Everything

6 Years Ago…

“Here we are,” announced Daring as the group arrived at a cluster of warehouses. “I’ll go find the pony in charge here, you got the exit?”

“Affirmative,” responded Braeburn. “Why don’t you take one of the probies with you?”

Daring sighed and hung her head. “Do I have to?”

“Come on, Darin’.”

The pegasus frowned in defeat. “Fine. Colgate, with me.”

“That’s not my… Yes ma’am,” mutterted the unicorn.

“You don’t have to call me ma’am,” Daring snorted as the two headed towards the buildings.

Braeburn chuckled and leaned against a wagon parked in the lot.

“Now what?” asked Spitfire.

“We watch the exit, see if our pony makes a run for it.”

The pegasus rolled her eyes. “Oh, great. Waiting around. Fun.” She gazed up at the sky for a second, then at Braeburn. “So… why’d you join the RDI?”

“Well… a while back Ah tried to join the Las Pegasus Police Department. They laughed and turned me away. So Ah figured, ta hay with ‘em, Ah’ll join somethin’ better. An’ now here Ah am. What about you? AFIS does fine work, why the transfer?”

Spitfire shifted her weight. “I… made a few mistakes. Nothing major, but I guess it was enough to piss off the wrong ponies. I was given a choice: transfer to another investigative division or take an early retirement. Most would have chosen to retire but I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life bored out of my mind. I’ve been with the Air Force all my life, felt like I wouldn’t be accepted at any of the other armed forces investigation services. So I picked here.”

“There’s somethin’ else, though, isn’t there? You don’t strike me as the type to be an Air Force cop.”

“I started Air Force, not with AFIS though. I was a Wonderbolt, flew missions and then shows after that. As for the switch… well, my life’s complicated, not simple like yours.”

Braeburn chuckled. “Now, Ah wouldn’t say simple.”

Daring’s voice broke through her radio. “Hey, building manager says that End Game went out to make a delivery, but he should be back any second now.”

“Scratch that, Artifact, Ah see him comin’ up the road right now,” Braeburn interjected. He nodded at a purple pegasus up the road. “Movin’ in to engage.”

Spitfire followed as Braeburn approached the pegasus. “Hello!” He called. “Special Agent Braeburn Apple, RDI. I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind,” he said, his accent vanishing.

The pegasus froze, staring at the badge. He spread his wings and flew up into the sky. “Crap. He’s runnin’!” Shouted Braeburn, drawing his gun.

Spitfire growled. “He won’t get far.” She spread her wings and took off after him. Though he had gotten a decent head start, Spitfire soon gained on him. Though she was weighed down by the unfamiliar feeling of a ballistics vest underneath her windbreaker, she was still one of the fastest pegasi in Equestria. With a burst of speed, she crashed into him with a flying tackle.

The two plunged to the ground. Before impact, Spitfire released her grip and spread her wings, slowing down enough for a safe landing. She skidded a few feet and whirled around, drawing her gun. The other pegasus lay on his back, groaning. Soon Braeburn ran over. “You… bastards… I’m gonna sue you,” the pegasus groaned.

“Shouldn’t have run, then,” he responded, pulling out a pair of zip cuffs. “Didn’t know you could fly that fast,” he remarked to Spitfire.

“I didn’t know you could hide your accent,” panted Spitfire.

“You live in Canterlot long enough, you learn how they talk.” He smiled at her. “Not bad, probie. Not bad at all.”

Now

The group entered the abandoned building. Wire Tap was already there, a camera in his hooves. He glanced up at the new arrivals and grunted. “Janitor came in at 10 and found ‘em like this,” Side Arm reported.

On the ground in front of them were two ponies, lying still in a puddle of red blood. Rarity flinched at the sight, but Applejack and Fluttershy didn’t react. Bon Bon nodded at another pony crouched by the bodies. “Hey, Doc, what’ve we got?”

The unicorn stood, brushing himself off. “Preliminary cause of death appears simple, this fellow died of a gunshot wound, while this one over here bled out. TOD is about… 6 hours ago, I’d say.”

Bon Bon studied the position of the bodies. “They shoot each other?”

Wire Tap nodded. “Two weapons. One’s missing 4 bullets, the other’s got an empty mag.”

“That would match up with the wounds I found on the body,” the unicorn said.

“And I found the rest in the walls and boxes,” finished Side Arm.

“Yes… I think the one on the left fired first. He hit the one on the right, injuring him. The one on the right crawled behind those boxes and drew a weapon, as that blood trail would indicate. He managed to kill the one on the left, but probably passed out due to blood loss and died…” The agents froze and stared at the pegasus who spoke. Fluttershy blinked and began to blush. “Oh… did I say that out loud?”

Side Arm smirked. “Not bad, probie. You should speak up more.”

“Side, I hope you didn’t drag me all the way out here for two gangsters who killed each other,” Bon Bon said, glancing at Fluttershy.

“Course not. Wire?”

Wire Tap held up a torn sheet of paper inside an evidence bag. “September 21st, a day that will live in infamy,” Bon Bon read. She narrowed her eyes. “21st… that’s five days from now.”

“It gets better,” chimed in Cover Story as he entered. “Or worse, I guess. I got an ID on our mystery friends here. The first one is none other than our old friend Border Line.”

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “Border Line? Huh…”

“I’m quite sorry to interrupt, but who exactly is Border Line?” asked Rarity.

“One of OP-4’s highest ranking members, second to only 20 himself,” Bon Bon growled. “We’ve been tracking this bastard for months now, but he’s escaped every time.”

“Yeah, well not this time,” observed Cover Story. “But you’ll want to hear this. The other pony’s name is Short Fuse. He’s a bomb maker.”

Bon Bon bit her lip. “Great. We find any explosives?”

“Affirmative, enough to take out the entire RDI building. We found a substantial amount of bits, too.”

Applejack rubbed her chin with a hoof. “So, this was some sort of deal that went south? Reckon that’s a good thing, can’t imagine what they’d do with that many explosives…”

“You’re going to have to,” said Bon Bon. “Twenty’s smart. He would know that buying bulk explosives from one source would look suspicious. He would buy smaller amounts from various sources.”

“Making it harder to track,” Cover Story finished, pulling out his radio. “I’ll contact our undercover operatives, see how many explosive purchases have been made recently.”

Wire Tap nodded. “I’ll help Doc Graves move the bodies to the wagons, then finish up with the scene.”

“I’ve still got to track down the building owner. He might know something we don’t,” volunteered Side Arm.

Bon Bon smiled. Wire Tap, Cover Story, and Side Arm had been in the RDI for so long that they knew what to do without instruction. The probationary agents, on the other hoof, stood around, unsure of how to make themselves useful.

The smile fell from her muzzle, taking in each new agent’s abilities in her mind. “Wire, you finish processing the scene. Fluttershy, help Doc Graves with the bodies. Applejack, you’re with me. We’re going to interview some witnesses. Rarity, help Cove find the building owner.” The new agents blinked, still processing their new orders. “Now! Go!”

They snapped out of their daze and followed the agents they were instructed to. Applejack squinted as her eyes adjusted from the dark, damp warehouse to the harsh light from Celestia’s sun. “What’re we lookin’ for?” she asked.

“The janitor,” answered Bon Bon. “I’m having trouble believing that those two killed each other. Twenty would never send one pony by themselves to a deal like this.”

“You’re thinkin’ there was a third pony? The getaway driver, maybe?”

“Perhaps. Makes sense, they kill the dealer and get away with the explosives and the money. Only, the dealer’s on to them and gets the first shot off…” Bon Bon trailed off.”Hm. Janitor must have seen something. You got a pen?”

Applejack gave her a blank stare.

“A pen? A quill? Something? Anything?”

The mare blinked. Bon Bon slapped a hoof to her forehead. “Go to the trailer and find a pencil, and a notepad while you’re at it.”

Applejack grunted, pulling her stetson lower on her head. She turned and trotted over to one of the RDI trailers, climbing in the back. Bon Bon shook her head, turning away. Her eyes swept over the crowd, watching the police in their uniforms trotting about the perimeter. “If I still had my team, this would have been solved already,” she grumbled. “No. Don’t think that, Bon. They’re gone now. Focus on the probies. This is your team.”

In the trailer, Applejack stared at the bank of drawers that had been installed. “Uh…” Her eyes scanned the labels that someone had taped to the drawers. “Paper clips… Tapes… Incident forms... Roadside Markers… Ah, pencils an’ notepads.” As she grabbed a small, square pad of paper, Bon Bon called from outside.

“You done yet, probie? We got places to be!”

“Yeah, yeah, Ah’m comin’.” As she turned to leave, another label caught her eye. “Spare mags, because of Firefight.” She blinked. “Firefight?”

“Probie, if I have to go in there, you’re not coming out alive!” Applejack climbed out of the trailer, coming face to face with a very angry special agent. “Finally. Come on.”

“Hey, Bon Bon… Who’s Firefight?”

Bon Bon froze. “...Firefight?”

6 Years Ago

“Why do they call you Artifact?”

Daring Do grunted. “I like history. When I was still in the Las Pegasus division I got… concerned when an artifact was damaged by a criminal trying to escape. Brae’s never let that go since.”

Spitfire nodded. “And…why do you call him Cowpony?”

“I’ll give you one guess.” Daring closed the cabinet she had been digging through. “Nothing. Got to give to him, this guy really knows how to hide evidence.

“How else would he become a gang leader? Wonder what codename I’ll end up with,” Spitfire said as she glanced out the window. She spied a group of ponies, staring back at her. “Uh-oh. Daring, we’ve got trouble.”

The pegasus shot up, heading over to Spitfire’s side. “What?”

“6 ponies. Three just went around the back.”

“Great. There must be something here that Orchid didn’t want us to find,” Daring swore. She drew her pistol and grabbed her radio. “Heads up, Heartland, Harper, anyone. Looks like Orchid’s siced his goons on us. Need some backup, now.”

“Copy Artifact. Ah’m en route with Colgate,” Braeburn said. “Harper and Heartland are still interogatin’ the bastard. You watch your six, you hear?”

“Always have.” Daring tossed her radio aside. She flipped over a table. “Push that bookcase in front of the door.”

Spitfire complied. “Is there another door?” she grunted.

“Don’t know. What’s wrong?”

“Damn thing’s bolted to the ground or something,” Spitfire swore. Despite using all her strength, the bookcase had not moved an inch. There was the metallic clanging of hooves on stairs.

“Forget it, get over here.” The two crouched behind the table, pistols drawn. “You wearing your vest?”

Spitfire nodded, cocking her pistol. “Almost forgot to, left it sitting on my desk right next to my wallet.” She locked eyes with Daring, and held out her hoof. Daring bumped it. “Let’s do this.”

The door was kicked open, and two ponies charged into the room. Daring and Spitfire popped up, guns raised. The room exploded with gunfire, and the agents dropped back behind cover as their assailants fell. “2 down,” growled Spitfire. A unicorn appeared at the door, a shotgun in his magic.

“Move!” barked Daring. The two jumped aside as the table exploded into wooden shrapnel. Two more ponies appeared, firing their handguns. “Ah!” yelled Daring.

“Daring!” Spitfire ducked under the gunfire to reach her friend’s side. Once there, she dragged Daring into the kitchen, behind a counter. “You alright?”

“Ah… Fine, hit my… vest,” Daring panted in pain. “Still… hurts like…. Tartarus.” She grabbed Spitfire’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine, you just… make sure we make it out alive.”

Spitfire nodded, glancing up over the counter. The two ponies were inside, guns aimed at the kitchen. The unicorn was still in the doorway, reloading. “Alright, bastards. Here I come.” Spitfire shot to her rear legs, gun in her forehooves. She fired three times, all three shots landing in the chest of the first pony. She hit the ground and ducked again as the second returned fire.

She dropped her stance and ran out the left side, firing twice. The attacker cried out and fell to the ground. As the unicorn charged into the room, Spitfire fired once more. The unicorn cried in pain and grabbed his shoulder. Spitfire pushed forward, using her wings to give her a boost. She slammed into the unicorn, knocking his head against the wall. The unicorn collapsed to the ground.

The last assailant appeared at the door. Spitfire raised her gun and pulled the trigger, only to hear a clicking noise. “Crap.” She jumped over to the right side of the room as the attacker fired. The red pony pushed forwards, and Spitfire made her move. She jumped at him, knocking him into the metal bookcase. The pony reacted faster than she anticipated and swung the butt of his gun forwards, making contact with her head. She fell to the floor in a daze.

From behind the counter, Daring rose to her hooves, her gun shaking. “Do it and I’ll put a cap in your friend!” spat the pony, pressing the gun to Spitfire’s forehead.

“Drop it!” Shouted Daring. Seeing that the pony’s attention was on Daring, Spitfire’s trembling hoof unzipped her windbreaker.

“Or what?” sneered the pony. A gunshot tore through the apartment.

Half a minute later, Braeburn and Minuette ran into the room, guns drawn. The room was tossed in disarray, the windows shattered, bullet holes in the walls, furniture overturned, and bodies littering the floor. “Nice of you to show up,” commented Daring, seated on the couch. The pegasus had removed her windbreaker and was in the process of taking off her vest. There were several crumpled bullets stuck in it.

“You good?” asked Braeburn, holstering his gun.

“Bruised ribs and ego, but yeah, fine.”

“Could have used you guys earlier,” remarked Spitfire as she left the kitchen, rubbing her forehead.

“Wait, Spitfire, isn’t this your service arm?” Asked Minuette, pointing at an empty pistol lying next to the red pony’s body.

“Yeah.”

“Then how did you…”

Spitfire glanced at Daring and laughed. “Rule #1, Colgate. Always carry a spare.”

“Wow… Hay of a firefight,” commented Lyra as she entered the room.

Bon Bon smiled at Spitfire. “Doc Graves’s gonna have a field day with this one. Nice job… Firefight.”

“Firefight… I like it,” said Spitfire, smiling back.

Now

Bon Bon blinked. “Uh… Don’t worry about it. They’re long gone…. Long gone…” She shook her head, suppressing the memory. “Come on, let’s go find the janitor.”

The mare turned and trotted towards a group of police officers. Applejack glanced back into the trailer. “Bon Bon… what the hay are you hidin’?” She muttered. Taped to the wall was a picture of 6 ponies, gathered by a desk in a familiar building. “What did mah cousin not tell me?”

“Shake a leg!” Shouted Bon Bon without looking back. Applejack narrowed her eyes and trotted after her. “Whatever you’re hidin’, cuz, I’ll find it. You can bet your hat on it.”