Shadow Play

"I'm sorry that it took so long to inform you." The policemare said as she escorted the doppelgangers and Gunther down the hall. "He didn't have any emergency contacts listed on file and he wasn't exactly in a fit state to tell us who to call until recently - and even so he isn't doing very well at all." She explained, stopping at a door that looked like all the rest. The group waited in anxious silence as the bolt was removed from the door.

"He's gone through quite the ordeal, I'm afraid." She continued, swinging the door open. "We have him under protective custody for now, but in time we hope to maybe do something more permeant - though that depends on the courts processing our requests quickly.

"Either way, I'd advise caution in how you interact with him as he is in a rather fragile state at the moment. We wouldn't want him regressing." The mare said in a low tone, looking inside the room with a frown.

Puppershy was the first to rush inside the room. Before them was Testing Testing, sitting on the floor, hugging himself as he desperately tried to keep his breathing calm and failed. Puppershy, not waiting to say any words or any other gesture, wrapped her arms around Testing.

"It's alright, Testing, it's me. It's Puppershy, your safe!" She whispered desperately, hugging the stallion she loved with all the strength and passion she could muster. Testing didn't respond, however, simply staying still as he was hugged with a stare that pierced the simple room's walls.

"What's wrong with him?" Stellar Afterglow asked in a hushed tone, staying towards the back of the group. The policemare just shook her head.

"I'd say it's easier to say what isn't wrong with him." The mare began, looking on Testing with pity. "We received a call from a concerned citizen who told us there was a pony that had just escaped sexual abuse who was covered in fluids and a bit of blood. Even with resources being stretched recently, that type of scenario gets treated quickly - especially the blood part."

"Was he hurt?" Stellar asked, looking over Testing.

"No, it wasn't his blood. The only blood we found was around his mouth." The mare answered. "Apparently, during his ordeal or while he escaped he managed to bite the finger clean off of one of his captors. Middle finger on the left hand, in case you might've wondered."

"He... he actually bit somepony's finger off?" Stellar said with no little amount of shock.

"Clearly in line with self preservation, mind you, so no need to worry about any charges that might be levied." The policemare comforted. "He was rescued by an anonymous citizen who found him at the entrance to their backrooms. In accordance with the law, we cleared the entire area due to having a well founded concern of wrong doing in the area. We got a warrant 'ex post facto', but it'll still hold up nicely in court given the circumstances.

"No big surprise, but we found out what we had suspected for years - the Prissy Pony was a front for some messed up shit." The mare shook her head. "Apparently there was a whole scheme to take vulnerable individuals and turn them into brainwashed whores and sluts. Your friend here got lucky, all things considered. They had chemicals and drugs down there to help the process along that he was lucky enough to avoid. Things ranging from sodium thiopental to hard drugs like heroin and otherwise. Some legal to possess, most illegal, and some unidentified as of yet.

"I doubt they had much of any science behind what they were doing. More than likely they were mixing concoctions that more often than not just resulted in a braindead vegetable; which for them was close enough to what they wanted, the sick fucks." The policemare just shook her head.

"I only wish we had been faster about it. So many ponies could've been saved." The mare sighed, her heartbreak at the suffering of so many ponies more than evident.

"I think that those that were saved are more than thankful that you did as much you have." Stellar smiled at the police pony. The mare retuned the smile, nodding towards the room as she took up her post beside the entrance. Stellar Afterglow hesitate a second, but in the end decided to walk in with the rest of them.

Puppershy had been petting Testing, lavishing him with snuggles and kisses as she sat next to him in tears. Sultry Rose and Gunther sat on the other side, Gunther holding his hand pleadingly. All the while Testing's face was a mask of flashing emotions that didn't seem to corelate with one another nor stay long enough to be recognized.

Simply put, he was a mess.

Stella simply sat down with the rest of them, softly speaking with him as best they could in hopes that simply being there for him would help; and, to a certain extent, it did. His face began to mellow out, and his breathing calmed over the course of the next few hours as they simply sat by him and did their best to comfort and reassure him.

Slowly, yet surely, Testing seemed to return to them. He still shook like a leaf in the breeze and said things that didn't quite make sense on occasion, but it was Testing in some way. It did all of their hearts good to see their friend recovering in some way, even if there was much yet needing to be done.

As she sat with the group, Stellar Afterglow felt a hand placed on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw a police pony nodding towards the door, evidently wanting a word with her. She nodded in return before standing up.

"I'll be right back." She said softly in almost a whisper. The others nodded in acknowledgement, sending her off as they continued to tend to Testing. Stellar walked up to the door and looked expectantly at the officer.

"I'm glad to see you've all made progress on your friend." The officer began. "We were quite concerned he wouldn't be able to testify against those that did so much to him, but at this rate he might just make it. There are others that can testify in his place, of course, but his firsthand account will do wonders towards putting Red Tape, his father, and the rest of them behind bars for quite long time."

"I can't promise anything." Stellar Afterglow cautioned. "He is still quite fragile, and I'm not sure how much can be healed... he... he's been through something similar before unfortunately, so this is hitting him quite hard."

"Dear Celestia..." The pony grimaced, "I feel even worse for him now, the poor guy." The police pony just shook their head, unable to fully express all they were feeling. The two of them stood there for a moment in silence, neither one feeling up to the task of breaking the silence. These were not times to take lightly, and both of them knew it.

Eventually, though, the officer continued. "I've just come back from the court office. An emergency meeting was called and a verdict has already been delivered on whether or not to take you all into permenant protective custody."

"And?" Stellar pressed.

"Unfortunately, with the scandal unfolding as it is, we can't have you in the city. It's far to dangerous to you and to the due course of justice." The pony said, doing their best to explain things.

"Scandal? Surely the arrest of sex traffickers who were erstwhile runners of a strip club isn't too much of a scandal. Honestly it seems right up their alley when you say it aloud." Stella countered.

"That isn't the half of it though." The officer pressed. "The Prissy Pony was roped off and squads of officers have been turning that place inside out. We haven't got through half of the evidence, but this whole plot seems to be implicating a variety of politicians, judges, lawyers, and a variety of well respected elements of society. Not to mention that beyond being a strip club owner, Grind Stone was actually a fairly well respected member of society. Don't ask how, because no pony has the answer on how he pulled off that hattrick."

Stellar cursed under her breath. There were reasons she supposed that Grind Stone and Red Tape had been so blatant in their cruel acts - or at least Red Tape had been. Neither of them were good ponies, and now they were paying for that. At least, so it was to be hoped.

"The thing is that you're going to have to be entered into the witness protection program. Unfortunately for the standard procedure, it appears there a ponies implicated that are in multiple levels of the program. In other words, we can't use the normal system to protect you." The pony explained. Stellar nodded solemnly, unsure what this meant for the group.

"Fortunately for you, there is the Royal Service for the Protection of Witnesses. It's a separate branch that works only on the backs of Celestia, Luna, Twilight Sparkle, and their direct retinues of guards. Generally, I'd say trust no pony in this case, but between the three princesses and the ponies tasked with guarding them when they sleep... well, I'd say you'll be fairly safe with them." The police pony said, a small smile on their face.

"I don't want to get your hopes up just yet, as there is no confirmation that they will take your case on, but seeing as their two factors of activation are when the pony is part of a major case or when the standard system is considered to be compromised, I'd say you have a pretty good shot."

"I see... that's good, then, is it?" Stellar asked, unsure how to feel in the whirlwind that was today.

"It bodes well in the end. You'll have new identities and will be relocated. I'd... suggest having somepony go pack your things as quickly as possible to make sure you're ready to go. We can even call in an escort from the local detachment of the National Guard." The police pony said. "You'll have to cut ties with everypony you know, unfortunately, as there's a chance those connections leading back to you could also lead somepony with ill intent back to you. It'll be tough, but as far as anypony can tell, it is very much a necessity in this case."

"Thank you." Stellar smiled. The police pony just nodded in acknowledgement and left the group in the open cell. Stellar turned and looked to the ponies of the group, thinking over everything that she had been told and what it'd mean for them. Perhaps with new names they could find better jobs that weren't taken away because of what they were called.

Then again, they'd lose their names. They'd be assigned new monikers that they'd have to learn to go by. They'd lose that single piece of self-definition that they had made for themselves.

The coming days were going to be painful for sure, and none of them would have the luxury of looking forward to it.

Sighing, Stellar walked back inside and sat back down, passing the news on to the other ponies. They each seemed concerned in their own way, especially the still shivering Testing.

"Y-y-y-you m-m-m-mean that w-w-w-we're gonna h-h-have to move?" Testing asked, quaking in Puppershy's hug. Stellar nodded simply, not sure exactly what his opinion would be.

"G-g-good." He said simply.

"Yeah, fuck this city!" Gunther cried in an amount of excitement that everypony else couldn't help but feel to be appropriate.