Everything

6 Years Ago…

“Damn it!” Lyra flinched as her friend slammed her hoof into her desk. “We had that bastard!” Bon Bon threw her gun on the desk, the magazine empty.

“Bon, calm down.”

“How am I supposed to calm down? We had him, and he got away!”

Lock Pick sighed, trotting over. “I heard. I’m sorry, Bon, we should have been there. To have your back.”

Bon Bon sighed in frustration. “No. You guys have your own team, you’ve got your own killers to catch.” She slumped back in her chair. “This would be so much easier if we had more agents.”

Lock Pick glanced at Lyra, who nodded. As he left, Lyra walked over to her partner’s desk.
“Why don’t we just call Brae and Daring?” Lyra suggested. The two divisions had collaborated many times over the years, and the four had formed a strong bond.

“There’s no reason to, it’s not their jurisdiction,” grumbled Bon Bon. “Besides, I don’t want to call them every time we have a problem.”

“You won’t have to!” declared an ever familiar pegasus as she trotted into the squad room, followed by a pony in a vest and hat.

Lyra smiled. “Daring! Brae! What brings you two to Canterlot? Hope you don’t need our help, we’re kind of busy right now.”

“Opposite, really,” answered Daring. “We’re here to see if you need any help.”

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow.

“We’ve been assigned to the Canterlot division,” clarified Braeburn. “Effective immediately. We’re on your team now.”

Lyra sprang up and pulled them both into a hug. “Great! I’ve got to show you guys around!”

Daring nodded towards the cork board covered with papers. “That’ll have to wait. What’re we dealing with?”

Bon Bon smiled, her anger dissipating. She had a team now, and she could hardly contain her excitement. She pointed at the pictures. “Meet The Butcher of Braytan…”

Now…

It took a few minutes to restore peace to the conference room. The chairs were reset to their original position, with the 6 probationary agents sitting on one side, the 3 senior agents on the other, and Bon Bon standing at the end. Applejack and Rainbow were separated by a nervous Twilight. Fluttershy came out from underneath the table and was intent on looking at the ground. Rarity sat to her right, glancing at Pinkie Pie every once in a while.

Bon Bon sighed, muttering to herself. “I’m not impressed,” she said. “Your first day here, and you’re already getting into fights, wrecking the conference room, and pissing off senior agents. Wire Tap glared at Rainbow, holding an ice pack to his head. Her flailing hoof had struck him as he tried to restrain her. “This is unacceptable behavior.”

Applejack scoffed, and Bon Bon narrowed her eyes. “Something the matter?”

“You sound like one of those damn instructors from the Academy,” she spat.

The silence that fell upon the room was tense. Pinkie’s ear twitched. “I’d run if were you,” she whispered. Applejack matched Bon Bon’s stare, refusing to back down. Then Bon Bon laughed.

“You hear that, guys? I sound like an instructor from the academy!” The senior team snickered amongst themselves, knowing what was coming next.

Applejack shifted in her seat, thrown off by her reaction. Then, the creme pony turned around and trotted back to her seat. She turned around and bucked it across the room. The probationary agents flinched as the back of the chair hit the ground. Bon Bon bucked the door open and pointed a hoof out the door. “Leave.”

Twilight raised a hoof. “Um… Excuse me, Agent Bon Bon, but we work here now. You can’t kick us out of the building.”

“Agents work in this building, Sparkle. And I don’t see any agents here.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Rarity put a hoof on her shoulder. “Quit while you’re ahead,” she whispered.

“I don’t care what you learned at the academy,” Bon Bon continued her voice low. “I don’t care who recommended you. I don’t care who your cousins were, I don’t care who you think you are. To be an agent, you need to give it everything. This isn’t a job, it’s a way of life.The ponies before you knew that, they respected that. And they did a damn fine job. Now, you’re up. You want to work here, to do this, you need to commit. You need to give everything you’ve got and then some. And if you can’t do that, the doors right here. I don’t care what the academy said about you if I say you’re not fit to be an agent, you’re not.” Even Pinkie fell silent. “Do I make myself clear?”

There was a chorus of yeses from the ponies. Bon Bon slammed the door shut and picked up the chair. “Now. On to business. Take it away, Lock.”

Lock Pick nodded and pressed a button on his remote. The screen at the far end of the table flickered to life, depicting a map of Equestria. He pressed the button again, and several pictures filled the screen. “Right. Some of you may have heard of the group known as ‘OP-4.’”

Pinkie Pie shot up from her seat. “Oh! Of course, I’ve heard of OP-4! They blew up some buildings in the last month! They would have caused a lot more destruction if they used C-4, but I guess-”

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow as Rarity Applejack shushed her. “Is she really on our side?” she wondered.

Twilight raised her hoof. “Pinkie’s right. OP-4 is a terrorist group that has claimed responsibility for various acts of violence in Equestria. Their name is most likely derived from the term OP-FOR, an abbreviation for Opposing Force, the name given to the side opposing friendly units during a war game.”

Lock Pick nodded. “Correct, although we don’t care much for its origin anymore. Our primary concern is stopping them.” He jerked his head to the screen. “Even though they’ve been around for some time now, we still don’t know much about them. We’ve only been able to take down some low-level members, and they’re not talking. What we do know is that they are lead by a pony called ‘Twenty.’”

The room was filled with a buzzing sound. Bon Bon removed a black device from her belt and flipped it open. “Yeah, Heartland.”

“Hey, we may have something. Want to bring the B-Team over?” asked a voice over the radio.

“Maybe. What’ve you got?”

“Double homicide, warehouse on Orange Drive.”

“Ok, on our way.”

“Roger, we’ll hold the scene for you.”

Bon Bon flipped the radio shut and stuck it back in her belt. “Wire, Cove, get your gear.” The two nodded and left the room. Bon Bon turned to the probationary agents, staring at her in confusion. “Applejack, Fluttershy, and… Rarity, you’re with me.”

“What about the rest of us?” asked Twilight.

“Get familiar with OP-4,” answered Bon Bon as she headed for the door.

“Why can’t we go with you?” demanded Rainbow.

“Because I can’t trust you alone on base, what makes you think I can trust you at a crime scene?”

Rarity gasped. “Crime scene?”

Bon Bon rolled her eyes and left the room. “Lock Pick, you get them settled,” she shouted.

“Right. Follow me.”

The three followed Lock Pick to the elevators. Rainbow was quiet for the most part, most likely angry at being left behind. Pinkie was giggling about one thing or another, and Lock Pick seemed intent on staring at the ground. Twilight pawed the steel floor of the elevator, hating the awkward silence. “So… Um… Agent Lock Pick? What happened to Agent Bon Bon?”

Lock Pick glanced at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well… she seems to be angry at something. She seems very… tense, I guess. And that pony on the radio, he called us the B-Team? What does that mean?”

Rainbow growled. “Hmph. Probably an insult, but I’ll show them... “

“It’s a long story,” answered Lock Pick. “Agent Bon Bon had another team, and they were pretty close.”

“Were you on that team?”

Lock Pick laughed. “No. This team… well, they were the best the department’s ever seen. But… The Director disbanded them a few months ago. Bon Bon’s still pretty bitter about it, I guess.”

“Aw, that’s no fun!” remarked Pinkie. “The Director’s a big meanie, separating friends like that!”

Lock Pick sighed, rolling his eyes. The doors dinged open, and the three entered the squad room, a large room with cubicles, desks, and chairs. Lock Pick led them over to a set of desks near the center of the room. He gestured to a desk with a pile of folders on it. “That one’s Bon Bon's, the rest are open. Guess you guys get first crack at picking a desk.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and dropped her bags by a desk in the corner. Pinkie leaped over an empty desk and landed on the chair, the momentum sending it rolling. Twilight set her bags down on the desk opposite of Bon Bon’s and settled into her chair. Lock Pick dropped several files on each of their desks. “Read up. Bon Bon expects you all to be fully briefed by the time you get back.”

“Great, reading,” grumbled Rainbow, ignoring the offended look on Twilight’s face. She pulled open one of the cabinets built under the desk. “Hey, what do we have here?” she pulled out a bottle of hard cider. “Property of Special Agent Braeburn,” she read aloud. “Spitfire: If you drink this, I will end you.”

Lock Pick blinked. “Huh… Guess he left that behind…”

6 Years Ago…

“What’s that for, Brae?” Daring paused by her friend’s desk, eyeing a bottle that was sitting on top of it.

“Apple Family Cider,” replied Braeburn. “Best stuff around.”

“I can see that. I’m asking why.”

Braeburn rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. “It’s probie day, Darin’.”

Daring looked around the precinct, noticing the new faces at the senior agent’s sides. “Oh. Academy graduation. Mind if I borrow some of that?”

“Be mah guest,” he chuckled.

As Daring settled into her seat, she glanced up to see Lyra trotting towards them. “Oh, hard cider, nice. We’re going to need it.” She jerked her head behind her, where Bon Bon had left the elevator. She was followed by a pegasus with a bright orange mane and a unicorn with a mint blue coat.

“Braeburn, Lyra, Daring, meet our newest additions, Probationary Agents Spitfire, and Minuette.”

The pegasus glared at the unicorn. “Pleasure to meet you!” the unicorn exclaimed, ignoring the pegasus’s stare. “I’m Minuette, and this is-”

“Spitfire,” interjected the pegasus.

“Hey, weren’t you with the Air Force Investigative Service?” questioned Daring.

Spitfire nodded. “Yeah, transferred here, though.”

Minuette rolled her eyes. “As I was telling Spitsy here, just because she has some experience doesn’t mean she knows everything about investigating. I mean, I worked homicide for Manehattan for 3 years, you were only an investigator for 2. That means I have more experience than you!”

“That’s not the same. AFIS and Manehattan Homicide are two different things,” she spat.

Minuette rolled her eyes. “Aw, come on Spits, I’m only messing around. Lighten up a little.” She reached out and poked her side.

Spitfire’s wings shot out, knocking the bottle off of Braeburn’s desk. The bottle hit the ground and cracked, the cider seeping into the carpet.

“Don’t… touch… me,” Spitfire growled, while Minuette just raised an eyebrow. Spitfire took a breath and turned to Braeburn. “Uh… Sorry about that…”

Braeburn squinted at her. “Rule number 1, probie.” He opened a cabinet in his desk and pulled out another bottle. “Always carry a spare.”

Now…

Lock Pick took the bottle from her. “Get reading,” he instructed, laying the bottle on Bon Bon’s desk. “My desk is a few cubicles over. Let me know if you need me.” With a curt nod, he trotted away.

“Aw, what a killjoy,” Rainbow scoffed, folding her hooves across her chest. She shoved the files aside, staring up at the ceiling.

“Don’t you need to read up about OP-4?” Twilight questioned.

The pegasus rolled her eyes. “Who cares? They’re bad guys, we go out there and we get ‘em. End of story.” She buried her head into her hooves.

“Well… actually, the files can tell you a lot. They can tell us who their members are, what their modus operandi is, who they target…” Twilight trailed off. “Hey, Rainbow? Why did you join the RDI?” There was no response. “I don’t mean to pry, it’s just… I mean, we all have different reasons, you know?” Still no reply. “... Okay, fine. You don’t have to be so rude.” Rainbow’s response was a loud snore. “...Oh.” She blinked. “Well, what about you, Pinkie? Why’d you join… the RDI…”

Twilight looked over at Pinkie’s desk to find it empty. Searching the squad room, she failed to find the pink pony. With all hopes of having a conversation with her new team mates dashed, Twilight sighed. The unicorn opened the folder Lock Pick had given her and began to read.

By the time Bon Bon and the others had arrived on scene, several other wagons and carts belonging to the RDI and the Canterlot Police. Uniformed officers had set up a perimeter, keeping the chattering crowds at bay. Bon Bon pushed through the crowd, unfazed by the reporters shouting questions at them. Fluttershy seemed content staring at the ground, blocking out the scene completely. Applejack looked uncomfortable, while Rarity smiled and waved at the crowd.

All four were dressed in the same navy blue windbreaker, with the letters ‘RDI’ emblazoned on the back and ‘Royal Agent’ underneath it. They also wore matching blue caps with ‘RDI’ printed on them, the standard uniform when it came to crime scenes. Bon Bon kept her gaze forward, her eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. “Rarity, you say one word to any of those ponies and I will kick your ass back to the academy faster than you can say ‘Violation of conduct.’ Clear?”

“Crystal,” answered the unicorn, a little disappointed. As the group neared the yellow tape, Bon Bon reached into her suit jacket and pulled out her identification. She held up the badge, then flipped it over to her photo identification in a practiced movement. The officer nodded and let her pass.

Applejack copied the movement, a bored expression on her face. The officer shrugged and let her through. Rarity stepped up, flashing her badge and winking at him. The officer just rolled his eyes and nodded. Fluttershy held up her badge, and the officer raised an eyebrow. “Ma’am, I need to see some photo identification.”

“Oh, sorry,” muttered Fluttershy as she fumbled with her credentials. She held up her identification card, trying to hide her blush behind her mane.

“...Ma’am, I need to see your face to make a face verification.”

The pegasus nodded and pushed her mane away from her face, eyes refusing to meet his. “Very good, thank you ma’am,” the officer said, holding up the tape so she could duck under it. Staring at the group, the officer shook his head. “Geez. What are the qualifications to be an RDI agent again? Can’t be that bad if that lot made it…”

A tan earth pony wearing the RDI windbreaker nodded at Bon Bon’s direction. “Hey, Bon. I see you’ve brought the B-Team.”

“Half of them,” corrected Bon Bon.

“And whaddya mean by that?” questioned Applejack, narrowing her eyes.

Bon Bon rolled her eyes, but the motion went unseen under her shades. “Wire and Cove make it here alright?”

He nodded. “Yep, they’re processing the scene right now.” He glanced at the ponies. “...Well, let’s get started. You all have seen a body, right?”

Applejack scoffed.

“Just lead the way, Side Arm,” muttered Bon Bon.

“Of course. Right this way.”