Tarnished Wings - ACT 1

In the floating city Equestria, there's a special disaster ward nicknamed Bastille. Isolated on all sides by immense sheer cliffs, it's a stratum separated from the rest of the city.

[Young man] "Let me go!"

           "All I did was save that girl!"

           "Are you listening to me?!"

           "She was deceived and sold to the brothel!"

           "You guys tricked her parents into debt didn't you!?"

           "Say something!"

The man shouts out loud. As he struggles, the rope binding him sways back and forth. What a lively one. Although he was shaking in fear before, as soon as he was tied up, he started rebelling. It seems he ran off with a prostitute... Well, those details don't really matter.

[Rainbow Dash] "Save your complaints for the brothel. All I did was catch you because I was asked to."

*click*

We enter the waiting room of the brothel, Bacchae. From behind the desk, Bulk Biceps stops looking through a notebook and raises his gaze towards us.

[Bulk Biceps] "Oh, if it isn't Rainbow Dash. Welcome back. Are you done?"

[Rainbow Dash] "Yeah, there's no doubt this is your man?"

Bulk sternly looks over him.

[Bulk Biceps] "He's the one, no mistake."

[Rainbow Dash] "I see..."

I hand him over to Bulk Biceps. With this, the job is finished. It was nothing unusual, just a job I've long since gotten used to.

[Young man] "Hey, what are you going to do to me?"

[Bulk Biceps] "....."

The newly fearful man quiets after Bulk's silent gaze turns towards him. Then, Bulk returns his focus to me.

[Bulk Biceps] "I'm sorry for always giving you such boring jobs; our younger lads can't always handle jobs like these."

[Rainbow Dash] "No need for small talk."

[Bulk Biceps] "Oh, please do excuse me. Hey, somebody!"

Immediately, one of Bulk's flunkies appears from the Interior of the brothel.

[Crew-cut flunky] "Yes sir?"

[Bulk Biceps] "Rainbow Dash just returned from a job."

[Crew-cut flunky] "A-ah, and, e-er..."

[Bulk Biceps] "The least you could do is go bring him a drink, you buffoon!"

The cigar tray Bulk threw hits the man on his forehead. Blood dashes out from the impact.

[Rainbow Dash] "Don't mind me. I'm going to Lisianthus after this."

[Bulk Biceps] "Well, if that's the case, drinking here would be a waste."

Bulk speaks casually, as he glances towards the man cradling his forehead.

[Rainbow Dash] "Go buy some medicine with this."

I toss a few copper coins in front of the bleeding man.

[Bulk Biceps] "Rainbow Dash, you don't need to pamper him."

[Rainbow Dash] "It's fine. By the way, what happened to the girl who ran away?"

[Bulk Biceps] "I've left it to the younger hands. I imagine she's undergoing a somewhat tough rehabilitation. Since you don't get chances like this often, how about you 'play' with them a bit too Rainbow Dash?"

Bulk Biceps puts on a gloomy smile. He's a fine man, but I can't keep up with his sadistic tendencies.

[Young man] "Y-you bastards! What have you done to her!?"

The previously silent man bursts out suddenly. Bulk punches the young man. He crumples to the floor from one hit. Bulk mercilessly kicks the man’s head.

[Young man] "Ugh... *cough*.."

Along with blood, the man spits out a broken tooth. The white stands out unusually clearly among the red liquid.

[Young man] "You can't expect... the city guards to do... nothing after this..."

[Bulk Biceps] "Sure, they won’t do nothing. I bet they'll relieve you of your wallet, and do an even-splitting consolation with me."

[Young man] "I-impossible..."

[Bulk Biceps] "In the Bastille, it's normal. What, is it your first time in the Bastille?"

The man nods.

[Bulk Biceps] "Coming down to the Bastille for the sake of the woman you fell for, what an upstanding fellow...without realizing you'd been fooled. "

[Young man] "I've...been...fooled? What's that supposed to mean!?"

[Bulk Biceps] "Well let's not take things too fast. I have all evening to teach you."

Bulk prods the man’s face with the toe of his shoe. To entice a costumer’s compassion, forth, lying about her past is standard practice for a prostitute.

Her parents were tricked into debt and she was sold off to pay for them, is how the usual pattern goes. If the emotional man just becomes a regular costumer its fine, but this time the man got too worked up and came up with a plan to run away from the girl.  If she refused then it’d be let off as a joke, but she either chased after an illusion or was swayed by her emotions and ran off. However, baring extraordinary luck, escaping pursuit is impossible. Nonetheless, these cases are never-ending. A man deceived, and a woman's deception. In this red-light district, it's a farce I've grown weary seeing.

[Rainbow Dash] "I'm heading out."

[Bulk Biceps] "Okay. I'll be counting on you next time too. Lightning Dust will hand over your payment later."

[Rainbow Dash] "Yeah."

                                                                                                               ◊ ◊ ◊

I leave the brothel behind amidst the lingering echoes of Bulk's voice. Although I'm used to this line of work, searching since morning has made my throat dry. I'll go for a drink in Lisianthus.

Lisianthus is a tavern near the district's entrance. Aside from my house, it's where I spend most of my time. The proprietor is Cherry Jubilee. In the past, she was once the most popular prostitute in the area, but she was redeemed and became the owner of the tavern.

[Rainbow Dash]  "....?"

From nearby, faint music drifts into my ears. It's coming from the Border plaza. That's right. The Holy Maidens public audience ceremony is today. The current Holy Maiden, Saint Snowdrop.

Known as the Blind Saint, It seems that even compared to her predecessors, her popularity is unusually high. The crowd in the plaza is probably quite the spectacle. I'd like to go and witness her once, but I don' want to deal with the trouble of going through the crowd. I'll take it easy at Lisianthus. As soon as the thought passes through my mind, I notice a figure coming towards the alley.

[Rainbow Dash] "Rarity."

[Rarity] "Rainbow Dash."

*tap tap*

She hurries towards me.

[Rarity] "I was just about to go look for you. For Rainbow Dash to come to me herself... is it fate?"

[Rainbow Dash] "No, and it doesn't sound right."

[Rarity] "Sure it doesn't darling."

Raising one of her graceful eyebrows, she lightly blows off my denial. She's quite the beauty, it's a shame that she left behind her charm somewhere in a gutter and forgot it. Her most striking point are those seemingly deep well-like sapphire eyes. It's as if you can see a mysterious emotion ripple across the vast darkness of her pupils.

[Rarity] "Do you like my eyes? If you want, you can have them."

[Rainbow Dash] "No thanks. I don't need them."

[Rarity] "My, what a shame."

She says this with an expression ambiguously between seriousness and jesting.

[Rainbow Dash] "So, what did you need me for?"

[Rarity] "Jubilee says she was pick-pocketed."

[Rainbow Dash] "Pick-pocketed? That's disgraceful for somebody her age."

[Rarity] "Don't say that to me."

[Rainbow Dash] "Don't tell me I'm supposed to catch this pickpocket."

[Rarity] "My, you're sharp."

[Rainbow Dash] "Is she an idiot?"

There are as many pickpockets in Bastille as there are stars in the sky. It's hard to prove they did it, and there's no more tiresome job out there.

[Rainbow Dash] "If it was just pocket change then she ought to consider it as payment for her lesson"

[Rarity] "About that, it was this month's protection fee that got stolen."

[Rainbow Dash] "What did you say?"

[Rarity] "If that was tuition, She's better have gotten quite the education for it."

If it's the Golden Chain's fee, then it's quite the large sum. Moreover, if the money is late, then the tavern will be in quite a pinch.

[Rainbow Dash] "All right, I'll do it. What did the pickpocket look like?"

[Rarity] "A boy... and he had wings. He was trying to hide them, but it seems that if you knew and looked at him, they'd be big enough to notice easily. "

[Rainbow Dash] "Tsk. He's winged huh?"

'Winged ones' are what the people infected with a contagious disease causing wings to grow are commonly called. The afflicted grow wings on their back, and eventually die. About ten years ago, to prevent the disease from spreading, the “Epidemic Disease Prevention Platoon”, usually called the “Wing Huntsmen” was established. Their job is to take the infected people to an isolated medical facility. Apparently, it’s extremely difficult to cure, and I haven’t heard of a single person coming back from the facility.

[Rainbow Dash] ”So it’s a race with the Huntsmen.”

[Rarity] "They’re merciless, so you better hurry up and catch him. For the boy’s sake too. ”

If the Huntsmen find him first, they’ll take him into custody and the money will land in their pockets. Just finding a pickpocket is difficult enough, but this has become an even bigger nuisance.

[Rainbow Dash] ”Any idea where they went?”

[Rarity] "Towards the plaza it seems. A guy from the Golden Chain went to chase after him already, but who knows what’s happened.”

[Rainbow Dash] ”Out of all places, the plaza?”

[Rarity] "Today is the Holy Maiden’s public ceremony. ”

[Rainbow Dash] ”I know. I’ll search as much as I can.”

I never thought I would go see the Holy Maiden under these kinds of circumstances……

I run towards the plaza.

The road is overflowing with pedestrians. The congestion that makes running really difficult. The plaza will probably be even worse.

[The Golden Chain’s Hand] “Sir Rainbow Dash, here Rainbow Dash sir!”

A man calls out to stop me. From the looks of it he’s one of The Golden Chain’s hands.

[The Golden Chain’s Hand] ”Have you met with Dr. Rarity?”

[Rainbow Dash] ”Yeah, and I’m about to go searching. Have you found the pickpocket?”

[The Golden Chain’s Hand] ”No. He escaped to the plaza, and with today’s crowd it’s especially hopeless. Well, I just happened to be in the tavern at the time, so I went after him, but not because I was told to. So I’ll be pulling back now. Sir Rainbow Dash, are you going after him?”

[Rainbow Dash] ”Yeah.”

After I exchanged information with the man, we separate.