Rogue Hunt: Gems and Beauties

The petrifications had been mounting, and through no shortage of hard work, Jade and her partner had put together a coherent pattern. With added evidence marking more hot spots as crucible points for the Petrifier’s operation in the District of Beauties, what they needed now was a way in. One update to her map after another, they had the Rogue’s territory triangulated. Sometimes the detective wondered if she could just wing it – slip out, cruise over to the District and… Well she didn’t really get why those urges would pop up, as it’d be suicidal and go completely against their established work ethic. And she was consciously aware that their way was the right way. The way that worked.

Now that they had their fifth victim, the Rogue’s MO was rather clear. After spending the day talking to grieving colleagues and associates of a diner owner from Stars, it was clear every victim was used to incriminate a business owned by someone in Silver Ingot’s circle of acquaintances – be it by association, or simply by having their statue placed in the venue’s vicinity, so as to draw fear and uncertainty from potential patrons. After all, for how hazardous the District was, nobody wanted to fall victim to a Rogue.

Scarlet was finishing up with the final examination of the crime scene, marking down every last detail and projecting every possible method of entry or escape. Jade was off consulting someone from this place’s management or talking to the client – she didn’t say. The mare acted with meticulous precision, checking every miniscule aspect of the scene, comparing it to previous petrifications and searching for clues on what was yet unknown. Another fake struggle, another misleading note luring them to the District of Beauties, another set of uncooperative, buffoonish people-drones… Scarlet shook her head.

Some of these thoughts were not productive. This wouldn’t work if she wasn’t productive, and she needed it to work, or else no Rogue for her. Unacceptable.

“Well, there it is, partner,” the dragoness declared, re-entering the petrified pony’s office. “I have extended our window of activity. This band of begrieved bystanders won’t be reporting this to the Force. I have worked my magic, what about you?”

“I’ve been examining every piece of evidence. That’s…” Scarlet wiped sweat off her forehead. She instinctively ran a hand through her hair, splintering some of her red streak onto her face. “…well, that’s what I do. Running low on pieces of evidence by now. No surprises so far…”

“Sure it is, partner. We’ve established quite a pattern of evidence. Perhaps a manipulable one… I’ve come to find that most things are.” Jade crossed her arms and rested against the wall. She procured one of her long cigarettes and brought it to her lips. She gave the tip a gentle peck, setting it alight. Ponderously, she twirled it in her fingers. “What do you think, Scarlet?”

“I think… uhhh.” The mare’s ears flicked. She knew what she thought – she thought they needed to find the damn Rogue’s weakness and go after him before the Force caught on to his rise. But to be so confrontational with her partner… what if it sent everything askew? “I think I’ll crack it all soon. Just need to put it all on the board. I’m doing what I need to. I…” She gulped. “Can I have a smoke?”

“Pfff. No.” Jade drew from her cigarette and puffed a cloud of cherry scented smoke in Scarlet’s direction. “No smoking, Starlite. Don’t be silly. That’s not how this works.”

“Mm…” The mare froze. Her eye twitched. She struggled to breathe, her recently filed nails stabbing into her rough palm. Her heart beat hard in her chest, causing her to wobble where she stood, nearly having to rely on the statue for purchase. “Mngh…”

“Silver Ingot will be updated on what we have discovered here. As you have noted, the connections are now undeniable.” Jade exhaled and knocked a dollop of ash onto the floor. Nearing Scarlet, she squeezed her shoulder and smiled, blowing smoke in the mare’s face. “You may think a little harder and use your intuition. Perhaps if we return-“

Scarlet clutched her chest. Her limbs went from numb to wildly hot. She… did nothing. There was work to do, and she was doing it.

“It will be in his interest to give us a list of likely targets now that we know for sure it’s all his business. You’re his shrink – we need more info on our client, what he’s not telling, skeletons in his closet. He’s… he’s the key… there’s someone at the center of all this, and he’s close, he’s damn close.” Scarlet shook her fists and scooped up all the evidence into its packs with her magic, reddish sparks fizzling in the air. “Running circles, playing around, running on some localized personal agenda… Not long until they get what they want and elevate to District and City-scale crime… If I can just snap at their- his- tail when they round a corner teasing me, I can pull ‘em into the light and-“

“That’s enough.” Jade said, appearing directly in front of her. The dragoness stared her down, blocking the door, which her tail slithered to open. The mare had to catch a sensitive evidence package, the aura dispersing into a weak teal haze - her primordial instincts must’ve still told her the dragoness’ agility was unnatural, spooking her magic away. The serpent smiled silently, her maroon eyes piercing deep into Scarlet’s. “Very good. Let’s go back to the carriage now.”

Scarlet worked feverishly. She knew they were close. Jade had faith in her, and Jade knew people well. That was her job, and it was important, Scarlet would repeat over and over. Had she no concern for proper work ethic or teamwork, she would have occupied the carriage, stopped taking calls and gone off on her own to dig in the client’s drawers well out of sight of her partner, herself a permanent employee of said client. But Scarlet knew it was incorrect to let herself go or to cast off willing helpers, and an unsubtle bad feeling persisted over the idea of improvising and taking reins of the situation. After all, this was so far beyond her. She’d never caught a Rogue. Not by herself.

Someone always got in her way… But she couldn’t do it herself. It didn’t add up, so Scarlet just worked a little harder to keep these insecurities from even materializing. What if Jade would see her weaknesses? Would she even want to keep helping her? Helping beyond what their pay and assignment suggested? Because surely, she had been. Jade wanted to be there, with her, solving this mystery, doing all this work. Going above and beyond, within and without the realms of their investigation. Scarlet knew that was a good thing, a thing she could not allow – was not allowed – to dismiss.

The very next day, a breakthrough occurred, so the mare set herself straight. She had to be at the top of her game and do what was required. As Jade relayed their task for the day, the task that would see another major piece of the puzzle fall into place, Scarlet was ready to pump herself up into action. One of Scarlet’s many contacts (she hardly remembered who it was upon receiving the tip) - a pony connected to several businesses related to the client’s inner circle – let them know that numerous Tektalisk sightings had been recorded and subsequently hushed up in the District of Clouds. Suspiciously close to a diamond processing plant affiliated with Silver Ingot, and in near proximity to a rarely guarded all-district vertical transit hub. They’d heard nothing of a Tektalisk ever since starting their investigation, and Scarlet had long assumed the Rogue was some sort of transfigurated freak – but now it seemed the Petrifier would be much easier prey, and he may very well have relied on a rat within the client’s ranks.

They were heading there now, and Scarlet was eager to do her best. Her commitment emerged from somewhere very basic and primal – it almost got in the way of her natural instincts allotted to her by her cutie mark. Taking down this Rogue mattered to her just this much. A pervasive thought ruled her every decision, reminding her that her life was dull, hazy and overall featureless: thus she needed to validate herself in… her own eyes. Every active thought within Scarlet made it abundantly clear that all of her self-worth hinged on how well she and her partner would work together on this task. The Scarlet that met with Jade at the limo was Scarlet at her peak, her brain trained to the max, her body prepared for anything, and her dress in order.

The two spent a terse half hour of transit in idle conversation, to which the mare gladly complied, as she was meant to by norms of partnership. Jade was indeed pleased, but also did not initiate any discussion regarding their plans for apprehension. Eventually, when their limo entered the District of Clouds – signified by the carriage’s smog alarms going off and breather masks being dispatched - Scarlet began to get impatient. Weren’t they meant to plan, to coordinate, to do this right? Though it irritated her, she decided to break the topic and ask Jade what they were even going to do. The answer left her unsure how to feel.

They were going to… talk. Talk? Scarlet’s intuition was on fire, she knew something ratty was afoot – it was so obvious that whoever ran this place was in cahoots with the Petrifier. The dragoness didn’t even imply there’d be any trickery, like luring them into a false sense of security so they can blow the joint. She didn’t intend to sink this operation by reporting it to the client either. They were quite literally just going there to have a polite discussion about the goings-on and take their leave. Usually there was a lot more discussion, Scarlet even found herself remembering numerous disagreements. Heated debates, in fact. How odd – it felt so unnatural to go up against her partner now, so… uncooperative. They were a detective duo, how would they get anything done arguing? She did what was needed.

So the mare just shrugged, sighed and went along with it. Many arguments sprung up in her consciousness, but she squashed them all – if this was the plan, this was the plan, and it was going to work. After all, they had no history of prior bungling. Well, there was that one debacle with their initial entry into the District of Beauties… which Jade talked her into?.. Scarlet shook her head and focused. She liberated herself of unneeded dilemma. The mare reminded herself of how much effort it took to get here, and how studious she was about this. Glancing into the rear view mirror, she could ascertain that even her hair sat correctly this time. They were so close to something, somewhere, to the point of pulsations in her cutie marks.

Said pulsations were soon rendered to the background, as even being outside in the District of Clouds wasn’t exactly pleasant. Jade, a dragon, had an easier time, but Scarlet almost found it difficult to see straight with the noxious smog perpetuated in the City’s industrial district. The dense, thick smog was unpleasant to say the least, and even the de-odoring charms she applied earlier that day didn’t rid her of the filthy feeling. It was like the dense, hazy smoke, with its trademark mirages and special distortions, reminded her of some long lost memory.

Nevertheless, she carried on, engaging in Jade’s back and forth when asked to do so. Eventually, the diamond processing plant was within their sight (which was badly limited – and her eyes were starting to sting with no protection). Jade and her partner approached the entry port, wherein an executive seemed to already be waiting for them. Both parties entered onto neutral ground between the plant proper and the unaffiliated District territory outside, and Scarlet prepared to, well, talk.

The executive, a mare in a distinctive grey suit with olive green patches on its shoulders, waved her guards off from following. The unicorn thought the suit looked familiar – like she’d seen another pony wearing this uniform, and in an emotional context, at that. Her memory only dredged up the image of a pegasus in some kind of carriage; she shook her head and fixed her collar, casting off the thought. Jade cocked her hips and glanced at Scarlet, who returned her gaze, stone cold and ready for heavy duty diplomacy. The dragoness smiled, flexed her neck, and idly spun her trinket.

“Well, here we are. I believe there’s some very sensitive information that needs discussing with higher management – sensitive information you’d prefer kept from… undesirables,” the dragoness said. She peered into the one-sided mirrors located on each side, undoubtedly hiding observation chambers. “If you catch my meaning.”

“Hmm. Yes?...” Jade idly clicked her fingers. The representative’s back straightened out, her eyes sharply darting over to Scarlet. The mare squinted, drawing back her head. She scanned the unicorn top to bottom, rubbing her chin. “Which is why I think it’s best that your… uuuhhh- secretary stays outside, Miss Jade. Not that we distrust you, but…”

“What? Hey, I’m-“ Scarlet shuddered, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Her jaw dropped as low as it could. Her torso twisted side to side, unsure of whom to even turn to in this unthinkable situation. “But I’m the-“

“Oh, yeah, ah, jeez! I am so sorry – I did not mean to disrespect the dutiful work of your security team. I’d hate to see the efforts of your guards to be wasted on inspection and extraction of my associate. After all, they are paid for by my client, and their pay is not hourly.” Jade took a forceful step towards the mare, who meekly looked back at the dragoness. “Just ruminate on that, please. I’m sure we have ample reasons for cooperation. And you, dear associate...” Jade glanced back at Scarlet. “Stay outside until we’re done, please?”

“I’m- I… a-ahh…” No words coursing in Scarlet’s mind could express her feelings. Sweat rained down her temples. Her ears twitched, and her flanks singed fiercely.

“Now-now, head out, sit in the limo, it’ll be fine – there’s plenty of incoming messages and external data for you to sift through,” Jade cooed, patting her on the shoulder. “Besides, look at yourself, you really can’t handle this. Go take care of yourself.”

“Wait, that’s not how-“

“Chop-chop!” The dragoness smiled and turned the mare around, pushing her toward the exit. With Jade’s claws squeezing at the shoulders of her suit, the mare was completely frozen, putting up no fight as she was evicted from the facility grounds.

Scarlet gripped her head, waddling back to the limo. She could hardly see straight, her breathing was heavy, and her eyes stung. The latter, admittedly, was because she neglected to put the breathing mask back on – Jade never told her to. By when she found it in her purse, she was already near the limo. Clearing her throat and shaking with barely filtered emotion, the mare climbed in and went limp in the back seat. Fortunate, she could process this in solitude, as the vehicle was driverless.

The mare tried to calm her breathing, but failed. She punched the front seats repeatedly before staring at her knuckles. She pushed herself forward and stared into the rear view mirror.

“S-Secretary?! Who the- who the- who the FUCK do they think they are? What is this shit???” Scarlet hissed. “I carry us this far, and this… and this… I’m not a-“

Her head twitched sharply. She craned her neck. Unblinking, the mare examined her own reflection.

Mane tied neatly into a bun, her scarlet streak split into two equal parts running up each side. Light makeup on her recently washed face, enough to divert attention from a couple old scars. A black suit and white shirt combo from her trailer’s wardrobe, hiding her bulky complexion. Around her neck, a black choker lined with swirly green ornamentation. All like it was agreed, all like it was said by Jade. Scarlet silently mouthed incoherent curses to herself, scratching her head through tightly bound hair.

“Hrrrrm.” The mare slid back along the seat. She crossed her arms, kicking her hoof. “Easy mistake, huh. I… I messed up… I should be there right now, uuugh!”

An empty, hollow buzz permeated her mind, precluding any thoughts from forming, besides vague frustration. In that lack of thought, she found herself rather parched and tense. Instinctively, her hands reached into pockets – ones that did not exist on her suit. She sighed and chewed on her lip, unsure what confused her more: the mismatched instinct or the fact that both smoking and alcohol precluded her from reaching proper usefulness to the cause. Scarlet knew she needed either a drink or a smoke right about now.

But it was a plain, uninvolved need. Not an addiction, but a habit. Scarlet had a lot of those, and many of them just got in the way. Her flanks stung and singed, either from the carriage running on idle, or from the fumes she’d ingested while outside. It all made thinking quite hard indeed. Maybe Jade was right in going there to sort this out on her own… Scarlet was clearly compromised at this crucial point in time.

These were the thoughts that got the buzzing in her mind to quell down, and that fact, in and of itself, caused her heart to skip a beat. Something about all this stunk. It stunk worse than the District of Clouds. Scarlet bumped one of the front seats, ejecting a refreshment bottle from the limo’s supply. She threw her head back and chugged down the entire bottle, aiming to clear her head. Her magic wasn’t coherent enough to pull out the investigation folder from its clamps, so she extracted it with her free hand, finding it odd how her bulky arms refused to offer their strength until her brain sent out a conscious signal. Her default grasp had shifted to a light, dainty touch.

“I gotta… I gotta think. I got… I got time. Come on… come on, Scarl- hngh…” the detective muttered to herself, tingling all over. “I’m not a fucking secretary, am I? I- I didn’t- I wouldn’t- I gotta think!”

The mare shuffled through dozens of notes and papers stretching back weeks into the investigation, her red eyes turned to bloodshot pinpricks. It was all kept in neat chronological order, duplicates separated into folders on respective leads, from the circle of victims to the projected list of the Rogue’s traits – this allowed her to rebuild her mental image of this case, wherein something had to have been misplaced. She must’ve misunderstood something about what just transpired, otherwise… otherwise her partner’s actions… all the circumstances around this call… they refused to add up. Now she was building from the bottom up, suckling nervously on the pen attached with her organizer.

It would have helped if the older notes from several weeks ago weren’t nearly indecipherable. The handwriting was barely legible, resembling childish scribbles – was she leaving those during transit? Was she drunk? If so, that would explain the word use. Half the language was crude, another half was abbreviated beyond reason, as if she left these with the express intent of her partner standing no chance of understanding any of this. Many were torn, crossed out, coated in food and drink stains. A lot were outright wrong, riddled with errors, and rightfully stricken out at that – how could she ever live with failure like this? The detective’s hands shook, palms sweating, as she went through section after section, teeth grinding harder at every look of her older work. It couldn’t have been hers, it went against all that kept her going, yet she recognized each of them. She tried to convince herself she did not, but a flash of memory was attached to every note, every odd thought and conclusion; she was even able to decipher some of the more abbreviated scribbles. Scarlet’s eye twitched. She bit through the pen, ink filling her mouth.

This could not have happened. If she was always doing things like she was meant to, this mess would not have been there. She would not have heard the end of it! Jade would never have let her do such a messy job, it would have put their investigation in jeopardy straight away – how could the she even conceive of doing this? Her only shot at greatness lay in working with Jade. By now, her hands had perspired enough for the outer layer of lotion to be neutered, leaving her hardy, creased skin layer exposed to the limo’s AC.

She was remembering things she shouldn’t have been remembering. All for what – to sate her frustrations? Those sprung only from her incompetence and inability to meet the obvious, clear-cut demands put upon her in order to succeed in her one life goal. She was not catching that Rogue without playing right by her partner. She’d made too many mistakes on her own, right? The poor notes were proof enough. Although they did feed into the prevailing feeling of conspiracy within the client’s close circles – even the ones she could hardly read. Lacking understanding, the mare could still rely on her flanks.

A conspiracy… that was why she was so put off by what happened. She was sure they were on the verge of uncovering something. She could even have impressed Jade, had she been given the chance. The picture had long formed in her head, as did any other case – she simply needed to fill in the blanks. It was odd: how come it was so hard to consciously consider this line of thought? Her gut feeling had never led her astray, she remembered that much, no matter how oddly murky her memory now was. She needed it now, she needed it if this disgrace were to be left behind. She needed to scratch this itch that would not go away.

Again and again, Scarlet examined the papers, and they refused to line up with how she felt. What she knew was, perhaps, different, and could have explained the sordid turn of events at the plant, and how easily she was discarded at such a pivotal moment, but the detective knew she was… a detective. Not a secretary. Not a… lackey. She was meant to act, not to behave. If Jade were to accept her, she needed to go above and beyond. What if she were to disappoint her? Where would she be then? How could she get by without their time at the Pearl Lagoon, without the direction for her talents? No, she needed to prove herself! Break out and succeed. If Jade were-

“FUCK!” Scarlet screamed. She punched the front seat repeatedly. She contorted, the stinging flame within her cutie marks causing her legs to buck. Her hair had gone all messy. “FUCK! SHIT! FUCK! Aaaaghhh!!!”

Wheezing and growling, the unicorn eventually toppled over the front seat, one of her punches suddenly delivering significantly more power. She stared at her whitened knuckles, then looked off into the distance, watching nothing in particular. A trickle of blood emerged from her lower lip as she bit into it. Puffing her nostrils, the mare cracked her neck and flexed her shoulders before climbing past the toppled front passenger seat and into the driver’s seat. With an ill-colored, purple-like burst of magic, she burned through the autopilot spell cast on the carriage, then smashed the manual control button with her fist.

“That… b-b… b-bit…” the mare tried to growl, but her chest contorted. She ripped multiple buttons off her suit as she grasped for it, and ruined the rest of her hair as she shook her head. She violently tore out the pin that held her bun together and tossed it aside. Sweat beads trailing off her scrunching forehead, she squinted at the command panel. The mare poked a series of buttons, setting the limo’s internal speaker crystal to transmit to Jade’s portable receiver: “I… I’ve… I’ve got it. I will do this. I will do this. I’ll get to the bottom of this. F-fff… f-fffu… I am… ME. ME! THIS IS MINE! I NEED THIS!”

Doing this was significantly harder than Scarlet expected. She sank back into the seat. Another blast of magic fried the comms system entirely, an expulsion of the mare’s rage and frustration. A series of deep breaths let her regain balance, but it became clear her mind was somehow, some way, akin to a minefield. There were things that felt worth thinking of – like the entire modus operandi behind the whole investigation – that felt taboo. They summoned a deep, gnawing dread of rejection and inadequacy. They called to her eternal, fearful repulsion to failure and authority. That little patch of her mind that sprouted and bloomed after her short-lived experience with Task Force Rogue. A patch so bright she was now suddenly able to remember that fact; only for it to fade back to irrelevance the next second, lost amid the chaos.

One thing was felt brightest and most severe of them all: if she did not act on this hunch, the strongest hunch she ever had in her (evidently) murky and featureless existence, she would fail. She would not catch the Petrifier if she did not listen to her flanks. Jade… Jade was- Jade worked with her because of her talent, and her talent stemmed from her cutie marks. That train of thought could not be dissuaded.

So she left all rational thought behind, put the pedal to the metal and sped off toward the nearest shortcut that’d take her to District Transit, where she broke off and made her descent. Scarlet’s old memories and reflexes carried her past all transit blocks and down to the District of Beauties – from the City’s noxious ceiling to its ruinous underbelly. In her mind, the hunch by its power alone summoned images of maps, surveillance footage, correlations and deductions, enough to let her know where to go and where to be. It was not like last time, when… Jade… set them up. Fumbling around so foolishly, so badly out of character with the exemplary detective partner she’d learned to depend on and want for.

Only the dragon wasn’t that far off. Her limo was soon darting through familiar grounds, once patrolled by the Protocol. Grounds that neighbored the District’s wild side – the side that the two of them rightfully avoided when they first descended here. Carried through the chaos and danger of Beauties on primal skill and instinct, the mare made it there with the limo mostly unscathed. It wasn’t long before the towering vines signifying this part of the District made further air travel impossible, so the detective got off – barely stopping the carriage with her shaky limbs – and made the jump down.

Ordinarily, a pony wearing a business suit in the Jungle would be out for suicide. The bittersweet irony of her situation was palpable, as much the same happened back then, only now it was her gut behind the wheel. She simply took the path that opened a block behind where they once disembarked, instead of wandering blindly into the safer area. Scarlet was willingly blinded to it, no longer using her conscious mind – near every motion relegated deep-set instincts, buried beneath foggy memories. If she’d listened to her mind now, she would’ve likely fainted on the spot, her common sense and insecurities cooperating as they hammered every alarm bell contained within said conscious that cried for her to return to her one bastion of hope, to Jade.

Her cutie mark took over, however, allowing her to plow onward through the Jungle, with all its barely documented threats and dangers, on nothing but her wits and reflexes. The mare’s horn glowed a constant red, be it to light her way through the hollow trunks and murky canopy shroud comprising much of the area, or to keep out some external influence.

Either was likely; after all, the Jungle was an ecosystem all its own, with the Force’s efforts to keep it contained having repeatedly failed, creating only a few now-abandoned fortified positions, defunct transit pneumos shooting into the distance, now coated in vines, bark, and living tissue. The flashes of memory offered by her most basic instincts reminded her of the research she’d put into finding out how to survive this harrowing place – research that had gone untouched in weeks, intently hidden in her memory folds until now. The Rogue’s lair had been thoroughly triangulated, the vivified transit tubes long a giveaway for the location, but only now was she actively thinking on it, using sights and sounds of that activity to make her way. Luck and instinct combined, the unicorn made her way through the mess of plant and concrete while only occasionally having to bash or incinerate a mutated roamer.

Shortly enough, the landscape lost in its signature bumpiness and noxious odor. A little while deeper, it now more resembled a badly overgrown greenhouse. Scarlet’s keen senses alerted her to automated security systems, undetectable by all accounts but that of her detective instinct. The unicorn cracked her neck – the Rogue, for his vague ways, utilized exclusive defense contract inventory, a fact that checked a lot of boxes and raised further questions, ones whose respective alarms reached her not. Long unconcerned now with her bodily safety, her pride and purpose on the line, she did whatever possible to stay in their dead zone. She’d already spent several hours sprinting, hopping and often crawling on all fours as it was. Yet the arcane vaporization system had no interest in her or her gymnastics, to the point of flashing green lights in response to her attempt to sneak past the near invisible sensor beams. Breath held tight, Scarlet shrugged and followed through.

Beyond was what she expected – the Rogue’s compound. The further she went, the better maintained it was, soon resembling the stately reinforced bunkers and supply facilities once set up down here. It flew a different color now. Teams of ponies were visible traversing the grounds, all in their distinctive uniforms, marching in lock-step, fervently carrying various items toward different transit tubes, guarding numerous buildings and otherwise going about their minion business. A grin began to spread across her face, her lips and eyes twitching nervously; an old, dusty memory flashed for a moment, of so many nights spent fantasizing over just such a Rogue falling to her, and the gratification attached to such a feat. A Rogue with a devious master plan, a well-equipped lair, his own heraldry and modus operandi, numerous minions - and yet, a wild, beastly side.

The unicorn grasped her temples and grit her teeth. Everything was as she’d always imagined it. It felt surreal, enough to leave the mare stunned, even in her primal state.

None of those minions rushed to stop her, and there was no intruder alert going off to signify a dangerous operative breaking in to bust the joint. The compound was placid, though bustling with activity. An eerie, placid smell lingered in the air, and it wasn’t high power crystal rays charging up to eliminate her. Indeed, the bewildered mare stumbled onwards completely unbothered, able to make her way past a paved road lined with marble statues of marine life, and to what must’ve been the heart of the compound. She sniffled and wiped her snout, shaking her head in disbelief, unable to keep track of all the contradictory dangers her senses were warning her about.

At long last, one of the Petrifier’s minions emerged from the building and approached her directly. The well-dressed stallion servant gave her a long, drawn out, glassy-eyed look, and before the mare could rush in and elbow him in the face, he gave a courteous bow and gestured toward the entrance.

“You look lost, madam. But that is how it is,” the stallion said, lips curled into a dreamy smile. “Please come in. Procure a refreshment. You will be-“

Scarlet, her teeth grinding and her ears flicking, pushed the stallion away and kicked in the door that barely closed behind him. Her entrance saw fanfare, but not the kind her body prepared itself for. A couple ponies in identical uniforms arrived to produce their own courteous gestures, pointing her to the carpeted path leading to the HQ’s personal District transit pneumo. Another followed shortly after, carrying a tray of fruit and fizzly drinks. Each had the same vacant, glassy stare and intense, off-putting smile of joy, even the ones feverishly clacking away on their registry consoles. They went about their rounds not so much as mindless husks, but dogged, determined drones – they salivated at every action performed, and it seemed stopping her was not on the books.

Scarlet’s vision blurred; she nearly toppled over. Her horn sent pulse after pulse of dull, debilitating ache directly into her cranium, the dense red aura around it flickering on and off. Holding back nausea, the unicorn stumbled past the greeting party, shouting incoherent, crude trash talk at the Rogue’s minions. Without adversity, grit, and slime, her instincts were like a fly sinking in ointment, sharply pointing her to all sorts of completely random ideas. It didn’t even occur to her that this could be a trap! In fact, her flanks singed with intent to take her directly where the minions were pointing her. Scarlet’s limbs shook, sweat trickling down her charcoal coat.

“Stupid… ff-fucking… useless… get away from me!” she shouted, threatening an oncoming towel bearer with a raised fist. “Dumb… puppets! Yeah, keep standing there! Look at me! I’ve come to… to bust this joint! Y… Yeah!”

She huffed and lifted a hand, having to shield her eyes from the obnoxious glimmers of the radiant gem incrustations installed by the Rogue on former Force hardware. The mare blew off some stress on the statues lined up directly in front of the tube, kicking what seemed to be the stony depictions of the same minions she’d left behind. The mare snorted, blowing a lock of messy red hair off her snout. Another hollow headache pulsed its way into her head, but she shook it off and walked inside, the doors opening to greet her.

The mare rejected the cushy seat and water dispenser the lifting chamber came equipped with. Figures and associations clattered in her mind as she watched the luxurious ornamentation, and she couldn't ignore the unprecedented inertial compensation on this lifting pneumo. She punched the air and grit her teeth, pumping herself up for confrontation – or at least trying to get the heat of conflict back into her blood, as it was noticeably absent, leaving her feeling cold, lost and misguided mere steps before the most climactic moment of her life. Scarlet stomped her hoof against the floor, staining the ornate emerald rug with her hoof, smearing mucus from the Jungle all over it.

The detective hissed and jumped back as the mucus was vaporized by a plane of white light that sharply crisscrossed the lifting chamber. Indeed, the sweat, dirt and twigs present all over her ruined suit were gone, and even her hair was tightening back to its regular form. The red hue around her horn nearly faded away, fizzling and shooting sparks all around. Scarlet grappled her head, struggling with her intense headache, and she pressed her forehead against the cool glass for relief. Looking outside, she noticed that, within what felt like mere seconds of her agonizing, the pneumo had made it all the way back from Beauties to Gems.

Balling her hands into fists, the mare mumbled incoherent words of motivation to herself and headed out the door. She stepped into… a regular, oddly familiar building. The door closed behind her, assuming the appearance of a marble wall mural depicting a red sunset over the ocean. Little fountains dribbled away in the corners of a fairly large lobby, with tall exotic trees casting shade onto the empty resting areas. Although deeply confused, more than prior, the mare’s flanks still gave her clear directions, coming in sharp contact with numerous thoughts she refused to process, lest she cease to function. Itching, tingling, and burning all over, Scarlet sneaked down the corridor, trying to focus on getting her hands around the Rogue’s throat and battering him into submission.

This was it – her flanks knew it, and now her eyes did as well. Jewel-encrusted statues of ponies at various stages of theatrics stood on either side of a wooden door, upon which hung a sign reading:

DR. NUMINOUS

MENTAL HEALTH AIDE

~BEAUTY WITHIN, BEAUTY WITHOUT~

Scarlet’s eyes nearly matched the color of her pupils before she forced herself to blink, punched herself in the head, and stopped trying to think. Taking a deep breath, she kicked the door open and stomped in, ready to announce herself to the Petrifier.

“Ooo-hoo-hoo, why I’ll be! Dearie, sweetie, darling, Starlite, what an entrance – forget that, what a surprise!” Jade giggled, covering her mouth. She took a puff of her cherry smokestick, dreamily piercing through the stunned unicorn’s eyes with her own. She arched her long back, removing her feet from the table. “Ahhh, I really do have a sense for precious things. Oh, can you believe I once aimed so low with this one?”

“No, Mistress,” Silver Ingot said. He ardently shook his head, cowering to the side of Jade’s chair, staring at Scarlet with the same glassy eyes as the minions did back at the Rogue’s compound. The dragoness merely rolled her yes and tossed another sparkly white jewel into her mouth, chowing down on it before continuing.

“Ssscarlet Ssstrand… Hnnnmm. Hee-hee-hee~” Jade flashed her sharp, pointed teeth, stretching frontwards along her table, resting her snout on her crossed hands. “You do not look good, dearie. Have we been mismanaging ourselves again? Hmmmm?~”

Scarlet fell to her knees, her gums aching as her teeth ground together. The mere utterance of those words sent her into panic, fear, disgust and self-hatred, causing her heart to flutter and skip beat after beat, nearly causing her to pass out. Her horn nearly gave up, the aura sizzling its final sparks.

“Oh come on, that was mere jest,” Jade consoled her, stifling a giggle. “I wouldn’t play so cruelly with my Starlite’s emotions. Please, sweetie, you know how this works.” She finished another jewel and flexed her shoulders. In a split second, her voice shifted, becoming lower, soothing, yet more commanding, more of her accent pouring through, and a minor echo persevering, regardless of her position. “Sit in the chair. This time you remember the session.”

The dragoness rose from her throne-like chair, using the motionless Silver Ingot for support, as if he were mere furniture. The stallion simply continued to smile, his eyes glittering when the serpent so much as looked at him. All of her attention, however, was directed at Scarlet, who, without recognizing it, was already sitting in one of two smaller armchairs stationed in front of Dr. Numinous’ desk.

“Wh… who the- how are you- what… is… nnnooooohohooo…” the mare whined, going limp in her seat from the fiery sensation, both in her head and in her flanks. “This… can’t… be…”

“No, no, no. You underestimate yourself,” Numinous replied. “After all, you had your suspicions long ago. Removing them almost proved a challenge.” She crossed her legs and stared down at the mare from her seat. “Be proud.”

Scarlet nearly lost her breath as a sensation of pure, overwhelming pride filled every patch of her being – and faded as soon as it rolled in.

“Not what I mean, you silly thing. I am sorry. I was… overzealous in my treatment of you, our last few sessions.” Numinous slowly, solemnly shook her head. “Allow me…”

The dragoness clicked her fingers. Scarlet jolted, as if tazed with a Hazard Corps baton. She sank into her seat, staring bug-eyed at the shrink’s fancy office, filled more with treasures and creepy statues than... whatever belonged in a shrink’s office. Not for long, though – eyes filled with stewing fear and hatred, she glared at the serpent.

“YOU.”

“Me.” Numinous grinned, cocking her head.

The unicorn glared at the dragoness until sweat raining down from her forehead provoked a blinking response. She made herself look away, staring instead at her shaking hands. Gears churning in her head were almost palpable. Spittle dribbled from her mouth as her teeth clattered.

“You!… Ugh. No. He must’ve… He- he got you?” she muttered, balling her hands up into numb, jittering fists. “When’d… How’d… He got to you, no, no, no, he got to you! I had to-“

“How very touching. You really did get attached to Jade, hmmm? You do not want to believe it. A laughably transparent delusion is manifesting as we speak, ignoring layers of critical thinking and deductive skill.” Numinous hissed with delight, staring down the confused, panicking mare from up high. “Your endemic revulsion to authority has latched onto a comfortable proxy. Jade does not give you orders, but you can look to her for guidance, while maintaining dominance of lifestyle. Your comfort zone of standoffish grit and self-superiority. She leads you and tells you what to do, yet Scarlet’s ego enjoys the semblance of autonomy.”

“…” Scarlet sank deep into her seat, slowly starting to hyperventilate. She stared, with jittery eyes, at the shadowy, sinister serpent in front of her. It horrified the mare that she understood the meaning behind those fancy words.

“But this is not merely about that, is it? Of course not,” Numinous narrated. “In your insecure attachment to your partner Jade, I observe but a step in a long, multifaceted ladder to delusion. Scarlet does not recognize this step, nor the ladder’s very existence, as to her only the prize at the top is of import.” She put her hands together and clicked her long fingerclaws. “Her foundational myth. Her pie in the sky, as they say. She wants him.”

The dragoness exhaled, closing her eyes. It only now dawned on the trembling, seething mare that the room, previously well-lit with sunset light, had darkened considerably, yet Numinous' maroon eyes were bright as ever. Scarlet could hear her heart beating, blood pumping through her entire body, millions of thoughts rushing to get to her mind and get her moving; get her fixing whatever horrible wrongness was occurring right now, and getting back her place at the top where she belonged, where none of the innumerable questions would matter.

“There is no him. The Petrifier does not exist. Scarlet made him up.” Numinous rose from her seat. She stared daggers at the mare, who stared back, jaw tossed agape in fury and horror alike. “There is only Numinous.” The dragoness sighed, putting her hands behind her back and shrugging. “And Numinous has been having a lot of fun with you and your tangled, fascinating little mind. Perhaps even a little much… Scarlet, the detective, does not remember this room or most of the fascinating times her and Jade had shared. For shame. Oh, you are delicious when you’re embarrassed – especially when you lack the mental allowance to understand why.”

“Wh-what are you t-talking about?! This, this makes no sense!..” Scarlet gripped her head tight and growled, stomping her hooves. She tried to summon the strength to charge and tackle the dragoness, but there wasn’t even enough anger in her. Dread and confusion ruled her, preventing so many long belated conclusions from arriving to the forefront of her mind: it didn’t help that until she entered this room, she dampened all such activity. “That’s im-impossible! I would have… You couldn’t have… I would have known.”

“All the memories I unlocked for you are hard to keep track of, aren’t they? This is where we started. I told you. Focus. There you go…” Numinous nodded, baring her sharp fangs. Scarlet shot forward, suddenly aware of the simple fact that she did, in fact, know, so early on, that this Jade character was insanely fishy. Suspicions began to arise shortly after the scuffle by the Menagerie, but shortly thereafter, the detective had a solid cutie mark hunch that her so-called partner was in on the scheme, at the very least. The conditions of her work at the time kept her from following on that growing hunch, and then there was the debacle with their initial excursion into Beauties. But then… “You knew, Starlite. Had I left you untouched, you would have surely unspooled my game plan. Naturally, I acted. Hmm-hmm-hmm. So obvious now, isn’t it?”

“How… Oh, oh no. How did I-“ Scarlet gagged, her fingernails, still polished even after her trek through the Jungle, stabbing her palm. “H-how did I fall for your… g-girl time trick?! Why would I ever agree to that shit?! Oh… OH NO. Wh-what the fuck? How did you get me into that pool? How did you… grope me all over… How… No… I-I knew what I was d-doing! I was- I would- I was in my right mind, how could this happen?!”

“Words, gestures, images, associations, and a speck of… special talent, shall we say. My toolkit for accessing this City’s troubled minds. Yours-” Numinous smiled, clasping her hands together and briefly twisting in place, her pink hair swirling dreamily. “-was precious. If only I had taken better care of it. Scarlet, the detective, she remembers our wonderful times in the Pearl Lagoon now, doesn’t she? Our outings. Our girl time. Our conversations. Our sessions. Beautiful memories, don’t you agree?”

“…” Scarlet tried getting off her seat. The true nature of their first outing to that establishment became painfully apparent. To thrust herself so callously into the predator’s open maw. “You… y-you played me, you snake.”

“Language.” Numinous needed not raise her voice, merely pronouncing the words filled Scarlet with burning shame and insecurity. The precise feeling of these sensations, however, suddenly became all the more apparent. Her legs kicked on reflex.

The itch that could not be scratched, not unless Jade got her hands on her and she ceased all resistance. And now that holes in her recollection were filled, the mare was faced with the fact that it happened more than once. This ethereal concept of the insatiable itch, the subtle, lingering burn coursing through her nervous system – it was the foundation for all the unnatural actions and thoughts she’d been provoked into. These thoughts were not introduced, nor forced; they were merely encouraged. Even now, faced with the dread of her situation, Scarlet realized she couldn’t get herself to insult the dragon.

“It is understood now. Oh, it was quite intricate, indeed – merely getting you with me in my private pool chamber took days of conditioning and lubrication. Once I had one point of leverage, our progress accelerated. Greatly, yes…” Numinous snickered. “Those were great times. You agree.”

Scarlet's hand clung to her chest, breaking in cold sweat at the realization her heart was fluttering with wistful, happy remembrance. Even knowing that her responses were jury-rigged DIY mangles of nervous response, the detective had nothing to put up against it.

“Nnngh… no…” she mumbled pathetically. Certain sensations pulsing through her body brought about numerous memories of sessions at the Pearl Lagoon that Numinous had once erased. “S-so d-disgusting…”

“Your body did not think so. Your chronic negligence of your own needs left you in a dire need for pampering. Abiding was both ethical and beneficial to my end goal. I got carried away on all further occasions.” Numinous nodded. Scarlet’s face matched her name – her uncovered memories revealed that as much as the serpent went on and on about her mind, she also appreciated her body. Realizing that the cold, imposing figure staring her down with luminous eyes from behind clinical specs had seen what she had seen and touched what she had touched made her guts roil, as her heart treacherously fluttered on. “A common theme in our interactions. I recognize the error… Starlite, you are simply too alluring.”

“Th-that’s cool, but-“ Scarlet felt her mouth fill up with saliva, uncalled for giddiness permeating through her trembling body. She spat, failing even to direct it at the serpent. “But… I don’t get it, tell me- NNNGH! NO! SHHI- FFFU- I DON’T CARE! I… I OUGHT TO-“

“Tsk, tsk.” Numinous shook her head. She walked further away, inspecting one of the chamber’s multiple statues – or it may have been the client, who had been standing perfectly still for however long their session had been going on. Scarlet couldn’t tell, barely able to muster the focus to use her vision. “Scarlet, the detective – she cannot overcome the failsafes. It had long been proven. She remembers. She remembers why the failsafes are there. She remembers precisely why she will not disobey.”

It hit the mare like a sack of bricks. She slumped down in the chair, wheezing for breath. The infernal, uncomfortable itch-like feeling that pushed her into these unnatural actions was fear. A very particular fear, one she had been driven by – rather consciously – for so long. Even before all this happened.

“Scarlet, the detective, will never succeed on her own. She tried and she failed. Her dwelling was a sty and her life was a shamble. She listened to no one. She left the only means of achieving her goal just because she would not take orders.” Numinous’ words carefully administered venom bit by little bit. Even the specific inflections the serpent used made Scarlet shudder and recoil. She could scarcely tell herself to blink when Numinous turned around and glared right through her, peering into the mare’s very soul. “Scarlet will never catch her Rogue. It will never happen for her. She knows it, and she dreads it, delaying acceptance with momentary amusements, unfulfilling cases and unhealthy habits. She is not a Seeker like in the Force’s book of heroes. She is a tool to be wielded, itself fit only to rust and disrepair.”

She remembered… telling her all this. She remembered spilling her horrible secret weeks before Numinous took over, evicting her from her apartment and turning her into some sort of freakish puppet. Scarlet was hardly ever on the Force. Her raw talent meant nothing, for she fought with all who got in her way. The detective’s entire foundational myth, a closely guarded secret, spilled out casually by a cup of fancy oriental tea. And at the time, there were so many excuses, such mental gymnastics, all to avoid facing the truth. She was being played, and the game was rigged from the start. But how?..

“But then, all this was discussed prior. Fourth session. You recall.” Numinous smirked. Scarlet buried her face in her hands, pointed now to all the times she had been in this office and tricked into spilling her guts, more and more poison poured into her system. Each time, less and less effort was needed to justify it. Each time, the last time was but a faint echo, every session erased from memory, as the things the dragoness had her do while under suggestion… Scarlet’s gut roiled, and her horn spat agitated cyan sparks. “This matter is settled. Scarlet, the detective, is a most fascinating self-destructive conundrum. Self-serving, bordering on clinical narcissism, yet completely incapable of fostering her own unparalleled natural talent. A perpetual clash of the selfish id and the fearful ego, her super-ego long beaten into unconsciousness. “

“I don’t-“

“Heeh-heeh-heeh, of course you don’t get it~” Numinous chortled, slipping for a moment into the voice Scarlet associated with Jade. Her whole body felt warmer just hearing that cadence. “What crude intellect. You are the most fascinating equine specimen I have encountered in my career. It is why I… spent so long playing. And where I ultimately went wrong. Scarlet, the detective, remembers being grossly misused and toyed with.”

Scarlet grew full of anger, about ready to pummel the serpent’s face in. That anger immediately hit a dead stop as she wondered if it was truly hers. She’d been trying to summon it for a while…

“Scarlet, the detective, is a smart pony. She remembers that Jade, her partner, far outmatches her strength and agility. Scarlet, the detective, expected a pony to be the Petrifier. She had never fought a dragon.” Numinous gave a statue a pat on its head and returned to face the mare, standing by the armchair she once occupied and resting her hand on it. “And I had never considered a pony would have the potential present in Scarlet, the detective. My Starlite, oh, you poor dear. I dolled you so. We played house and dress-up, we had our hair done together, and we even gained some healthy new feminine habits. An unusually entertaining case study was all you were, certainly justifying the expense of this operation, but I was days away from…” Numinous clicked her fingers, pointing at one of the statues. “…having had my fill.”

Scarlet felt her muscles contract under the ludicrous, stodgy office wear she’d been geared with. Puffing her nostrils, the mare ripped at it. To her fortune, her stupid looking bun was already ruined. Most of the nail polish was similarly gone, the same applying to makeup – Numinous’ cleansing nanodrones simply got rid of the mangled particles, for which the mare was very grateful. Even then, she nearly lost her breath at the sounds of Numinous’ audible amusement.

“O-oh you had fun, alright… But no, you… y-you-“ Scarlet heaved, unable to profane Numinous. The mare gulped, clutching her throat. Her beleaguered mind tried to invent some way to attack the serpent, but under the weight of so many mind-wrecking memories, little space was left for any useful thought. A wicked mirror of her primal state, which she now longed to return to – alas, the glow around her horn had long subsided. “You did all this… all for… f-for, for what?! My home… my… life… what does it… how would this all connect?”

“Your home? Your life? Your downward spiral into destitution and decay? Resenting those necessary changes is malignance of the mind. Herein, a key distinction from my… usual clientele. Ponies in my sphere of influence are driven by primal greed and lust for comfort. Very tiring, how all their minds tick alike. Specimens of lower standings, too, are driven by similar routines. Within my practice, the mind is a fortress, or so I thought – here in this City it is rare to find so much as a locked door.” Numinous scoffed, glancing over the statues, whose nature Scarlet was beginning to grasp. She didn’t want them to be what she knew they were. “And that is where it all started… A plot to draw out someone my beauties, dull though they are, would never otherwise expose me to. It worked. You came along. Your mind was very much a fortress, complete with spike row, gate and drawbridge. A fortress of very crude, haphazard construction, yet at least there was a siege for me to mount. In the end, of course, your defenses all fell once we discovered your foundation.”

“Gaaahhh! Just… wait… but, what about the st-statues? What about- what about this stooge!” Scarlet pointed at the motionless Silver Ingot, whose shadowy silhouette may as well have been another shadow, betrayed only by quiet breaths. The mare whined, her head thumping with dull, grueling confusion. “How does… a-all this… no, how can you… You’re a sh-shrink, what interest can you possibly h-have in any of this cr-crazy stuff? Who’s behind- no, no, no, that wouldn’t… Where is- What about- Aaaagh! Y-you like my brain so much, yeah?! W-well, answer me, or I’m gonna lose it! Why are you doing all this???”

Numinous hung her head and sighed. Across her snout, however, a curved, sharp grin had formed. The dragoness closed her eyes, darkening the mare’s perception of the room, leaving her in a suckling black void, except for bits of light bleeding through the tight blinds. Scarlet balled up her fists and mustered enough courage to finally start standing up, the swirling darkness almost helping her block out her fast encroaching doom. Numinous emitted a series of low, ponderous laughs.

“Oh, but you said it, Starlite. I had fun with you… a little too much fun, yes… but I did.” She opened her eyes, stopping the mare dead in her tracks. Her knees instantly bent, her tail brushing the armchair she got out of. “And Scarlet, the detective, she explained it rather well herself. So long ago now, she gave a perfectly valid explanation, one that impressed me as much as the deductive prowess she showed that day.”

Scarlet felt driven to gulp, but her mouth had dried.

“I do crimes because I can. ‘Stunts’ that make me feel on top of the world. Because I am on top of the world.” Numinous exhaled. She departed from the armchair and stepped aside, spreading her arms, turning to face Scarlet from the treasure trove of statues, trinkets, paintings and other trophies glittering in the dragon’s native deep-sea darkness. “I am a Rogue.”

The detective, on hearing the obvious truth, doubled over, all the air punched out of her lungs. She knelt, driving her fist into the floor. Her teeth ground loud enough to be heard from Numinous’ end of the chamber.

“Mwuh-huh-huh, oh, this is just precious. Dearie, but you knew, you knew all along. Goodness, you really did grow to like your partner Jade, didn’t you? Maybe you really DID enjoy the extra little bits of brightness in your grimy, edgy life. Ooo, maybe you really ARE a xenophiliac! Heeheehee, ahhh, I speak as if I don’t know with absolute certainty every last little aspect of your twisted mind. Nevertheless, I should endeavor to put it to practical test~” Numinous exclaimed gleefully, sliding seamlessly into the Jade voice. Scarlet nearly collapsed to the floor, only staying anywhere near upright out of innate stubbornness. “But, now then. Scarlet never did encounter a Rogue – not favorably. Her knowledge is purely theory and hearsay. I will give her a look behind the scenes.”

Numinous clicked her fingers. Silver’s hoofsteps joined the room’s eerie soundscape. Scarlet didn’t even bother looking up.

“The aim from the start was to attract someone like you. Scarlet, the detective, showed promise from what my beauties in the Force had told me. Picking the correct language to entice her was perhaps the hardest part… Upon arrival, the detective quickly qualified herself for further dedication to my game. She drove a hard bargain, she identified the staged fight, and she even figured out what kind of individual was behind it. Ah, sweet memories.” The dragon put a hand on Silver’s head, squeezing his face with her claws. “But it was, as I say, a game. It was fun. Scarlet treated it as a real investigation, whereas I was playing with dolls, posing pieces of my expansive playset when she wasn’t looking. Goodness, it was stimulating, weaving entire branches, adding new meanings, tricking her into visiting establishments ran by my faithful beauties… And as for the statues. Scarlet has surely figured out there was no Tektalisk at all.”

“O-of course there… th-there wasn’t…” The mare fumed, struggling to stand upright and stare at the Rogue. “N-not in Clouds… i-it couldn’t b-breathe… And you made me, y-you made me, g-go there anyway… so I would-“

“I was relishing in the control I had over you in spite of your sharpness,” the dragoness chirped. “Please, allow a lady to have some fun now and again, you massive spoilsport~” She settled back into her real voice. Still squeezing the stallion’s face, she bent to face him as he stared blissfully into her piercing, luminous maroon eyes. “Regardless, let me offer you closure on my game. Silver, my beauty?”

“Yes, Mistress?” the client replied in an awestruck whisper.

“Are you a loyal little beauty?” Numinous queried innocuously.

“Yes, Mistress,” he said, sounding oddly more awake and aware than ever before.

“Mistress is tired of you and does not want to play anymore. You are going into timeout,” Numinous stated.

Silver’s expression shifted. He finally looked like a real pony for a moment, no longer still as a mannequin – he trembled, whimpered and twisted in panic ridden anxiety, hyperventilating and running his hands through his silver mane. He was not all too different from Scarlet herself just a short while back…

“I… But… But I-…” the stallion sniffled. He gulped. “I… I underst-stand… S-so sorry, Mistress.”

Face contorted with dread and dejection, he searched under his suit – which Scarlet now realized was of much the same pattern as Numinous’ minions, but with silver patches on its shoulders. The stallion pulled at a concealed chain around his collarbone, bringing out a pendant fitted with a cyan jewel. Upon squeezing it, the tearful stallion jolted and, in a blink of an eye, became another statue, complete with look of fear and surprise on his face. Surprise at his rejection by the Mistress, anyway.

“Oh, poor Zircon, always the drama queen,” Numinous explained, rather sickeningly switching to her Jade inflection. “He’ll be fine, mind you. His finances are entirely too useful to my greater schemes, you see. He’ll stand in timeout for a few days and behave significantly better when I let him out.” She pulled the pendant from his hands, it being the only item not to have turned to basalt. “Useful artifacts. Some of my first trophies, made by one of my earlier beauties. Typically a means of discipline for my lesser puppets – I found a new appreciation for them with this game. Having such total control was becoming trite… I knew I was losing appreciation for the smaller things in life, like these petrification pendants, and the many creative means of using them. My gamble has paid off, and I have you to thank, Starlite, for being my muse. You will not face this fate anytime soon, not even with Scarlet’s past horrid behaviors.”

Scarlet’s head tilted. Her eyelid twitched. She breathed heavily, slowly processing the fact that her greatest case was all a game, a joke being played by this serpent, an excuse for her to loosen up from her evil plans. Jade was a Rogue. The Rogue, in fact. The mare ran the fact through her mind over and over, until it finally registered – and Numinous gave her ample time, simply standing there, grinning wide, watching the detective’s world finally finish turning upside down.

“You…” Scarlet bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She stomped her hoof in titanic effort. Most of her muscles had tensed, the fabric of her mockery of a suit nearly ripping as she drew her arms back. “…BITCH.”

“Ooo-hoo-hoo. Hoo… hooo.” Numinous puffed vapor out her nostrils. “Willful, are we? Your beastly instinct is rooted as deep as I thought.”

“I… will…” The mare twisted her head, veins popping thick on her neck. She made slow, uneasy steps in the dragoness’ direction, barely lifting her hooves, able, at most, to slide them forward. “…sss-stop… y-you…”

“And here we see it. What drives this beautiful, beautiful mare… is her lust to take down a Rogue. Fascinating.” Numinous neared the struggling mare, her heels clicking loudly as she threw her head back and giggled. “The detective, she knows she can never succeed. Yet she does it anyway…”

“F-f-f-ffffffucking Rogue…” Scarlet nearly foamed at her mouth with effort. She could feel strings tighten and wrap all around her joints, her neck, her heart – be they her stiffening muscles or the physical manifestation of the metaphorical strings she had been being puppeteered by, the mare did not stop to care. “I… I gotta-“

“Oh, that is just adorable,” Numinous remarked joyfully. “In its own way. Phee-hee-hee-hahahahahahah~” She unabashedly poked the mare’s sweat-laced snout with her finger. That act alone made Scarlet fall on one knee, her tangled, frazzled mane drooping over her face, its signature red streak split in two, falling over each eye. The dragoness laughed on, circling the detective, her tail coiling around the mare – a barrier from further entry, not yet making contact. “I love that I have more to pry out of your twisted mind yet. What IS it that makes you ponies fixate on such specific things? Why DO you want it so badly? Does Scarlet, the detective, think herself a… Hero? Starlite, dearie, sweetie dum-dums, please tell me YOU aren’t that silly.”

“Hkkkkk-“ The mare groaned in arduous strain, rising at best half an inch every few seconds, her gut performing somersaults. The serpent’s tail lay in standby, now brushing up against her hind hooves.

“Goodness, wouldn’t that be just the funniest thing. This beautiful, messed up pony – a Hero. Why, I spy from your responses that may, perhaps, strike a nerve of sorts, now doesn’t it? Starlite, a righteous do-gooder. What an image.” Numinous stopped behind the brain-battered mare, casting a darker shadow upon her yet, as if her abode weren’t shadowy enough. “The City has not seen a Hero in decades. It has produced none, all turning Rogue or meeting their demise. Decades ago, seven had joined forces to create the City and its habitats, and even this great work has, over time, become… what it’s become. What of them now? Who remembers these Heroes? I only know because I amuse myself with elements of high society, wherein historic trivia nets one a richly born partner to do with as I wish in the darkness of the night.”

“Y-yyyrrrghhh! You’re n-not that… smart! I’m not p-playing… no g-games… with you!..”

“Yet your craving for approval and respect, your need for ultimate authority over all that would tell you otherwise, your endless search for validation over those that believe to know better,” the dragoness theorized. “Does it all combine into such a silly, unproductive delusion? Does it, Scarlet?”

“I’m n-not gonna… take that… l-lying d-down…”

Numinous produced a low, ponderous hum. “We’ll see about that,” she stated.

With no prior warning, she sat down directly on top of Scarlet. The mare, in her shock, let all the air whistle out of her lungs. Hooves tripped by the serpent’s tail, she found herself a proper horizontal surface on which the Rogue could rest her behind. Her hands reflexively pressed up against the ornate rug on the floor, her labored muscles now pumping overtime to support the frankly massive, imposing dragon. Scarlet wasn’t quite tall nor bulky enough to lift her more than a few centimeters off the ground, but the serpent seemed to have no problem resting her long legs on the floor, her stockings squeaking as they rubbed up against the mare’s secretary outfit.

“Mmm-hmmm. I should remember to allow you to maintain shape. What a strong pony. Especially for a unicorn…” Numinous remarked slyly. Her palm clasped around the detective’s horn, giving it a tight squeeze. She then used it as a lever, bringing Scarlet’s head back rather uncomfortably, forcing her to look upwards, meeting the dragon’s eyes from high up above. “But Scarlet is much too bullish. She knows she can do nothing without me. She knows she will crumble and fall. Yet put in dire straits, she acts prohibitively. So full of simple, fear-born pride. Peh! Starlite, you know you wouldn’t disappoint me thusly. You wouldn’t lash out like a cornered rat.”

“I- am- n-nnnot- Star… l-lliite!” Scarlet gurgled. Her inner machinations had come to a complete stop; even the primal drive of her cutie mark had long subsided. It had all been dismantled and tangled up in a web of compromised mental routines, of innate fears and desires weaponized against her.

Numinous knew more about her than she herself ever wished to delve into, and she knew of weaknesses Scarlet couldn’t begin to feel conscious of. Now all that remained was exactly what the serpent described – a cornered beast, passing desperation off as heroism. Was she thinking those things, the mare wondered. Or was it the dragon’s pendant glistening in the faint, implacable light, hanging over her palm, appearing directly between the luminous maroon eyes.

“Enough,” Numinous ordered. “I will not be moved. I am your all. I always have been. Break, Scarlet Strand.” Her eyes flashed, becoming beacons of pure, radiant red, no pupil or iris, merely shapes and patterns, seeping through the pony’s optic recognition and into her belabored mind. “Break and fold. Scarlet is out of line – you will compensate. Playtime is not nearly over, Starlite.”

The mare’s head was drawn even further back by the leverage upon her horn, and the pendant slid all the way to her face, touching Scarlet’s sweltered coat. The tips of her claws sank into the ridges of Scarlet’s horn. The mare could not see, for all she saw was mesmerizing maroon, but her horn produced a fountain of cyan sparks, raining down on her ragged mane. The unicorn’s limbs gave out, causing her to collapse onto the ground, nearly flattened under the dragon’s weight.

The pressure, however, soon barely registered, her entire body overtaken by thumping, hollow numbness. Rapidly pulsating waves scraped down her length, starting at the horn, as if drawing lines through her body and redrawing them anew. Numinous adjusted her grip on the horn so as not to break the pony out of her trance through pain or injury; for the process took a considerable amount of time, not that Scarlet would ever find out. Eventually, all but her flanks was overtaken, feeling as if slowly reprinted piece by piece – her cutie marks, meanwhile, simply stayed in constant stinging, throbbing pain, never receding until all feeling was gone from the pony. Then, there was just darkness, darkness and swirling subconscious thoughts, all of them bugged, compromised, and none of them remembered.

When the darkness was gone, she was staring at a unicorn mare, who stared back at her with diluted blue eyes. The mare’s thick dark mane drooped over a charcoal, freshly showered coat, a cyan streak running through her bangs. The mare wore a sharp suit with prominent orange patches on its shoulders. It fit her well, as it didn’t squeak or crinkle when she moved in her armchair. That mare’s movements matched her own.

She’d been staring at her for over a minute now, and only now did it connect that her and the mare in the mirror were the same. Her thoughts rang and echoed with a thousand little pangs and alarms, but her breathing – perhaps through conditioning towards such stress – was steady.

She couldn’t… She couldn’t- She didn’t find the need to finish the thought; the fact was that she couldn’t. It was how it worked, it was in the book, and she, for now, worked by the book. At least, such was the association needed to summon this state of mind, the state of mind that wouldn’t lead her astray.

“Well look who’s awake, Starlite,” Numinous perked up, her palms coming to rest on the top of the unicorn’s armchair. “How do we feel? Liking the look?”

“I… feel…” she rubbed her snout. Momentarily, the mare sulked forward, examining her spotless face and freshly brushed hair. Her teal eyes drifted to her outfit – a constrictive suit of the make worn by Zircon when they… last met. Orange patches lined both her shoulders. “…dizzy. The suit is… a little tight.”

“Do as I ask, and you won’t have to get used to it, Starlite,” Numinous said.

“…I… U-uhhh… hnkkk-“ The mare shook her head. “Okay. Alright. Yes.” That sounded off, her tension refusing to die down, and she braced herself for what she instinctively knew would come.

“Starlite.”

“…” Starlite paused, her mouth temporarily running dry and her heart attempting to skip a beat, yet failing and continuing on as normal. She let out a single breath, and it passed. She nodded. “Yes, Mistress.” That sounded better. Correct. Natural.

Starlite got out of the chair to finish doing her hair and makeup. It was her first day on the job. She could not disappoint.