“

“And that you’ll remain in the dark of your own volition, never to seek out any leads?” I watched as two ponies entered the office behind Silver, cutting off her escape. She panicked, her eyes darting about.

“I- I’m- I-“

“And that, no matter what, you’re not going to plot anything against us? Nothing that would jeopardize our operations or stop us from doing what we’re doing?”

In a flash, realization came to her. Her beady, panicked eyes flashed from Aurora to me.

And the collar I was holding.

“Lav…?”

“Sorry, Silver.” I floated the collar around her neck, threading the tongue through the buckle and cinching it tight. I watched as the magic took its toll, snapping her quivering wings against her side. Every other muscle in her body went lax, and she slumped onto the floor. As the light fled her eyes, the last thing she would see was me, Lily by my side, Aurora behind me, and the smug grin on my face.

I sure do love it when things go my way.