NaNoWriMo2015 Oneshot Colletction

Neutral, Event, and Flux looked at Shade warily while Moonlight outright glared at him. That level of stealth seemed just a little much for a room they were already locked in and that Neutral was almost certain locked from the outside.

Neutral eyed the unicorn, and took careful note of the pony’s almost glossy, deep purple coat, the bluish black mane, and the eyes that were far too calculating for the amicable way the stallion was holding himself.  “And what questions would these be?” Flux asked after a long moment, her tone reflecting the same wary look that was in her eyes. Neutral found himself rather more thankful for his coworker’s care than he was expecting. Something about him was just setting off far too many of Neutral’s internal alarms.

“Just some questions involving your relationship with Miss Dancer-“

“Doctor,” Moonlight cut in. “I’m miss, she’s Doctor.”

“Your relationship with Doctor Dancer, and your knowledge about her project,” Shade continued with the amended title, giving Moonlight a curious look. She returned his look with an angry glare, her expression not changing in the slightest since he’d stated who he was.

“And why would you assume we know anything about that?” Flux asked curiously. “It came as a shock to us that she had a spell of that nature and power. It’s more than a little scary to think she is able to pull off something that major.” Neutral silently agreed with Flux. That Starlight had a spell of that level that she was not only willing, but able to cast was more than a little sobering. Neutral knew it wasn’t even raw power, either, as Starlight had about half the power output of the average unicorn last he knew, so it was a combination of efficiency boosts, positive feedback arrays, and other little things to boost the input power or reduce the required amount.

“You might know something because you worked beside her every day, worked with her frequently, and had ample opportunity to realize something was wrong,” Shade answered, his tone confident and friendly, though there was something just a little firmer under their, as if he was holding himself back from getting pushy.

“All the more reason we have not to notice,” Flux answered Shade just as easily, though there was an undertone that was more wary than before. It seemed like Flux had picked up on that firmer undertone as well. “We’re around her most of the day, almost every day. The gradual changes easily go unnoticed, since we don’t see much difference, day to day.”

Shade Stalker narrowed his eyes. “So you haven’t noticed anything? Didn’t know that she might try something like this? Were there any indications what so ever?”

As Shade asked, Neutral felt a sudden urge to answer. One he might have followed if several of his mental wards hadn’t suddenly been screaming at him that a pony was attempting to use mental magic on him.

“Nope, nothing whatsoever, but I do know that if you make another attempt like that, you’re in the room with three ponies who have spent several years studying various forms of magic, and one with a serious dislike of your organization, and now you personally. That’s not a threat either, that’s facts,” Event said, his voice perfectly cheerful and friendly, though there was an edge underneath it. An edge that Neutral had rarely heard, but the few times he had, somepony had actually managed to cross a line with event. Though he had relatively few of them, they were most definitely lines in the sand, rather than just boundaries.

Shade glanced around, and his amicable air went away, leaving behind a hard expression, though he didn’t lose any of his confidence. “You really want to argue with me what are threats and what aren’t? I am an Agent of the Intelligence Service-“

“In a Police Guard building. I really don’t suggest you finish that sentence,” Moonlight cut in smoothly once more. “It’s not a good idea.”

Shade took a breath, though his composure never once wavered. “Custody is no object.”

“But unlike your precious Secret Intelligence Service, these recordings get reviewed,” she said to him with a smile. “So if you go too far, these recordings are not classified, they are not yours to take with you and do as you wish to them. They are public to anypony that knows where to look. It wouldn’t be too hard to give the media a tip to know where to look, would it?”

“That is extortion, Miss Dancer,” Shade said coldly.

“No, it’s knowing how the system works and giving you fair warning, seeing as you’re prepared to go below the belt, so will I,” she answered in a tone that actually managed to chill Neutral. This mare wasn’t acting like they were being wrongfully imprisoned, or even just pissed that they were imprisoned period, she was acting like Shade was personally taking a pee on her family legacy.

Shade’s eyes somehow managed to harden even more. “Do you really want to push this?” he asked her.

“No, I just want to delay you for a bit,” Moonlight answered, suddenly cheerful in a way that scared Neutral even more than her anger. She had something over him, or would have something, that he wouldn’t be able to do anything about. That was the only thing that Neutral could think of for Moonlight’s sudden ‘cat with the canary’ smile.

“And why do you want to delay me?” Shade Stalker asked, seeming to realize that he was dealing with somepony far more tactically savvy than he’d originally anticipated. Neutral couldn’t help but feel at least a little satisfied at that. The Guard had come in, clearly expecting to take them by storm, only to run into resistance from the beginning.

“Just wait. Five. Four. Three. Two. And… one,” Moonlight said, gesturing to the door. Which remained firmly shut. “That was supposed to be a cue for the door to open,” she complained to the world at large, rolling her eyes.

It took another ten seconds, but finally, then the door blasted open, coming within about a quarter inch of knocking Shade Stalker straight into a wall at high speed. Neutral quickly crushed down the feeling of disappointment at the lack of high speed wall impacts, not really wanting it to show on his face. That would be a little embarrassing for his coworkers to see.

“It is I, HABEUS CORPUS!” the minotaur declared with a booming voice that practically shook the room. And most assuredly shook everything not nailed to the floor within it, including Moonlight. “Sorry, got lost,” he explained in an apologetic tone that would still manage to be heard clear across a hoofball field. “This building is a maze. But nothing can stop me from getting to my clients!” he declared, once more with earthshaking volume, and fluxing.

It took another moment for Neutral to gather his senses, but when he finally did, he had to wonder if the volume of the bull had actually damaged his sight, as there was no way he was seeing what he was seeing.

The minotaur in front of him was about average size for a bull, which was absolutely massive compared to the average pony. His biceps looked big enough to bend steel, with was almost a requirement for minotaur bulls, and his horns were sharpened to a point, and sparkled with polished ivory. He was wearing an immaculate green dress shirt beneath a grey vest and jacket, with a grey bow tie to set it off. On his lower half, he wore a kilt with what had to be the strangest combination of green, pink, and turquoise Neutral had ever seen, but it was done up in proper tartan style, so he could only assume it was family colours. It did not, in any way, make them less painful to look at, however.

“And why are you here?” Shade asked slowly, his confidence actually sounding shaken at the minotaur’s appearance, though Neutral found it rather understandable. Not even the bravest of ponies were ever really prepared for a being as in your face as the minotaur race on no notice.

“I am here to represent Misss Moonlight Dancer and company in… whatever trial this will be for!” the minotaur declared.

“Law suit was out of town?” Moonlight asked.

“I got the call by emergency teleport. I don’t have all the information yet,” the minotaur answered grouchily.

“Ah, in that case, you’re going to be representing me, Starlight, and whoever else gets dragged into this in a case having to do with Forbidden magic,” Moonlight explained.

“And that explains why they didn’t ask Law Suit,” Habeas answered. “Anyway!” he went on, turning back towards Shade. “I assume you have read my clients their rights, offered them a lawyer, and have not, in any way, put them under any duress, magical, mental, or physical, right?”

Neutral had to work to hold back a laugh at the way Shade’s coat seemed to go pale. This was most definitely not the place  for him to be having this conversation, in a Police Guard base. Neutral glanced over at Moonlight, suddenly wondering if this had been the plan in removing the unicorn guard from the beginning… He then glanced up as the minotaur’s boisterous smile slowly gained a sharper edge as he prodded, “Right?”