Canterlot Central Hub never looked any less shiny to Indigo Zap.
Spires and domes, with shining gemstones built into them to power the machinery. Colored smoke rose in plumes, with hardly a cloud in the sky.
The train slowed to a stop, but almost no pony got up. Not many ponies lived in Canterlot, and the ones that did rarely left.
Indigo jumped to her hooves, unable and unwilling to suppress her grin. She leapt out the train doors, taking in a deep breath.
And she immediately coughed, waving a hand in front of her face. I can smell the fire rubies from here, she thought to herself.
“You get used to the smell,” a voice said from her right.
Indigo turned, seeing another pony standing on the platform. She wore a dark blue long coat, hands clasped behind her back. She was also decked out in several prosthetics—both her hooves were mechanical, and her horn was extended with another one, and braced with what looked to be armor of some sort.
But Indigo’s eyes focused to the six-pointed star pin on her chest.
“You’re Indigo Zap?” she asked.
Indigo nodded emphatically. “And you--”
“You can call me Minuette,” she said. “Friendship Inquisitor, Second Class.” She stretched out a hand, smiling. “Good to meet you.”
Indigo seized her hand with both of hers, shaking it emphatically. “Great to meet you!” she burst out. “I’ve been waiting for this chance for so long...it’s...it’s great to finally be here!”
Minuette seemed hesitant, but smiled anyway. “Trot with me,” she said, beckoning Indigo forward.
Indigo took flight briefly, but landed and trotted besides Minuette. “So,” the unicorn began, “I should like to address that you were picked because of your potential. Nothing about what you currently are, mind you. You can always improve...or fail to meet our expectations. You are being given a chance, so it is not guaranteed yet. Okay?”
Indigo nodded. “Please. I won’t fail.”
Minuette’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “Alright,” she conceded. “Just letting you know. The real conversations can start once we get inside, but any other questions you have, feel free to ask.”
Indigo looked around the empty streets. Any other city, and the streets would be filled with traffic. But the roads on the ground, and the interwoven web of streets that hung in the air, were all barren.
“There’s no one really to listen in out here anyway, but some habits are good to be in,” Minuette said with a smile. “Here. This is a Level Elevator.” She gestured to it. “Canterlot’s not like the other cities, my little pony. This is how we get between the tiers.”
Indigo looked behind her, fluttering her wings.
“You could fly,” Minuette smiled, “but after the first few miles, you might change your mind. You do sprinting, not marathons, am I right?”
“Yeah. Longest track I ever did was, uh...” She stepped onto the elevator, whistling quietly to herself. “Three hundred meters on hoof, but I got to do one of the six-hundred meter flight races once.”
“I bet those wing braces helped with that,” Minuette said casually. She pulled out a card, swiping it along a terminal in the elevator. “Canton of Inquisition.”
The computer beeped, and the elevator started moving. Indigo looked behind herself, at the metalic lining along the edges of her wings. “Oh, yeah,” she said. “It seemed like a great idea, y’know? Block out risk of injury for professional flying, though sports didn’t remain my career of choice for long.”
Minuette nodded. “Do you have other cybernetics?”
“Well, uh...I got the reflex chip,” she said, tapping her skull.
Minuette nodded. “Do you know the grade and brand?” she asked.
“Not off the top of my head,” Indigo admitted. “I think it’s like, uh, a four?” She patted her purse, adding, “I brought the documents with me.”
“That’s good. If it’s only a four, we’ll probably need to upgrade it once we’re certain we’re keeping you,” Minuette said. Pointing to the chip in her own temple, she said, “Mine’s a seven. Most of us around here have six to nine.”
“Yikes,” Indigo said. “Do they really slow down time like everypony says they do?”
Minuette shook her head. “That’s a misconception. You perceive time slower because your mind is faster, but your body is just as fast as it always is—though I personally put in a few hydraulic muscles to stimulate my own speed.” She stretched out a hand, wriggling the fingers. “What about a spinal augment? They’re a bit more advanced than that chip in your temple, but pretty expensive.”
“If it’s on the expensive end of cybernetics, I don’t have it,” Indigo admitted. “But, uh, those two are really all I have.”
“Right. There’s a few cybernetics that we’re required to get, but we’ll talk about that when we get there,” Minuette said. “Here we are.”
The elevator pulled to a stop with a jolt. Indigo blinked, looking out the windows. “Hold up, we were just on the ground five seconds ago.”
“Yes. And now we’re three hundred meters off it.”
“Three hundred--” Indigo pressed her face up against the window, staring out in shock. “Yikes. I guess it’s true that Canterlot has better technology before the rest of us, huh?” That was way faster than I can fly, too.
“Eeyup. Welcome to the future, my little pony.” Minuette nodded her head out the door. Indigo took the first few steps out, looking out along the road.
“Wow,” Indigo said, looking over the edge of the railing. “I haven’t been up this high, even when flying.” A chill wind blew past, making Indigo pull her jacket close. “And haven’t been this cold since I left Crystal City,” she muttered.
“We boost the automated weather systems with a couple teams of pegasi, to help blow away all the gem-smoke,” Minuette said, stepping up besides Indigo, looking out over Canterlot.
“Cool,” Indigo said. “Ever thought of using controlled tornadoes?”
Minuette stared at her.
“I mean, it just—sounded cool in my head,” Indigo admitted.
“I know one of the Wonderbolt captains suggested that,” Minuette replied slowly, “but I’m pretty sure Princess Spitfire shot it down. I don’t know why.”
“Ooh! Will I get to meet Princess Spitfire?” Indigo demanded, catching Minuette by the shoulders. “What about Princess Celestia? That would be so cool!”
“I don’t know about those two, but you probably will,” Minuette said with a smile. “Regardless, you’re definitely meeting one Alicorn face-to-face...”
She pointed, and Indigo looked up, seeing a violet shimmer in the air. The light expanded, and there appeared a violet Alicorn.
Two mostly-mechanical wings stretched out, as violet sparkles floated away. Even from this distance, Indigo could tell her wings were massive, and her horn exceptionally long. A small, flying drone of some sort floated in the air besides her, as the Princess hovered in place. Then, she looked to Indigo. Despite the distance, Indigo felt their eyes meet.
Without further movement, the Princess flew towards the building the elvator had deposited them in front of, entering from a higher floor.
“Was...was that...” Indigo closed her jaw, then gulped.
“Midnight Sparkle, Princess of Inquisition,” Minuette said with a smile.
She beckoned for Indigo to follow as she headed for the door.
“Oh my Sun,” Indigo breathed. “I’m meeting her now?”
“Of course. She likes to get a look at all potential recruits.” Minuette unlocked the door to the Canton of Inquisition, then smiled, holding it open. “Come. It won’t do to keep her waiting.”
“Grogar’s beard,” Indigo cursed, before moving to follow Minuette.
The Canton of Inquisition was surprisingly well decorated. Paintings furnished the walls, and a cheery beckoning cat sat at the desk. The seats were arrayed in a circle around a round table, and were...fuzzy.
Indigo didn’t like fuzzy, but she sat down in the seat Minuette gestured to. Minuette herself sat down opposite from her, pulling out a document of some sort. “This is the paperwork you filled out,” she said.
“So, uh...is it all...good?
“The paperwork isn’t everything,” Minuette said. “There were a few things I wanted to ask you about. Have you ever had any broken bones?”
“Um...” Indigo thought back. “No, don’t think so.”
“Hm, that’s good,” Minuette said. “Once broken, they become easier to break in the future, so we like to replace them with prosthetics after they’ve broken once.”
“For real? I didn’t know they made prosthetic bones.”
“Not open to the general public,” Minuette said simply. “I replaced a rib after it cracked.” She reached up, poking her chest. “Right...there, if I remember correctly. It’s way stronger than an actual bone, but if this one breaks, you gotta replace it right away.”
“Geez,” Indigo said.
“You wrote ‘not applicable’ in the lineage. That is to mean, you have no immediate members of your family who are of the nobility?”
“Um, yeah.”
“What about relatives? Even minor nobles.”
“Mm...I don’t think so, but I could be mistaken.” She swished her tail, adding, “Is that a problem?”
“Not at all,” Minuette said. “Noble ponies would raise a fuss over that, but Princess Midnight prefers to hire based off abilities rather than lineage. Princess Spitfire’s the same way, actually, but Princess Cadenza likes nobility. Some of them remind her of friends and such from the past thousand years.” Minuette turned to the next page of the document. “Have you had any extremely close friends or lovers in the nobility?”
Indigo ran a hand through her mane. “I was a friend of Sugarcoat’s in Crystal Prep...uh...not super close, and not, um...’extra’ special...we still talk sometimes.”
“But your relations with her didn’t ever take a turn for significantly worse?”
“No. Are you saying I should...sever ties or something?”
“No, not at all. Some nobles have a habit of revealing sensitive information about former lovers and such when they try to rise ranks. Which can be a big problem for an organization that works primarily in secret.” She shrugged. “Normally, we keep them in line with a few vague threats and all, but it doesn’t always work. Being friends with non-Inquisitors of any rank is absolutely fine, but be certain you don’t give away private information.” She folded the document, then returned it to her satchel. “You did mention some skill with firearms. Are you armed right now?”
Indigo nodded. “Never been a major gun nut, but I like to be prepared, and I’ve been training like mad since my application was accepted.”
“Mm. May I see your current firearm?”
Indigo nodded, pulling up her shirt. She unbuckled the gun holster, then set it on the table for Minuette to see.
“Do you have a license for concealed carry?”
Indigo nodded. “In my purse. Didn’t I write that in the paperwork, though?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to see you’re response,” Minuette said with a smile. She removed the gun from its holster, examining it. “A bat-killer, ten millimeter. What’s it loaded with?”
“Lead. Gemstones are expensive, so I don’t use many of ‘em.”
“We’re working directly for the crown, Miss Zap. Money is no object. What gemstones do you use?”
Indigo reached into her purse, pulling out a small tray of sapphire-tipped bullets. Minuette let out a sigh, taking them and examining them. “Flim-Flam Munitions?”
“The cheapest.”
“But you get what you pay for,” Minuette said. “These are hybrid rounds. If they’re not full gemstone, they’re practically worthless.” She set it down on the table, then slid the gun back to Indigo. “Bat-killers are decent low-caliber guns, but we can talk about swapping that out later. However, I’m going to get you some actual sapphire rounds, and you’ll train up to be better accustomed to using real ones.”
“Got it,” Indigo said dejectedly. “I paid heavy bits for those things, and you’re saying I was conned?”
“We’ve looked into Flim-Flam before, actually. They’re not dumb enough to sell hybrid rounds as actual gemstone rounds, but I doubt they’d be quick to correct ponies looking to buy. What you’ve really got to look out for are ‘leadhearts’--lead bullets coated very lightly in gemstones, to make them look like they’re gem all the way through, but they’re actually still hybrids.” She straightened out the paperwork. “You’re skilled in unarmed combat, you said here?”
“Yeah. Nothing professional, but I did take a lot of mare tai classes.” She threw a few light jabs at the air in front of her.
“You’ll get better,” Minuette said with a smile. “One last important thing. We did run a background check, and you don’t have any crimes...on record. The job does include a pardon, and you did qualify, but I need to know if you’ve committed any crimes that you weren’t prosecuted for.” She folded one hoof over her knee, leaning back in her chair. “I’m talking things that no one attributed to you at all, not things that were dropped in court. And you don’t have to list every time you went over the speed limit or flew in a no-fly zone, or littered, or whatnot. I’m talking larger crimes that went under the radar.”
“Um...”
“Anything short of treason, and you’re not in trouble,” Minuette said with a smile. “We’re letting you off the hook, okay? And if you don’t want to share, you could just walk out. We won’t ask any questions.”
What do I have to bet that that is absolutely not true?“No. I’ve not done anything like that,” Indigo said firmly. “Unless corrupt power fantasies count, that is.”
“They don’t. Thank you for your honesty. I believe that covers all of that, anyway. Did you have any questions?”
“Oh, uh, yeah...I have heard one or two things about ponies who had trouble with cybernetics. Is there...”
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Minuette said. “The electric charge they carry bothers some ponies, so it’s best to go slow. Install cybernetics slowly, especially major ones like replacement bones or the spine augment. The first few can be pretty tough, too.” She pointed to her horn. “That one was troublesome for me for a while, but it fades. And you’re a pegasus, so you’ll have a natural resistance to electrical shocks, too. Any other questions?”
“What about your gun? I’m assuming that you have it on ya, right?”
Minuette cracked a smile. “Yes, I do. The Inquisitors get custom-built firearms, so it won’t be a brand you recognize.” She smoothly moved her greatcoat aside, revealing a large magnum. She pulled it out, showing it off. “Point-forty-four.”
“Wow!” Indigo said, leaning in close. “Looks snazzy.”
Minuette slipped the gun back into her holster, still smiling. “Any other questions?”
“Do I bow or salute when meeting Princess Midnight?”
“Bow. Most of them don’t care, but Princess Midnight likes things done by the book,” Minuette said. “And if you saluted, all she’d do is say to bow next time.”
“Got it,” Indigo said. “So, that’s it as far as questions go.”
“Great. Then, if you’d sign here...” Minuette pulled another page out, handing it over to Indigo. “That’ll be it, and we can head up and introduce you to the Princess.”
Indigo gulped, taking the pen Minuette offered.
“Nervous?” Minuette asked.
“A-a little,” Indigo stammered. “I mean, this is...Princess Midnight we’re talking about. The newest Alicorn. The Princes of Inquisition. What if she doesn’t like me?”
“Deep breaths. It’s no use worrying about things like that, right?” Minuette flashed a comforting smile. “Focus on what you can do to handle the next task. From that perspective, it’s easy, right?”
Indigo took a deep breath herself, then signed her name on the bottom of the page. She slid the paper back to Minuette, who took it, folded it, and slipped it back into her purse. She clicked it shut, then rose, planting her mechanical hooves on the ground. “This way, please.”
Indigo rose, following Minuette down a side hallway. Unlike the room, the hallway had almost no furnishings of any sort.
Minuette pulled out a card, scanning it on the panel besides the elevator, then pushed the button next to it. “Unless you use a security key, most of the rooms here are inaccessible,” Minuette explained, “so until you get yours, you’ll be sleeping in a guest room here. But for now, we’re heading to the drawing room.”
‘Drawing room’. It was just the kind of thing fancy nobles would say.
Indigo followed her into the elevator, as Minuette hit the button she wanted and, once again, scanned her card on a pad.
“Geez, you use that for everything, don’t you?” Indigo asked.
“It’s better than a keyring,” Minuette replied dryly. “More secure than most other devices we could use.” She slipped it back into her pocket. “And, as a side note, easily trackable if somepony steals it.”
“Ooh, that’s good,” Indigo said. Indigo fell silent as the elevator moved. This whole place is so big, she thought. The elevator stopped, and the doors opened slowly.
Minuette motioned for her to get out, and so Indigo did. With only one path to follow, she walked straight ahead, down a gray, metallic hallway, lined by a single window stretching its length.
Indigo looked outside.
Seeing Canterlot in its whole was one thing. From where they were, she could see everything but the very top of the Royal Spire, where Princess Celestia lived. She could look at the other Cantons, including directly into a matching window in the Canton of Diplomacy. And she could see out further, over the Equestrian countryside, at both small towns and small cities near Canterlot. And in the distance, the gleaming white walls of Fort Cloudsdale, and she swore she could make out the tiny, flitting shapes of Wonderbolts—though, perhaps that was just a flight of fancy.
“Quite the world out there, isn’t it?” Minuette said.
“Yeah,” Indigo breathed.
“Princess Spitfire and her Wonderbolts oversee the general protection of Equestria,” Minuette said, “but our job is mainly to finish up what she misses. Where she brings force, we bring technique. Where she sweeps the world, we polish the corners. We slip into the tiny, undesirable cracks in this wonderful world Princess Celestia has created, and we remove the the vermin.” Her mouth slipped into a sneer, and she scowled with an unpleasant smile on her face. “So many vermin scurry in our streets. It’s not the most glamorous job, but even the toilets must be cleaned.” She paused, then turned a lazy eye over to look at Indigo. “Ready to start?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good.” Minuette nodded to the door at the end of the hallway. “Princess Midnight awaits.”
Indigo took in a deep breath, then marched for the door. She reached out for the doorknob, but paused when Minuette cleared her throat. Indigo looked at her, and Minuette mimed the action of knocking.
Oh, right. Duh. Indigo reached up, rapping her knuckles on the door.
“Come in.” Authoritative, commanding...but gentle, and, unless Indigo was mistaken, somewhat distracted.
Indigo gently opened the door, stepping into the room. An array of cushioned chairs were set up around a large table, at the head of which was a large, amethyst throne, sparkling with violet light. Indigo’s eyes ignored everything else, and focused on the figure standing in front of the throne with her back to the door.
As Indigo watched, she turned her head sideways, four wings fluttering, and one violet eye stared curiously at her.
Indigo’s heart hammered in her chest, her breath catching in her throat. But after a second, she remembered what to do. She dropped to one knee, tucking her wings to her back, and bowed her head. “Your Highness,” she croaked.
“You’re the prospective recruit?” she asked smoothly.
“Y-es, ma’am. Indigo, Indigo Zap.”
The room remained silent for a moment, aside from somepony tapping the floor with their hoof in a musical rhythm.
The silence hung longer.
Another pony cleared her throat.
“Hm? What? Why...is she still kneeling?” the Princess asked.
“You didn’t tell her she could get up,” the new pony said. There was a strangely musical lilt to her voice.
The Princess sighed. “Rise, then,” she said.
Indigo jumped to her hooves, clasping her hands behind her back. Princess Midnight now sat in the throne, wings stretched out in full. “Sorry, I’m not quite used to being, uh...worshiped...yet,” she said.
“I’m certain it’ll come,” the other pony said. Indigo snuck a glance, seeing two other ponies in the room. One was a lime-green unicorn, one hoof folded over the other, constantly tapping her grounded hoof against the floor in an ever-changing, musical pattern. Her eyes were closed, as, seemingly, she focused on her ‘music’.
The other pony was a cross-eyed pegasus with blonde mane and a large basket of muffins besides her.
Minuette sat by this pony, and beckoned Indigo to sit besides her. Indigo complied, sneaking a glance back at the Princess.
She wore a low-cut dress, with jagged trim along the bust line and skirt, and long, dark violet pants. A purple cloak was sitting besides her, folded into a neat square. And then, of course, were the prosthetics. Two fingers on her right hand were mechanical, and her wings were part mechanical, but she also seemed to have a second, purely mechanical pair of wings as well.
But...one of her eyes seemed to be bandaged. Indigo blinked, staring at it in confusion.
The Alicorns were supposed to be near gods. What injured her?
“Alright,” the Princess said, smoothly crossing her legs as she leaned back. Her wings ruffled, settling in place, and her augmented horn glowed.
A row of cups were pulled out from a shelf, and placed themselves in front of each of the Inquisitors, and Indigo. Tea was poured into each cup, steam rising above them.
And a muffin was placed besides Indigo’s cup. She frowned, looking to the strange, gray pegasus, who had adopted an ‘I’m-not-suspicious’ look, despite sneaking several glances at Indigo.
“Spike?” Princess Midnight said calmly.
A small, mechanical dragon, flitted over, carrying a document in its claws. The Princess took the paper in her magic, the dragon moving to sit on her shoulders. “And I assume the interview with Miss Zap went well, Minuette?”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Minuette said. “She looks promising.”
“Did any notable concerns come up?”
“None at all,” Minuette replied.
Indigo let out a deep breath.
The green unicorn paused, opening one eye and smiling at her. “We’ve all been there, Miss Zap,” she said.
Minuette scoffed. “Ironically enough, everyone but you, as there wasn’t a Princess of Inquisition when you joined.”
Indigo looked at Minuette curiously.
“As you’re probably already aware, Princess Midnight was only corronated late last year,” Minuette said. “Before that, it had been twenty years since the last Princess of Inquisition disappeared, so the Canton was running off an outdated budget, unmet supply requisitions, and three total Inquisitors. Lyra Heartstrings there is the senior to the rest of us.” Minuette nodded to the green unicorn.
“Now, now, you’ve all been doing this for some time now,” Lyra said, resuming her rhythmic tapping. “I’d hardly call me a senior when we’re all experienced.”
“But you’re so good at it!” the cross-eyed pegasus said, gesturing to Lyra. Strangely, that one didn’t seem to have any cybernetics herself...
“Experienced, yes,” Lyra admitted, “but I like to think of myself on equal grounds with the rest of you. Helps promote friendship and keeps me humble. Might help to prevent another incident like with Goldbricker.”
Indigo frowned. “Wasn’t that the guy who went crazy and killed his wife a few years ago?”
Minuette paused. “Long and the short of it, yes, but suffice it to say, Lyra bungled a large part of the job, and got scolded pretty good for it.”
“Oh. And...” Indigo flicked her gaze to the Princess.
“We handle mistakes as they come up,” she said. “It is important to remember that we are not above the law. The law is handed by Princess Celestia, and the Princesses can interpret and enforce it, but we are not above it. And neither are the Inquisitors. The Inquisitors are between the law and the commonfolk. We work within its confines, but with the expectation that, at the end of the day, we are justified by our work.”
Indigo grinned, nodding. “Yeah, yeah!” She leaned forward, eyes shining. “I’m ready to help however I can!”
The Princess stared at her for a long moment, then smiled. “The mind is willing, but the body is weak,” she chuckled.
“Huh?”
“Something I once heard Princess Celestia say,” Midight said. “You’ve got some training to go through before then, though. The question is, who shall oversee it?”
The atmosphere changed immediately. Minuette leaned forward, squaring her gaze against Lyra’s, and the Lyra’s tapping took on a faster, more urgent beat.
The blonde pegasus ate another muffin.
Are they about to start competing...?
“I think she’d do well working with me,” Minuette announced. “You do more investigative work, and while that’s necessary, I think Indigo would thrive better in a more...engaging environment.”
“O contrare,” Lyra said, low and quiet, “I think she rather needs to be tempered. The hardest steel is not freshly smelted, after all.”
“Oh, so you’re a blacksmith now?” Minuette snorted. “Please. I don’t think you know the first thing about tempering anything besides Drops. You may be a pro, Lyra, but you’re old, and stuck in your ways. Indigo would suffer under you.”
“She would thrive. She would excel, and be glorified,” Lyra said, eyes going wide as she looked to the ceiling. “I would make her a god.”
“Of paperwork? Please. You’re only glorified as a glorified librarian. You’re way past your prime, Lyra, and you know what they say—they don’t put old horses in shows. You’re out of touch with the youth of today.”
“Please. Me and Indigo would ‘gank’ the criminals left and right, and tell them ‘gee-gee-ee-zee’.”
“Um—” Both unicorns stopped to look at Indigo, who awkwardly ran a hand through her hair. “Do I get a say in this, or what?”
“You don’t, but neither do they,” Midnight put in. “Indigo will be training under Minuette.”
“Aw,” Lyra said, leaning back in her seat.
“In your face!” Minuette said, pointing a finger dramatically.
“If they don’t get a say, then what was the point of all that?” Indigo asked.
“To be honest, I’ve not a clue,” Midnight said, leaning sideways on her throne. “I think they’re just mad that the last two Inquisitors went to Derpy.”
The blonde pegasus choked, coughed, and did her damnedest not to let a single crumb of her muffin fall to waste(a large chunk hit the floor regardless). “That’s me!” she said, proudly pointing a finger at her chest.
“...Right,” Indigo said.
“Now then. Lyra, I want you to go help the Wonderbolts with their problem—if it was an intentional leak, plug it, but you should avoid executing Spitfire’s employees if you can help it.”
“Got it!”
“Minuette, help Indigo get settled in, and get her new equipment requisitioned. Start working on a custom firearm when you think she’s ready.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Derpy, I’ve got a special assignment for you.” Midnight pulled out a document, sliding it across to the pegasus. “A brothel in Vanhoover got hit, and most of their androids got stolen.”
“Oh, no! They’ll be super expensive to replace!” Derpy said, face growing worried. “Who did that?”
“Evidence at the scene points to Discord,” Midnight said.
A chill ran through Indigo, and she found herself pulling her wings in close.
“Those terrorists have been quite meddlesome here lately,” Midnight said. “If you find out it was them, let me know, I’ll send you backup.”
“Got it!” Derpy said, putting on a pair of glasses with a fake nose and mustache. “I’m already there!”
“Wow, all of us got assignments,” Minuette muttered. “That’s rare.”
“What’s on the agenda for you today, Princess?” Lyra asked curiously.
Midnight sighed. “Dragon. In Appleloosa.”
“Wow. That’s way south to be seeing one.”
“He must have snuck his way across half of Equestria,” Midnight said, sipping her tea. “I’m letting him get a little closer to the town so ponies can watch me take him on. He should be there about now, so I’ll be going then.”
“Take care, Princess!” Minuette said, waving.
Midnight’s horn crackled, and she was shrouded in violet light. A second later, she was gone, and all that was left were violet sparkles floating through the air.
Indigo’s jaw dropped.
Minuette chuckled. “Yeah, it can be a bit surprising when she does that,” she said.
“Where--where’d she go?”
“She teleported. I’m assuming, to Appleoosa.” Minuette punched her shoulder. “The Princess is always busy.”
“Wow. So cool. I didn’t know that was possible.”
“Unicorn magic, an Alicorn’s power, and a couple augments break down the definition of possible,” Minuette said. “Anyway, as she said, you’ll be receiving your training under me.”
Indigo nodded, shaking herself back to reality. “I look forward to it,” she said.
“You make it sound like you wouldn’t look forward to working with me,” Lyra said, putting a hand to her chest in fake pain.
“No offense, but I have not once said the word ‘gank’,” Indigo pointed out.
Lyra pouted. “Well, then,” she said with a huff, “I think I’d best be on my way, then.”
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Minuette chuckled, “if you get too grumpy, you’ll start to really look like a grandmother.”
Lyra glared at her, then picked up a long bag from the ground at her hooves. It looked to be a violin case of some sort--but, thinking about it, her name was ‘lyre’. It probably held a gun, but if she really did less fieldwork, then she’d probably want a pistol, not the monster-sized gun that would fit in a case like that.
“Good luck, Miss Indigo,” Lyra said. “I hope you can be as great a help as you want to be.” She gave a friendly smile, then trotted out the door.
“So,” Indigo asked, “is this...everypony? Three inquisitors?”
“There’s a few more,” Minuette said, “but for now, you’ll be seeing the most of us three.”
“You, Lyra, and...’Derpy’.” Indigo turned, but the gray pegasus was no longer seated on Minuette’s opposite side. Frowning, she looked around, unable to find the cross-eyed mare in the room at all.
She did see, however, that there was a second muffin on her plate.
“Derpy’s the head of infiltrations,” Minuette explained. “She got really good at it. Rumors say she just showed up, dressed as an Inquisitor, and nopony questioned it.”
Indigo raised an eyebrow.
“They’re false, obviously, but they’re funny to think about,” Minuette chuckled. “You finish eating while I figure out what to requisition for you.” She pulled another document out of her purse, scanning it over. “First things first, bullets. Do you want to keep using sapphires, or do you want to swap to another kind?”
“Uh...probably still sapphires,” Indigo said, holding up one of the muffins. She took a bite. It was surprisingly good, though she wasn’t yet certain she trusted Derpy around open flame.
“Why did you choose sapphires?”
“Hrm?”
Minuette looked at her curiously. “You said you bought the cheapest ones you could find, but emeralds are way cheaper than sapphires, especially when you factor in the increased demand from weather factories. So why did you choose sapphires?”
“Well, um...because...” She gulped. “My hair is blue?”
Minuette stared at her.
“And, well, my Cutie Mark is a lightning bolt, so I thought...hey, why not grab sapphires?” She chuckled awkwardly.
“I see.” Minuette returned her gaze to the document. “We can work on custom designing a gun for you at a later date, but I’ll show you to the firing range first. I want to see how you fare, and then in melee combat.”
“Am I going to carry a side-sword or something?”
“Not unless you want to,” Minuette said, “but we tend to conceal our weapons when we can, so not many Inquisitors carry larger weapons. We like to have ponies think of the ‘friendship’ part, and only remember the ‘Inquisitor’ part after we book ‘em.”
“Tactical,” Indigo acknowledged. “But also kind of dirty-handed.”
“Well, of course it is,” Minuette said. “We’re not looking for honorable duels. We’re looking to put bad guys behind bars, or under dirt. We do lots of underhanded moves just to catch crooks off-guard.” She smiled. “And I don’t regret any of them.”
“Gotcha.”
“That said, you will want to let me do the talking for now.” Minuette gave her an encouraging smile. “And one last thing, before we get started. In the event of you quitting, being fired, or getting captured, you may be asked to share secrets that the public is not allowed access to. You are only allowed to do so under threats or torture, and then you have to tell us who you told, so we can go deal with it. Okay?”
Indigo nodded. “Got it. But shouldn’t I just not say anything?”
“Usually, and there’s going to be stuff later on that you can’t share, no matter what,” Minuette replied. “But for now, and especially if you stop being an Inquisitor, that may not be an option.” She smiled. “But that’s just a precautionary measure. It’s unlikely. So, let’s head on down to the firing range.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Indigo leapt to her feet, then shoved the rest of the muffin into her mouth.
Minuette winced, but didn’t otherwise comment on the eating habits. She lead the way back to the elevator, closing her purse back. She again swiped her card, then stepped inside. “We’ll have some bullets for you to play with regardless, though I’m not sure we have any sapphire bullets for you to try.”
“Well, I do still have one tray of the Flim-Flams,” Indigo said.
“You might as well just use them for basic target practice,” Minuette replied. “Real gemstone bullets have a lot more of a kick to them.” The elevator dinged, and Minuette nodded. “Let’s go.”
Indigo followed her down another hallway, this one with no window. No furnishings either.
Was there a hall after every elevator stop for security reasons? To give the Inquisitors time in case of an attack? Or was it supposed to be for intimidation purposes? Like bringing ponies they plan on interrogating down long hallways to psych them out?
Whatever the case, it did make for a daunting atmosphere.
The hallway opened up into a small room, with three doors leading off.
“Left is storage, middle is the firing range, and the third is the electronics room,” Minuette explained. “The firing range is kept unlocked usually, the storage room is locked, and no pony is allowed to mess with the wiring without explicit permission from an Inquisitor. We don’t want ponies touching that stuff.”
“Got it,” Indigo said. “And the storage room...”
“Contains spare ammo, but mostly just for the firing range,” Minuette replied. “Lots of blanks, too.” She opened the door, entering the firing range.
It was a long room, separated into three parts. The first was a small area with a table and a few chairs, a few racks full of guns, and some large cases of ammo besides a help desk with an elderly unicorn sitting behind it.
Behind a glass wall was a row, with a couple of points set up for resting rifles against, and then a fence, and across the fence was a large, open area with a steel wall at the back.
“Hello, Noteworthy,” Minuette said. “Do you know if we have any ten-millimeter sapphires in storage?”
Noteworthy looked up from his computer, then looked back to it. “Let’s see...ten-millimeter...sapphire bullets...hmm. We have ten-millimeter emeralds.”
Minuette nodded. “Those will suffice.”
Noteworthy got up, then left the room, entering the storage room outside.
“If you wanted to try your hand with a bigger gun, this would be a good time,” Minuette suggested. “We have a couple good rifles in stock, and there’s always fun to be had with shotguns.” She picked up a pistol of some sort.
“That’s not a shotgun,” Indigo pointed out.
“It’s a sawed-off shotgun,” Minuette replied easily. “Well, technically not, since we built it like this, but they’re easier to conceal shorter. There are some trade-offs, though.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“What did the Princess tell you earlier, Miss Zap?” Minuette asked.
“A lot of things,” Indigo replied.
Minuette sighed. “We work between the commfolk’s law, and Princess Celestia’s law. We use a lot of weapons that aren’t, technically speaking, legal, but we’re the good guys. It’s fine if we bend or break the lighter rules.” She set down the shotgun as Noteworthy returned. “Thank you, Noteworthy,” she said, retrieving the bullets with her magic. She did, however, grunt as she did so.
“Gemstones are naturally infused with lots of magic,” Minuette explained, taking the box with both hands. She set it on the floor, then opened it up. Inside were loose gemstone bullets. “It’s very hard to catch them with telekinesis, and you certainly can’t do it mid-flight. They can even punch through shields.” She paused. “But I have blocked nine-millimeter gemstones before, so there is that. Give me your gun.”
Indigo handed the pistol over, saying, “I think I’d like to stick with a ten-millimeter pistol for now. I can fire it one-handed no-problem. Ooh! What if I used two pistols?”
Minuette paused. “And how do you plan on reloading, my dear Trotson?”
“Um...holster one?”
Minuette sighed. “Reloading is enough of a problem as it is,” she said. “You need to be careful doing so, especially if your opponent still has bullets left.” She considered a moment, then said, “Though, if you could conceal it, it wouldn’t hurt to carry two and just use one at a time in most cases. Yeah, I could see that.” She removed the bullet tray from Indigo’s gun, and used her magic to replace the lead ones with the emerald ones. “Unicorns get a distinct advantage in reloading speed, but, it should be noted--” The tray clicked back into the hand-gun. “I can’t fly, so you will almost always be faster than me.”
“What about Earth ponies?”
Minuette sighed. “Somewhat bullet proof. Luckily, gemstones can get around that pretty easily, but I’ve always been jealous.” She handed Indigo her gun back, then picked up a pair of ear muffs from the desk. She gave them to Indigo, nodding for her to come into the second room.
Indigo followed, but didn’t put on the ear muffs immediately.
“I’m assuming you know the basics of gun safety,” Minuette said. “Shout ‘down-range’ before firing. Always make sure you know where you’re pointing it. Keep your booger-hook off the trigger until you’re ready to fire...as my dad would say.” She chuckled to herself.
“Yeah, I know all that,” Indigo said. “I haven’t shot anything I didn’t mean to yet!”
Minuette closed the glass door behind them. “This is sound-proofed, so we don’t bother other ponies,” she said.
“Cool. Where are the targets?”
Minuette smiled, pointing to a small pedestal. She pushed a button, and the room across the fence lit up. Then, several red-and-white targets appeared out of the air.
“Holograms?” Indigo asked. “Wow! I didn’t think I’d get to see them in my life. I’ve heard that they’re really expensive.”
“Hence the security around the electronic room,” Minuette said dryly. “The computer can detect which part of the target you hit, so we’ll check your aim after you’re done.”
Indigo put the ear-muffs half-on, gripping her pistol one-handed. “So I just shoot the targets?”
“Yes. The computer will record your accuracy, and time taken to shoot. We don’t just want you shooting well, we want you shooting fast. If you take too long aiming, your opponent just shoots you first.” She tapped a few buttons. “Ten bullets, start when you’re ready.”
Indigo straightened her earmuffs, properly covering them. She raised the gun, then let out a slow breath. “Down range,” she said. She fired, but the added recoil from the emeralds was certainly noticeable. She took a second to adjust her aim, firing again at the next target. She missed, readjusted, and fired again.
The fourth shot was a bullseye.
She kept her breathing calm, but she couldn’t do anything about the rush of adrenaline and the manic grin as she fired again and again.
Her gun clicked, so she lowered it, discharging the ammo cartridge and pulling off one ear-muff. “How’d I do?” she asked.
Minuette checked the computer. “Sixty-five percent accuracy,” she said, sounding impressed. “With an average of point-six seconds per shot, but you took too long between the first and second ones. Ten shots in about seven seconds.” She nodded. “Not bad at all, especially when you hit eight of them. Most ponies drop when shot once, and if you shoot them in the head, they’re normally dead.” She paused. “Especially if its gemstone rounds.”
Indigo pumped a fist into the air. “Boo-yah!” she cried.
Minuette chuckled. “Alright, let’s go another ten. Get it reloaded--focus on getting it done right. Speed will come with practice.”
Indigo nodded, taking the emerald bullets and beginning to load them into the cartridge. “So, what’s up with the casings being emerald, too? Is that really important?”
“There’s special emerald dust in there,” Minuette explained. “It functions like gunpowder, and discharges its magic when struck quickly. Most gems won’t explode if you drop them, but if you prepare them right, they’ll go off at the snap of your fingers.”
Indigo shoved the cartridge back into the gun. “Let’s see if I can’t get a better score now that I’m used to the added kick,” she said.
“There is a record,” Minuette commented casually.
Indigo looked to her. “How fast?”
“Point-three seconds per shot, sixty-eight percent accuracy.”
“Bloody hell, who did that?”
“Derpy.”
Indigo blinked. “Um--”
“It was a smaller gun than you have, designed to fire faster. I’m not sure there is a ten-millimeter record yet.” Minuette checked the machine. “Fire at will.”
Indigo leveled the gun, straightening the ear-muffs. “Down-range.”
With better understanding of the emerald rounds’ kick, she felt like she improved her accuracy somewhat. The gun was a tool in her hands, so she needed to know how to use it. Fast, and precise. Like a hammer. Don’t swing fast enough, it won’t pound the nail. Don’t hit the nail, you won’t drive it in.
Indigo lowered the gun, decocking it. She pulled off the ear-muffs, asking, “Well?”
“Seventy-two-percent accuracy, but point-seven seconds per shot,” Minuette said. “Slightly slower, but you hit two bullseyes when you only hit one the first time around.” She raised an eyebrow at her, adding, “You undersold yourself. You’re practically a prodigy with that thing.”
“Heh, thanks. Is that a record for ten-millimeter then?”
“Not even close.”
Indigo frowned, stepping over. “I thought you said you weren’t even sure if there was one.”
“Well, I found one from twenty-six years ago,” she said. “Three shots per second, one hundred percent accuracy over fifteen shots.”
Indigo stopped dead. “How the fu--”
Minuette raised an eyebrow.
“Fudge...?”
“Miss Zap, I will ask you to avoid cursing when possible. We have a reputation to mantain.” She looked back to the computer, frowning. “The record is held by the former Princess of Inquisition, Princess Sunset Shimmer.”
“Whoa,” Indigo said. “I guess that’s what it takes to become a princess, huh?”
Minuette didn’t reply.
“Uh, Minuette?”
“Sorry, lost in thought,” she said, shaking herself. “Make sure your gun is safe. One last thing I want to check about you before we move forward.”
“What’s that?”
“Unarmed. We’ll head back to the elevator.” Minuette pulled her ear muffs off completely, exiting the firing range.
Indigo took her ear-muffs off, dropping them on Noteworthy’s desk besides Minuette’s. “So, what was your record in the range?”
“Point four shots per second, one hundred percent accuracy over six shots,” Minuette replied easily. She smiled lightly, patting her gun. “Your accuracy does get worse in the field, but I moved on to the harder target courses once I get a hundred percent. You should fire two or three cartridges a day. Your sapphire bullets should be here, tomorrow. They have slightly less kick than the emerald ones, so you might have better luck with them.”
“Are emeralds better?”
“Mm, debatable. They pack more direct fire-power, but the electric charge sapphires carry can stun ponies. I use sapphires, too, but Lyra carries emeralds.”
“Lyra uses a rifle, though, right?”
Minuette shot her a look.
“In the case. Knowing she was an Inquisitor, it was easy to spot.”
“You know, you might fit the job rather well,” Minuette said with a smile. “Yes, that was a rifle, but all Inquisitors are required to carry a pistol with them. Both of Lyra’s guns use emeralds.”
“Does...Derpy use a gun still?”
“Yes. She designed it to fire pretty fast, but she doesn’t it many bullseyes.”
“I’ll...take your word on that.”
Minuette stepped into the elevator, but rather than touch the card reader, she simply pushed a button on the back.
The elevator’s doors closed, then the elevator jolted. After a second, it began to rotate, spinning in place, until the doors were facing the opposite direction. Then they opened into another hallway.
“Cool,” Indigo said.
“We try our best,” Minuette said with a smile, moving along.
Another window lined this hallway, and Indigo took the moment to look outside again.
A winged android hovered in the air, wiping down the window. Indigo paused, watching the android as it slowly flew past, wiping a rag back and forth.
“Have you seen many androids, Miss Indigo?” Minuette asked.
“A few. Sugarcoat had a butler one that was really good.”
“They’re so realistic,” Minuette said. “Look at this.” She smiled, waving at the android.
The android paused, hovering in place, then raised its spare hand to wave back.
“See that?” Minuette asked. “It is programmed to wipe down windows, and yet, it registered me waving, calculated the most pony-like response it could give, and then, waved back. Almost like a real pony.” She let out an amazed breath. “It gets me every time.”
Indigo watched the android for a moment more, then said, “I can see that, but we do have work to do, right?”
“But of course,” Minuette said. “This way.” She turned, trotting down the hallway, and Indigo followed just behind her.
I mean, they are realistic. “May I ask a question, Miss Minuette?”
“Sure.”
“What’s your stance on the android rights movements?”
Minuette sighed. “A collection of gentle-natured souls embarking on the entirely wrong enterprise,” she said. “Droids aren’t ponies. They’re not even alive, they’re just clusters of machinery and magic. Giving them rights will only really cause annoyance amongst the nobility, which I believe is the main reason droids are still property. Admittedly, I believe that the Princesses seem to hold that first, and them being machines second, but they run this country. My job is to keep it safe.” She eyed Indigo, asking, “What’s your stance?”
“I’ve never thought about it. I’ve donated to some of the causes, like Everfree, but I don’t attend the rallies.”
“Everfree’s good,” Minuette said. “Misguided, but good. They don’t embark on crusades like stopping traffic with protest signs, or stealing hundreds of thousands of bits worth of androids from perfectly legal businesses.”
Indigo swished her tail around nervously. “So, um, what about...Discord?”
She’d heard rumors of the shady organization. Of course, everyone had. Rumors said it was full of homicidal androids and psychotic individuals with no regard for pony life, or, worse, demons like the thestrals of ancient times.
Some rumors even said they’d assassinated Sunset Shimmer, but that was ridiculous...right?
“For the most part, overhyped,” Minuette answered casually. “Granted, we haven’t really gotten rid of them yet, but that was because we didn’t have a princess. With Princess Midnight here, they’re gone as soon as we care to look.” She pushed open the doors, leading Indigo into a large training room.
A raised platform was in the center, covered in a yellow dust, and the same dust covered the area around the platform. Indigo immediately rubbed some it between two fingers, examining it. “Topaz dust?”
“It’s inertia-canceling properties can be used to cushion falls,” Minuette explained. She nodded to a row of benches, around the sides of the room, then shrugged off her jacket and threw it on the bench. Beneath, she wore a black tanktop, but Indigo’s attention went to her muscled arms, and something akin to a pipe running from her shoulders to her elbows on each arm, which were otherwise riddled with scars.
Minuette smiled, stretching out one arm and flexing. The pipe-thing moved flawlessly with her arm, not breaking or hindering her any. Then, Minuette reached over, grabbing the edge of the platform, and lifted herself off the ground. She balanced in the air for a second, then pulled herself up onto the platform and hopped to her feet. Dusting herself off, she shared a grin with Indigo. “I mentioned hydraulic muscles, right?”
“Geez,” Indigo said. She hesitated, then threw her jacket besides Minuette’s. She dropped her shirt besides it, and her gun on top, leaping onto the platform with a burst of flight.
Minuette stretched her arms above her head, then looked to Indigo. “We’re not going to be doing a full sparing session,” she said. “Just a few light trades to see where you’re at. You might want to stretch real quick.”
Indigo began her warm-up stretches. “Won’t get to do these in a real fight, though, right?”
“Yeah. I’d also suggest swapping to tank-tops, or else making sure your sleeves are plenty loose so they don’t pull too tightly in a fight.” She cracked her knuckles, then her neck, then stretched out a hand. “Alright, let’s see your moves, rookie.”
“So I just flip this dial?”
“Eeyup,” Minuette said, slipping her arms into her jacket sleeves.
Indigo turned the dial, feeling the small bag hum and vibrate as its temperature dropped. She pressed it up to her black eye, sighing in relief. “Tell me I at least got some good hits in.”
“If you lose the fight, then you didn’t,” Minuette replied. “But, yes. You’re faster than you credited yourself.” She rubbed her stomach, wincing. “That knee hit was good, too.”
“Yaaaaay,” Indigo muttered, wincing as the ice bag pressed against her bruising.
Minuette dropped a couple sheets of paper on the bench next to her. Indigo looked to them, taking the top one.
“That is your training schedule,” Minuette said. “You’re most lacking in technical knowledge. Especially if you plan on continuing with sapphires, then we need to get you up to speed.”
“And the rest?”
“Weapon mods,” Minuette said. “I suggest giving them a thorough search. I took the liberty of sorting them by gun-type. You’ll have access to the library with your guest pass, so feel free to use the computers to help you figure things out.” She pulled out a small keycard, handing it to Indigo.
Indigo took it, but Minuette didn’t let go immediately. “It may be encrypted,” she said, “but don’t lose it.”
Indigo nodded. “Got it. So, uh...you have a lot of scars.”
Minuette paused. “Well, yes. We use plastic surgery or prosthetics to cover facial ones, so we look presentable, but...the rest...” She pulled one arm out of her sleeve, showing the scars up and down the length of her arm. Then, she pulled up her shirt, showing more scars on her stomach. “Each one shows the blood I have shed for this country. Each one a promise written in lead and steel, that I would give my life to this world.” She pulled the shirt up higher, showing a strip of metal just below her breasts--where, if Indigo remembered correctly, she said she had a prosthetic rib. “I give my life, flesh, and bone for something greater than me.” She let her shirt drop. “We can cover ‘em up, but it’s up to you...for the most part.”
Indigo nodded. “I’m not sure I’d like to keep scars, really, but it is just personal preference.”
Minuette shoved her arm back in her sleeve, then zipped up her jacket. “Well, do you need me to show you where the library is?”
“That would be great,” Indigo said, getting up.
Minuette lead the way back to the elevator, then beckoned to the card reader.
“Ooh! Cool!” Indigo pulled out her new card, then paused, looking over the buttons.
“That is the library,” Minuette said. “And that is the shower rooms. Unisex and open, so be warned. You may want to shower off before you hit the library.”
“Got it.”
“That is to the guest rooms. Pick a bunk and tuck yourself in, but I’ll be busy, so don’t expect a bedtime story.”
“Please, I’m not twelve,” Indigo said, pushing the button for the showers.
She sat with her arms folded over her chest as the elevator started moving again.
“You were wanting to hear awesome Inquisitor stories, weren’t you?” Minuette asked.
“Just a little,” Indigo admitted.
After a shower, Indigo sat alone in an expansive library with an elderly librarian behind a large, wooden desk. Indigo had found a computer, and, to her enjoyment for the first ten minutes, played with a holographic model of her gun.
Unfortunately, this was one job she couldn’t get a robot to do. The computer couldn’t tell her what she wanted. She toyed over and over again with the model, replacing parts left and right, until there was a holographic mess in the air around her.
She groaned, leaning back in her chair. Then, Indigo leaned forward, staring at it. “I’m not sure that’s scientifically possible,” she muttered, swiping away the extra barrel. “Or would even do anything. And grenades aren’t exactly covert, either...ugh. What’s the benefits of a longer barrel? Eh, too hard to conceal.” She paused, then shortened the barrel. “Now I could carry more, but it looks ridiculous.” She reached over, pulling a silencer, and stuck it onto the end of the barrel. “This’d work, right? Although...” She pulled up the image of a sapphire, attaching it to the silencer. “Some DJ rigs use sapphires for acoustics, so...maybe I could use that to boost the silencer? And the ten-mil isn’t that loud to begin with.” Indigo paused. “Not as loud as me, talking to myself in an empty library at...” She checked the computer. “Nine-PM. Ugh, dammit.” She rubbed her head. “I’ll save this for tomorrow. Where’s the save button...” She reached for the mouse, but paused when she noticed a shadow. Indigo hesitated, then snatched up her actual gun and pointing it directly at the pony behind her.
Princess Midnight leaned against the back of her chair, wings stretched out directly behind her, staring with a lazy curiosity at the hologram. Without taking her eyes off the hologram, she reached over and pushed the gun away from her face with a finger.
Indigo sat in shock, slackjawed, before she burst out, “I’m so sorry, P-Princess, I didn’t--”
“Shh. This is a library,” Midnight said. “And don’t worry about it. If I wasn’t prepared to have a gun shoved in my face, I wouldn’t have snuck up on you.”
Indigo gulped, decocking the gun and reholstering it. “Sorry.”
“You’re up late,” Midnight said. “You should get some rest.”
“Yeah, I was about to,” Indigo said. “Never been enough of a gun-nut for this, though.” She sighed, looking back at the model.
“We do make the sapphire-based silencers,” Midnight said, “though it’s a little more complicated than shoving a sapphire onto a silencer.”
“I figured, but eh...didn’t feel like searching for the exact part. I bet it’s called something weird, anyway.”
“Names are important. Even if you don’t understand the name, it is best to remember it.”
Indigo paused, then nodded. “Yes, Your Highness! I’ll keep that in mind!”
Midnight almost sighed at that, but as she shook her head, Indigo caught sight of the eye that had been bandaged earlier.
Or rather, its socket.
The eye was gone, and the socket and surrounding part of her face were lined with metal bracing. It was dark, but the hologram’s light shone directly down the socket, showing connective tissue at the back.
“Oh, that?” Midnight asked, pointing. “I’m in the middle of an upgrade. Only problem is that something went wrong, and the new eye was suddenly outputting roughly twenty times the charge it should have been. Which is why we test these before putting them in, but still...frustrating.” She leaned over, head inches away from Indigo’s, as she examined the gun. “Are you trying to make it smaller?”
“Well...yes?”
“But still firing ten millimeters
.”
“Mm-hmm.” Sweet Celestia, I feel like an idiot...
“Why...?”
“Well, uh...because...pulling a gun out is faster...than reloading, so..,I thought...” She gulped. “Why not have more guns? Y’know?” She chuckled.
Midnight opened her mouth...and closed it. Both her feathered wings, and the two extra mechanical ones rustled as she leaned further, half-leaning on Indigo’s shoulders. Indigo rustled her own wings, as the Princess examined the foolhardy gun design.
“I mean, it wouldn’t look like this,” Midnight said, reaching out and rotating it. “If we don’t want to pistol-whip or bayonet people, we can make the handle smaller, and forget about attaching pointless dead-weight onto the barrel. We could probably get a smaller silencer, too...the trick would be carrying them. Definitely a chest harness of some sort--”
“Uh, actually...” Indigo leaned over, opening up another hologram. This one showed a torso, covered in an elaborate chest harness with an ammo bandoleer across it. “An old friend of mine from Crystal Academy knew sewing, and I picked up a thing or two, so...I designed this...thing. Tacky as hay, but...I could fit five guns and two ammo cartridges apiece. Now, the outer jacket gave me some trouble, but its biggest problem is just that it looks ugly.” She twisted her fingers, making the hologram shrug on a jacket, which folded up neatly to conceal the guns. “Though it’s a lot smaller, I modeled it after eighteenth greatcoats from the Cloudsdale Praetorians. Like Minuette's! They had wing holes in the back, were decently thick, and had a lot of pockets.” She hesitated, then asked, “So, uh...do you think this works in theory?”
“Startlingly well, but you’d be making a lot of sacrifices,” Midnight said. She moved further in, crouching down, while keeping her wings straight behind her so she didn’t bump the cubicle walls on either side. “With the new pistol design, you’d be losing range, and you might be officially out of luck with fitting other weapons under this thing, especially if you want the pistols at easy reach. And you can probably ditch most of this ammo and replace it with extra guns. Maybe one or two extra cartridges, in your pockets, in case you run out of guns? Actually, that seems statistically unlikely.”
“I can’t think of many things that would need more than five pistols anyway, Princess,” Indigo admitted.
Midnight actually smiled. “Because most of those are on our side,” she said. “All in all, this is pretty good, Miss Zap, though I believe you lack the technical knowledge to do it.”
“So...it’s actually good?”
“Mostly, and it wouldn’t be too hard to build, either.” She stood up, wings rustling. “How was your first day?”
“Aside from pulling a gun on the Princess I’m working directly under?”
From material she'd read before enlisting, the Princess of Inquisition served not just as a commander, but also a confessor. One of the only ponies given permission by Princess Celestia to forgive crimes.
Midnight chuckled. “Well, yes, aside from that.”
“Pretty good, though I don’t think Minuette knows what qualifies as a ‘light’ sparring session.”
Midnight chuckled. “Well, yes, but she did train under Lyra. Lyra...Lyra’s a tough old kick-flank, and her teaching methods matched.” Midnight actually winced, rubbing her jaw. “I still remember some of my sessions, way back when. Just between you and me, I think even still have the bruises.”
Indigo laughed. “Well, looks like I got the right teacher.”
They both chuckled at that.
“Well,” Midnight said, “I’m off to bed. You should be, too.”
“Alright, Princess. Thanks for taking the time. And, uh...how’d it go with the dragon?”
“Hmm? Oh, right, I have people harvesting it. He was a big one, so we’re getting lots of scales and bones. Some nobles like collecting bone pieces, too, so a lot of those will go up for auction.”
“That would be one hell of a souvenir.”
Midnight smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
Indigo had thought she got up early, but by the time she got to the firing range, Minuette was there, nursing a large coffee mug. Even Noteworthy didn’t seem to be there yet.
Minuette nodded to the box on the table besides her. “All yours, rookie.”
Indigo pulled the box open, eyes going wide briefly. “Um, all of these?”
“I’m the only one who uses sapphires here, but my gun is a forty-four,” Minuette replied easily. “You’re the only one who uses sapphire ten-millimeters.”
The box was filled with sapphire bullets, but at the top were two other items of note. A pair of pistols, much fancier looking than her own, sat in holsters, wrapped in plastic, with a small owner’s guide inside. The other item was laid diagonally across the top of the box, roughly the length of Indigo’s forearm. She pulled it out, feeling the see-through plastic wrap crinkle.
“A dragon fang?” Minuette asked, surprised. “I don’t remember requesting that.”
“I think...the Princess gave it to me,” Indigo said, pulling a small card out of the package.
The front fangs always sell fast. This one’s bigger than your average fang, and it always surprises me how small they are. Try not to drop it, it’s more fragile than it looks.
--Princess Midnight Sparkle
“You guys are all so nice,” Indigo said quietly.
“Well, we are called Friendship Inquisitors,” Minuette chuckled. “How about we take those new guns for a spin?”
Indigo pulled them out, examining them closely. She drew one from the holster, rubbing one hand along its barrel.
“Shadowbolts,” Minuette said, with an appreciative whistle.
“That’s an expensive brand,” Indigo said slowly. She popped the ammo cartridge out, watching it easily slide from the gun.
“Good, because you were going to be shadowing me on a job today,” Minuette said.
Indigo looked up.
“Something minor, don’t you worry,” Minuette said. “I want you firing three cartridges still, then we’ll be moving out.”
“M-moving out?” Indigo burst out. “Where? What are we doing? What--”
“Stop, calm.”
Indigo fell silent.
“Relax, and trust me,” Minuette said with a smile. “Now, get in there and start shooting.”
Indigo hesitated only briefly, then nodded. She rushed out, dropping her old holster on the desk and putting the new one on. The new guns were smooth and sleek, jet-black with SB written on the sides of the barrels in deep violet. Then the laser sight came on, and she grinned.
The guns handled much smoother, and the sapphires had less kick than the emeralds did. When her first gun run out, she quickly holstered it and drew the other. The motion felt rather sluggish, all things considered, and her reflex-chip only made it seem slower.
After all, she knew she could go faster than that.
Indigo smiled as she left, and Minuette beckoned her towards the elevator. “Get reloaded, then come right this way.”
Indigo shoved some extra ammo cartridges onto her belt as Minuette took a sip of her coffee.
“So, is there a coffee-maker, or did you go out and get one?” Indigo asked.
“There aren’t really shops in Canterlot,” Minuette replied. “I used the one in the lounge. Your card should allow you access, so if you want to stop and get yourself a coffee, go ahead.”
“Uh...don’t we have a mission?”
"Hover-rail or fire ruby, t’s a several hour train-ride,” Minuette said dryly. “A coffee-break is fine.”
Indigo had known that Inquisitors got their own train car, but she’d always expected it to be more spacious.
She sipped from a massive, steaming mug as Minuette flicked through her purse. “Missing minor nobility,” she said. “Cottonpuff, age sixteen.” She handed a photo over to Indigo.
The photo was of a young girl in a frilly dress and skirt, with a mound of fluffy white hair behind her.
“Pink earth-pony, teenager. Lots of hair.” Indigo nodded, handing the photo back.
“Cottonpuff went missing from her room, yesterday at four-PM. Her and her servant droid both disappeared from their places, with no sign of break-in. Looks like she ran away for some reason, though Miss Puff hasn’t seemed to admit that to the police yet.”
“And she won’t want to, because that will look way worse than a kidnapping,” Indigo said.
Minuette nodded, flipping through other documents. “On our way to Manehattan. There’s less of an...unsavory...taste to this city, but I still have my suspicions.”
“Don’t think it might be...Discord?”
Minuette let out a snort. “If those self-righteous pricks decide to do anything worse than larceny, then we’ll get involved. Until then, we’re leaving it to the cops and Preatorians. We’ll handle the real problems.”
“Couldn’t the cops handle this one, too?” Indigo asked. “I mean, this seems a little...I dunno.”
“Well, they might be too slow,” Minuette replied. “Besides, it’s a great first mission for you. If we’re lucky, neither of us have to shoot anything, either.”
“And if we’re unlucky?”
“I could kill ten ponies at once, and you’re a prodigy,” Minuette said casually. “We’d be inconvenienced.”
“Well, that’s fair,” Indigo muttered. “Any leads?”
“Nope. That’s why we’re heading there.”
“Got it.” Indigo sipped her coffee. “I think I’ll let you do the talking.”
“A wise decision.”
The ride was uneventful, and from there, they hailed a taxi to the noblemare’s manor.
The Cotton family manor was on the small side, but it was still twice the size of Indigo’s house--or, rather, her father’s house, anyway. She’d spent most of her days in an apartment, at Crystal Academy’s rooms, or sleeping over at Sugarcoat’s.
Now, Miss Sugarbomb’s place was REALLY big...
Minuette knocked on the front door, and an android opened it up. “I’m afraid Miss Puff isn’t taking visitors right now,” it said in a refined, masculine tone.
Minuette tapped her badge. “Minuette, Friendship Inquisitor. I’m here about the disappearance.”
The droid paused. It was built to almost resemble a pony, complete with the majority of a face--including a small, fuzzy mustache. “I was instructed not to let anypony in without permission,” it said. “Please wait here while I ask the Mistress.”
“Of course,” Minuette said.
The robot closed the door, and Minuette sighed. “This part always frustrates me,” she said. “Having to stand out here...and just wait to start helping.” She scoffed.
Indigo hesitated, then said, “Well, I had to wait over a month on my notice of acceptance. It happens.”
Minuette nodded. “Still, all this time being an Inquisitor, and the waits only get worse...” Her horn let out an irritated crackle.
It was well over a minute before they heard hoofsteps. The android opened the door, nodding. “She will see you now,” it said.
Minuette nodded, then stepped inside, past the android. It closed the doors behind them, then began leading the way through a dimly lit hall. The hall was lined with mechanical lights that mimicked lamps, but were much brighter than most fire she’d seen.
“The mistress is not feeling well,” the android said. “Which is understandable, really. Such a terrible thing to happen, indeed...”
“We don’t need speech to be kept company,” Minuette interrupted.
The android’s posture stiffened as it lead the way. “Hrm. Yes, alright then,” it muttered.
The halls were silent as death, and the rare servant they passed hurried on their way without a word.
The android pushed open one of a set of double doors, wordlessly gesturing for them to go inside.
Minuette swept past the android without a word. Indigo hurried after her, letting the droid close the doors behind them.
The lady of the house, Cream Puff, was in a sorry state. While her clothes were fresh, her hair clearly hadn’t seen attention in some time, she didn’t have make-up on, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She blew into her handkerchief as her husband, Cottonball, vainly tried to comfort her.
“Miss Cream?” Minuette said. “My name is Minuette. We’re from the CCH. We’re here about your missing daughter.”
Cream Puff blew loudly on her handkerchief, looking up to the two mares. “Yes, yes...Bitsworth said...Inquisitors, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve already received the reports from the police, but I would like to see things for myself. May I see Cottonpuff’s room?”
“Yes, of course,” Cream said, rising. She beckoned them to follow, leaving her husband to trail behind her. “Miss Minuette, I would ask you that whatever you discover, please be honest with me. I...I want to know if she’s coming home or not.”
“Understandable, miss,” Minuette said. “But I try not to share too many case details with civilians, victims or otherwise.”
Cream hesitated, then gestured. “Her room is there.”
“I heard that an android was stolen, too,” Minuette said. “A servant one? Did it have protective capabilities?”
“A few,” Cream Puff said. “Nothing special, though. It was just another ‘Mr Bitsworth’, though Cotton's rather fond of him.”
“He was having some technical issues, though,” Cottonball said. “We were going to hard reset him, to see if that fixed the issues.”
“I see. And what did Cottonpuff think of that?”
“Well, she got emotional, so I said I would back up the memory banks,” Cottonball said. He stroked his small, white beard, adding, “Though she didn’t seem like she cared much for that.”
“Even with precautions, things are lost,” Minuette said. “She may have been...overly attached to the droid. Mr Cottonball, Mrs. Puff...are you certain she did not run away?”
Cottonball shook his head. “She wouldn’t have had the capabilities,” he said. “I admit freely it was a concern, but I had guards stationed around her room, and even the outside window.”
“I see,” Minuette said. “This is her room?”
Cream Puff nodded.
Minuette pulled the door open, examining the inside of it. “Was it locked?”
“Of course not! It’s a door inside of my own damned house!” Cottonball snorted. “Besides, the lock is on the inside, so she could have unlocked it herself.”
“But someone could have also gotten in easily enough,” Minuette mused. “Did you buy any new androids recently?”
“N-no?”
“Hire new servants?”
“No. The ones here have all worked here for years.”
“That certainly complicates things,” Minuette muttered. She stepped into the room, snapping her fingers and beckoning for Indigo to follow.
The room was a whiteish-pink color, and filled with large, pony-sized stuffed animals. The bed was a massive thing, four posted with a pink canopy and even curtains, though those were rolled up. It was also clearly unmade, the sheets in disarray, and one of the pillows knocked to the floor.
“Was the room this messy when you got to it?” Indigo asked, stepping over to the bed.
“I believe the police moved a few things,” Cottonball said. “Though Sir Lancelot said to try not to move things too much.”
“I see. Sir Lancelot...Preatorian, Manehattan Division, third regiment. Yes, he’s good at this stuff.” Minuette nodded to herself. “If Cottonpuff had the bypass codeword, she could have ordered your androids to let her through.”
“First thing I asked them,” Cottonball said.
“She could have told them to wipe the meeting from their memory banks,” Indigo put in.
Cottonball looked at her sharply. “You can do that?”
“It’s not foolproof, and it’s easy to recognize if you access their databanks,” Indigo said, “but a friend of mine did it to keep her father from knowing she ate his specialty chocolates. Someone just needs to check on the androids that were standing guard, though, and it’d be easy to spot.”
Cottonball looked to Cream Puff. The mare of the house nodded, and he said, “Then I shall get started right away.”
“You go do that,” Minuette said. Cottonball left, and Minuette reached over, putting her hand on the door. “Miss Puff, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to search the room with my partner. Please stand outside.”
Cream Puff hesitated, then stepped outside. Minuette closed the door, and immediately strode for the bed. The pillows lifted off, floating in the air around her as she looked underneath them. “See if her diary is hidden under her bed.”
Indigo dropepd, pulling out her flashlight. She shone it under the bed, humming to herself. When she didn’t see anything, she clicked a button, swapping to ultraviolet.
“No fingerprints, so I doubt there’s a secret door under there,” Indigo said. “Though I do see a plush rabbit that fell back there.”
“’Woodland Friends’?”
“Uh...no?”
“Damn.” Minuette dropped the pillows back, shining her own ultraviolet light on the bed. “I am pretty sure she was alone in here, just her and the droid. No signs of forced entry, and the security definitely would have noticed a stranger.”
“What about the window?”
“Reinforced with bars,” Minuette said. She glared at it, saying, “Do me a favor, as somepony younger without so many pieces of metal inside of her. Do you think you could squeeze through?”
Indigo dropped her light on the bed, then sat on the windowsill. “Mm...it’d be tight. And given Cottonpuff’s, uh, endowment, I don’t think she could have fit through here.” Indigo paused, looking down closely at the bars. “Except that she seems to have bent them.”
Minuette walked over, examining the bars. “That could be naturally like that.”
“I doubt it. There’s the one dent near the top, and two parallel ones at the bottom for her hips.”
“She’d have to of dented them back,” Minuette said. “These don’t look like the sturdiest, but an earth pony wouldn’t be able to get them this straight--certainly not stealthily. And not many unicorns could bend bars this easily.” She grimaced. “Though, she did have a malfunctioning Bitsworth with her.”
“What does that mean?”
“Unicorn androids can use magic, but it's surpressed,” Minuette said. “It’s a completely ridiculous part of the design I can’t even fathom. So any time an enterprising pony with know-how and a screwdriver gets a chance, we get problems.”
“Greaaat,” Indigo said. “So...I don’t mention that to Miss Puff?”
“No. Not to anyone.” Minuette pushed the window open, then peeked out through the bars. “Hmm...it would be rather hard to climb down, but I can see a clever little girl managing it.”
“Maybe she used her mane to cushion her fall,” Indigo said dryly.
Minuette snickered. “Perhaps, but let’s stick to more plausible theories,” she said. “Give me a moment to talk to Miss Puff.”
Minuette strode to the door, then opened it.
“Well?” Cream Puff asked.
“At the current standing, I believe your daughter climbed out the window,” Minuette said. “She bent the bars, slipped out with the droid, and then bent them back to prevent ponies from noticing. I will be removing the window so we can follow the trail exactly.”
“What?”
“If your husband comes up with anything, give me a call,” Minuette said, slipping a business card to Cream Puff. "Otherwise, however, please give me and my partner plenty of space to conduct our investigation.”
“A-alright,” Cream Puff said hesitantly.
Minuette closed the door, then walked over to the window.
“Are we actually going to--”
With her horn glowing brightly, Minuette wrenched the bars, bending them and cracking the plaster they were mounted in.
“O-kay...”
“Stars above,” Minuette murmured, taking the bars with her hands. “They certainly built these things sturdy.” She bent them far enough to allow a grown pony to slip out, then beckoned Indigo out.
Indigo stepped out, hovering in the air as Minuette slipped out, hanging on by the bars.
Minuette looked down, examining the sides of the building. “Look down the sides ahead of me. I don’t want to ruin any evidence.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Indigo said, flying down and looking at the path. “I can definitely see some scrapes where her hooves were.”
“Good. That’s a confirmation.” Minutte hung from the window, holding onto the bars, examining the damage marks. “But it looks like multiple ponies climbed down.”
“Eh?” Indigo flew up to Minuette, staring. “Well, she was with an android.”
“Three ponies were there. And that here is the mark from some sort of hook. Some pony clambered up to meet her, then bent the bars back to hide the trail.”
“Why? Anypony who looked at these walls would notice the damage.”
“Precisely. While it would be noticed eventually, since everypony discounted the window as a possible escape route, it delayed the discovery. If they leave Equestrian borders and run into the untamed wilds, it would be near impossible to track down.”
“Assuming Inquisitors could be spared?”
Minuette nodded grimly. “If it were higher nobility, we’d probably do it. But for the Puffs, the sad truth is that we’d be better of forgetting about them.” She sighed.
“Well, then it’s a good thing we have a trail,” Indigo said. “Unknown suspect managed to climb up, then head down. That’s where they’d have gone.”
“But the tracks will have been covered. I bet that’s the first place the police searched,” Minuette said. “See you there.”
“Huh?”
Minuette jumped. Indigo cursed, flying down, meeting up with her as she landed.
Minuette dusted herself off, then began examining the area. “Lots of hoofprints. They didn’t find anything, though.” Her horn lit up, and she closed her eyes. “Though, they may have had a teleporter. The wrong pony in the right place could have acquired a prototype--” Her eyes snapped open. “Shit,” she cursed.
“Bad sign?”
“Zebra magic.”
Indigo blinked. “Whoa. Don’t see many of those guys. They are...ponies still, right?”
“To an extent.” She pulled out a small device, setting it on the ground. “I should get a good trace on where they teleported to with this. We’ll need to move fast, though. Even a powerful zebra wouldn’t be able to manage many of these, or particularly long distance, especially if they were worried about getting caught. But we need to find them before he can muster up enough strength to teleport again.”
“Fast. I can do fast.” Indigo leaned over, saying quietly, “So, anything I should know about these guys?”
“Well, they’re heretics who don’t worship Princess Celestia,” Minuette said, “so no crime is too heinous for them. But they also have...strange magic. They can manipulate nature, but most of their strength is in potioncrafting.”
“Alchemy? Isn’t that banned?”
“Some of it is, but their ‘healing potions’ and whatnot are fine,” Minuette said. “Be on your guard. Ha! Gotcha.” Minuette picked up the device, examining the screen.
Indigo stared at it, squinting.
“I’ll teach you how to use it later,” Minuette said. “I know where they teleported to. Downtown Manehattan. Let’s move.”
Indigo saluted, following behind Minuette. “Are zebras tough?”
“Kinda like fighting a trained unicorn with an enhanced horn,” Minuette said. “But they are frightfully tenacious. If you don’t kill one immediately, they tend to come back.”
Greaaat, Indigo thought. This is gonna be fun.
“So where’d they go from here?” Indigo asked, looking down the alleyway.
“Hard to say. Let’s look.” Minuette strode into the dark alley, checking the device. “Right about here, but I don’t know where they went from their. Worst case scenario, they got a taxi, or a getaway car. But zebras don’t normally like machinery, so...hm.”
“Bet those guys saw something?” Indigo asked, nodding to the two shadows that covered the alley from behind.
“Definitely. I bet they saw, and were camping around in case a certain highly attractive young girl made her way back, without her two bodyguards.”
Indigo snorted. “Ugh. Trash, then.”
“Mm-hm. See if you can get any information from them, will ya?”
The two thugs stepped over. The larger one was a pegasus, who easily leered over Indigo. Had to be around five, five-and-a-half feet? The small one was an earth pony, but looked skinny like a twig.
“Hello, my good citizens,” Indigo said, waving. “We’re looking for a missing girl. Perhaps you’ve seen her?”
The pegasus grinned, leaning over. “Maybe. You willin’ to pay?”
“Her parents are quite worried about her,” Indigo said. “If you’ve got any decency at all, you’ll tell us what you know.”
“Hey now, we’re willin’ to talk,” the skinny earth pony said. “Just, hows-about you help us out, too?”
The pegasus leaned down, hot breath blowing in her face. “I think you’d like it.”
Indigo slipped a hand into her jacket. “Uh, pass, actually.”
“Come on, ain’t’cha lookin’ for--”
The distinctive pop of a silenced pistol was somewhat unfamiliar to Indigo’s ears, aside from the occasional Manes Bond movie.
The brutish pegasus fell back, clutching the area between his legs that Indigo had shot and screaming. “Wow,” Indigo said, holding the gun up and examining it. “That dealt a lot more damage than I thought it would. I kinda thought it would just...whoops.”
“It’s fine, you’ve still got the other one,” Minuette said.
The earth pony stumbled away, then took off at a sprint. Indigo easily closed the gap, slamming him into a wall and pressing her gun up to his chin.
“For the record, I did ask politely first,” she said. “But your jackass friend was too focused on my clothing. By my account, I did him a hell of a favor. Now, spill it. What do you know?”
“Th-there’s a sewer grate!” the pony said quickly. “It used to be used for service, but they put a dumpster on top of it! Not many ponies know it’s there anymore!”
“You got that, Minuette?”
“Yeah.” She used her magic, sliding the dumpster over. “Here we go. Go ahead and execute these two. I’ll let Sir Lancelot know.”
“Got it!”
“Wa-ait! I told you! I--”
Pop!
After a moment, Indigo followed Minuette down into a sewer pipe. “So, where from here?” she asked.
“Hard to say,” Minuette said. “If this is their chosen exit route, then they can’t be planning another teleport any time soon. But I am worried about the fact that the zebra must have known about this in advance. He had to have planned this out considerably.”
“Worrisome. What do we do?”
“I don’t know. If we stay here and look, we can probably find their path. Or we might stumble upon it blindly.”
“I’m fast. I can search down these tunnels, and then come back and get you if I find them.”
Minuette considered it. “Don’t get lost,” she said. “And don’t try to take them on your own.”
Indigo saluted, then sped off down one of the tunnels.
She’s a prissy noblemare. She wouldn’t want to get knee-deep in sewer water--or, at least, if they were pretending to be on her side, they might not want to make her. Besides, it would be stupid to do that anyway. They don't know what's in that water, either.
She flew down another tunnel, above the walkways above the foul-smelling water. Though, I’d want to get a pathway where I could rest properly. So, an actual room of some sort?
She landed on one of the ledges, looking over to a door with ‘WATER TREATMENT’ written on it in faded letters. She grinned, stepping over to it and pushing the door open.
The loud, echoing thrum of a water pump filled her ears as she stepped past massive tanks. Filthy-looking water landed into the glass tank on her right, and immediately began to boil, thanks to the glowing fire rubies inside. The entire room was lit with a dim, reddish-brown glow, and hotter than the sauna Sugarcoat took her too.
Wiping her brow, Indigo walked into the room, drawing her gun again, and cocking the hammer.
“Are you alright?” a voice said.
Gotcha.
“My health is quite fine; I just need some time,” a thickly accented voice replied. “I need rest. And Cotton needs to rest, too.”
“I-I’m fine,” a quiet, feminine voice piped up.
Indigo peaked around a corner, watching. Sitting on a raised platform, and in front of a massive pump, was Cottonpuff, and in front of her lay the zebra. He wore a dark brown cloak, carrying a strange, knotted staff at his side. Several talismans were strung on a necklace around his neck, but she couldn’t see his face beneath the cloak.
The malfunctioning Bitsworth paced above the two of them. It’s mane was a mess, filthy and frazzled, and its once-expensive suit was ripped and torn.
“Don’t stress yourself, my lady,” the Bitsworth said. “You need rest.”
“You do, too,” the zebra said, sitting up. “Of iron and wire rather than flesh and blood, yet still, rest shall put your mind to sorts.”
The android paused, then, slowly, sat down. “Of course, Anansi,” it said. “Your home...is quite far from here, is it?”
“Yes. But once we meet my coworkers, we will get you far away from this place. You will be free.”
Indigo hid back around the tank, whipping out her phone. “Minuette,” she said. “I found them. They’re in water treatment facility thirty-seven.”
“Alright, on my way,” Minuette said.
“Got it. Zebra’s really tired, named Anansi.”
“Do not engage.”
Indigo blinked. “Huh?”
“Anansi’s a crazy old bastard who’s been doing things like this for a while. We don’t know much besides that he’s tough. He’s taken out Wonderbolts before.”
“Oh, shit,” Indigo muttered.
“WHO’S THERE?”
Indigo clapped her mouth shut. There was no way they could have heard her, of course, and the water in the tank she hid behind wasn’t exactly see through. He must have...sensed her, maybe?
Indigo held up her pistol, staying silent.
“Compromised,” Anansi said. “Bitter, get Cream. Head out that door, and whatever happens, both of you get to freedom.”
Shit. If she didn’t act, both the missing woman and the malfunctioning android would get away. “Forced to engage, VIP’s going to get away,” Indigo said. “They have a drop-off point.”
“Do not--”
Indigo shut the phone, then leapt out of her hiding spot. She leveled the Shadowbolt, rapidly firing upon Anansi.
Anansi struck his staff on the ground, and water shot from the ground below his platform, catching the bullets out of the air.
Indigo hesitated for a split second, but a bullet shot right past her head, almost clipping her ear. She cursed, taking into the air with a violet trail crackling behind her. She fired at the Bitsworth, who ducked around the pump controls. Lightning crackled, and the pipes on the walls and ceiling began to shudder.
Anansi struck his staff a second time, and water shot out of the pipes, striking Indigo out of the air. She cried out, hitting the floor in front of the two. She groaned, but quickly rolled, a bullet hitting the ground where she’d been. She flew forward, crashing into the Bitsworth and throwing it over the railing and off the platform. She kicked back, but Anansi blocked, throwing her off balance. She fired, but her bullet shot past him. Anansi swung his staff, hitting her stomach and sending her toppling backwards.
Indigo hit the fried pump controls, and felt an electric shock rip through her body. She screamed, falling, gun sliding away, as she landed on her hands and knees.
Anansi kicked her side, slamming her into a wall as the Bitsworth ran back up the steps.
“You...are you an Inquisitor?” Anansi asked. “Or are you misguided? Are you a serpent, or are you Eve?”
Indigo gasped for breath, but found she couldn’t speak a response. However, since time immemorial, ponies had found ways to show their emotions without words. So Indigo raised a hand, and showed her emotions.
The Bitsworth scoffed. “Yeah, real fucking mature,” it said.
Loud metal hoofsteps clanged. Anansi and the Bitsworth both looked up, and Indigo rushed forward, tackling Anansi. She slammed him into the railing, then brought her hands down onto his back.
The Bitsworth pointed at her face, and fired. Indigo moved, watching the bullet trail through the air, with a glowing red trail behind it as the air warped red around it.
It passed right by Indigo’s face as she dodged, then stepped in, slamming her shoulder into the Bitsworth’s chest. Violet lightning crackled around her as she slammed it into the ground, actually denting the metal of its chest. She punched its face, cracking one of the optic lenses, but it still pulled up the gun, pointing it directly at her face.
With no time to dodge, she grabbed the gun, hand over the barrel, and shoving it aside.
She screamed in tune with the gunshot, before knocking the gun out of its hands, and slamming her spare hand into its face. Before she could strike again, though, some of the water struck at her, wrapping around her waist and throwing her aside. Indigo hit the ground in a roll, coming to her feet as the Bitsworth got up again, before turning to Anansi.
She was just in time to see Minuette’s bullet hit him in the side of the head. He jerked to the side, then fell onto and over the railing, falling into the filthy sewer water.
“Anansi!” the Bitsworth cried, standing up.
Indigo drew her other gun, opening fire. The first shot only hit the android’s shoulder, but the next two both hit the head. Metal screeched and twisted as the android collapsed backwards into a sparking heap.
“NO!” Cottonpuff screamed, rushing out. “You bastards! Why’d you have to kill them?”
Minutette shot the ground at her feet. “Drop to knees, hands in the air,” she ordered.
Cottonpuff blinked, turning even more pale than was her natural, but complied.
Minuette stepped over to where Anansi lay, staring at him for a second. Then, she fired two extra rounds into his head.
“Just to make sure,” she said. “We’ve been looking for that one for a while, actually.” She paused, looking to Indigo. “You alright over there?”
“I caught a ruby bullet with my left hand,” she croaked. “Nothing...nothing major, heh...” She wobbled unsteadily, then fell forward, consciousness fading.
“...just caught the bullet? With her hand?”
“Looks like. Must have hurt like bloody Tartarus. I can’t blame her for fainting.”
“Aw, poor thing. She needs muffins!’
“She’s not even awake right now.”
“Wait, she is--her eyes are opening!”
Indigo blinked, the world slowly coming into focus. She was in a hospital, and standing directly in front of her was Minuette.
“Not bad, rookie,” Minuette said. “You feeling alright?”
“Woozy,” Indigo said. “Shit, did I faint? That’s embarrassing.” She lifted up her left hand, examining the multitude of bandages it was wrapped in.
“So, uh...you wrapped up the case?”
“Thanks to you stalling Anansi. Cottonpuff was returned to her parents, and placed under house arrest for aiding a terrorist. She’ll be fine. Anansi seems to have done some work on the android, so I told them that he must have planted it on their family with that in mind. A little lie, but it’ll keep plenty of ponies safe.”
“Ah. That’s good.” Indigo looked up, seeing Derpy, Lyra, and a colt she didn’t know standing at the foot of her bed. “Did...all of you guys come out to see me?”
“You had a three-inch hole blown in your hand, had several electric burns, and fell into contaminated sewer water,” Lyra said. She hummed loudly, tapping a hoof on the ground. “Of course we were all concerned.”
“Inquisitors aren’t just investigators, or police,” a voice said.
Indigo sat bolt upright, seeing Midnight standing to the side, leaning against the wall. Her eye-socket was unwrapped, and mane slightly mussed. She turned, meeting Indigo’s eyes. “We’re family. Family loves each other, does not lie to each other, and looks out for each other. So all of us who could make it arrived.”
“I’m...not even an Inquisitor yet,” Indigo said slowly.
“Well, about that,” Minuette said with a smile. She reached into her greatcoat, pulling something out.
A six-pointed star.
“You went through a bit there. I'd understand if you want to bow out now. But, if you still want it, it's yours."
Indigo stared at it for a second, then whooped loudly. She snatched it up, then threw her arms around Minuette in a hug. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou--!” she cried.
“Okay, okay,” Minuette laughed. “Easy, slugger.” She put Indigo properly into her hospital bed. “You’re gonna be in here for a bit, though. With modern medicines, infection isn’t a concern, but that hand wound will take some time to heal.”
Indigo looked back to the bandaged hand, then said, “You could just replace it.”
Minuette nodded. “You could. I wasn’t sure if you’d be comfortable with that.”
“Dude,” Indigo said, “most of this hand was missing, last I checked. It can’t get much more uncomfortable than that.”
There was laughter amongst the assembled Inquisitors.
“So,” Minuette said. “Both hands, or just the one?”
“I’ll replace both,” Indigo said. “Don’t know when the next time I’ll have to catch a bullet will be.”
“That, plus your reflex chip upgrade,” Minuette said slowly, leaning back. “And then, you start work as an Inquisitor for real.” She grinned. “Are you ready?”
Indigo looked to the Princess, to Derpy, and to Lyra, then back to Minuette. “Always have been.”
Author's Note
Here we are! My entry into the Science Fiction Contest. Thinking about it, both of my contest entries so far have been villain protagonists.
This takes place before Cyberpony: Y2K, though it is made to be stand-alone. You'll see one or two things in Y2K that were hinted at here, and definitely a reference or two to the events of My Little Inquisitor.
And for those curious, 'Anansi' is an African trickster spirit, similar to Coyote from Indian folklore, or Maui from Hawaiian. So the rebel, anti-hero zebra, I named him 'Anansi', though in the original myths, he was a spider. Zecora, meanwhile, I didn't want to kill off here, so it had to be somepony else.
All that said, I hope you enjoyed reading this! I'm also trying to see if I can submit something to the Wonderbolts Contest, but the deadline is a little soon, so I might have trouble there. And lastly, though it is late, I'll see about getting that next chapter of Y2K posted.
