>Midnight Flicker turned another page, tired eyes scanning symbol after symbol, transcribing the words onto paper.
>She cursed Starswirl internally for encoding his research, why couldn't he have been not paranoid? Like Clover?
>Clover's writings were in normal Equestrian.
>Not like Starswirl's chicken scratch at all. Finding the cipher had been hard enough, she'd been told.
>The mare startled as the clock on the wall chimed twice.
>Burning the midnight oil was all the little Unicorn seemed to do these days.
>It had to be her destiny.
>"Because that's what my cutie mark is telling me."
>She was definitely prepared to call it a night.
>Midnight levitated her work into a neat pile and closed Starswirl's book. As far as she'd been able to tell, this particular volume dealt with Starswirl's attempts to 'Invoke the powers of a Unicorn', as he put it.
>It had been written during Starswirl's years of madness, so his chicken scratch was even less legible than usual.
>She'd figure it out, though. There wasn't a thing she couldn't decipher if she put her mind to it.
>"Good evening... Midnight, is it? Or should I say good morning?"
>The mare startled again and spun around to find an Earth Pony stallion standing in the doorway, eyeing her.
>"What are you doing here? The Starswirl wing is off limits."
>The stallion walked forward, eyes roaming the room methodically, "Oh, of that I'm well aware. However, the guards are currently indisposed."
>Behind him, another two ponies moved into view at the doorway.
>Midnight became nervous, she didn't like what this stallion had been implying when he said 'indisposed'.
>"Wh-What do you want?"
>The stallion eyed her up and down again and gave her a smile that set Midnight's nerves on edge, "You, my dear. Your current... work."
>His eyes strayed to the sheaf of papers she'd just been working on, "...Is of great interest to my employer, and you are the best in your field. Believe me, we've checked."

>Midnight took a step backwards and thought frantically.
>She didn't know any spells, just basic levitation!
>Should she even try to fight? These ponies looked dangerous, they could hurt her.
>She swallowed.
>"T-Take it, just take it and leave me alone... Please..."
>The stallion clucked his tongue and smiled wider.
>"If only I could do that, but you see, Midnight, we need you as well."
>...
>"I would hate to have to resort to unpleasant measures to ensure your co-operation, my lady."
>He took one more step forwards, now face to face with Midnight.
>"If you would kindly come with us."
>The ponies at the door moved into the room and to his side, silently watching.

~

>You're Flare.
>And it's a wonderful day, the sun is high, the crisp morning air blew through the window...
>And you did not want to be awake just now, it was too early.
>However, somepony was knocking away at the door downstairs, seemingly insistent on gaining entry.
>"Let's see how he likes the blood-sucking bat act."
>You jumped out of bed and wiped the sleep out of your eyes.

[Get your mane straight and go down there. Be prepared for a vacuum salespon]

>The knocking continued incessantly.
>Knock, knock, knock.
>It was worse than an all girls college dorm.
>You shrugged and easily made you way to the vanity, picking up your brush to straighten out your mane before Anon saw.
>Every time, you swear.
>"Brushie, Brushie, Flare!" He'd shout before restraining you to brush your mane.
>You'd admit that it encouraged you to look after yourself.
>Knock, knock, knock!
>By Celestia, was he persistent, probably some star damned vacuum salespony.
>Or insurance.
>You idly wondered why Anon hadn't answered the door yet, he was awake, you were sure of it.
>Plotting revenge on the salespony and Anon both for waking you up this early, you made your way downstairs.
>Knock, knock, knock!
>"I'm coming! I'm coming! Hold on!"
>You got to the door, fit to blow with rage at the offender before opening it.
>"What?!"
>In the doorway stood one of the day guard. It took him a moment, but his ears flopped down and he adopted an expression of apology.
>You felt like a horse.

[Be relieved it isn't a saleshorse. But still be irritated and ask why all the ballistics on your door. I mean, he might as well of been ramming the door.]

>On the up and up, you were relieved it wasn't a saleshorse.
>On the other hoof... The silly stallion had been pounding the door pretty hard, and that made you hopping mad.
>You eyed him silently, and his look of apology turned to one of confusion.
"Why the ballistics on my door? Seriously? Do you take work as a battering ram or something?"
>"Oh, uh, sorry, ma'am. It's just that I have an urgent delivery and... I'm sorry."
>You waited.
>And waited.
>The stallion just stood there looking abashed.
>Checking the rank on his armor, you saw that he was just a private.
>Fresh green, straight out of boot. No wonder.
"Private."
>"Y-Yes, ma'am?"
"Your delivery."
>He froze and nodded frantically, "Yes, uh, here!"
>The guard stallion presented a sealed scroll to you, bearing the Princesses signature. A Phoenix clutching a bundle of arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other.
>Princess Celestia's seal, specifically. It made sense, it was day time.
>You took it from the nervous stallion, eyes travelling between him and the scroll.
"Was there something more, private?"
>"No, Lieutenant. You have to uh... D-Dismiss me."
>Finally you understood, he was afraid of you because you were a Bat Pony.
>Go figure.
"Don't sweat it private. I only bite mares... and only when I'm in bed with them."
>His reaction was immediate and typical, his cheeks went tomato red and he opened and closed his mouth like a gaping fish.
"You're dismissed."
>Turning your back on him, you kicked the door shut with a hind leg.

[Open the scroll]

>You really wanted to take vengeance on Anon for letting that pesky stallion wake you up before letting business take the head, but one doesn't simply ignore a scroll sent by Celestia.
>Had to be important right?
>Right?
>It better be, or you'd grumble because you couldn't exactly tell off the solar princess for waking you up in the morning.
>That was kind of her m.o
>You opened the scroll right there in the entrance hall and read over it.
>It was a summons to the castle
>Scratch that, an urgent summons.
>And she wanted you to bring Anon with you as well, citing that his expertise could be useful.
>Other than that, it didn't say anything indicating what this was all about.
>Your curiosity would have to wait until you got there, you suppose.
>You should look presentable when you go up there, and you still had to rouse Anon.
>You were also kind of hungry.
>The Princess surely wouldn't begrudge you a slight delay for food, right?

{Turn to page 6 to go look presentable}
{Turn to page 104 to rouse Anon}
{Turn to page 27 to find food}
{Turn to page 9 to open the door, get on the floor, everybody do the dinosaur.}

[104, 6, and 27 in that order]

>Rousing Anon seemed like the best course of action for starters.
>You could take revenge on him at the same time.
>With that thought in mind, you snuck towards his room and nosed the door open.
>He was unconscious at the desk.
>Perfect.
>You flapped you wings and kept in the air silently, hovering with your muzzle by his neck, you opened your mouth and...
>...
"EEEEEEE!!!"
>Anon screamed and fell off of his chair, looking around in a blind panic before his eyes settled on you.
>"Flare, what the fuck!?"
>Wild snickering escaped you as you fell out of the air and on your rump, breaking out into full blown laughter.
"Your... Oh Luna... Your face... It... Ahaha!"
>Anon made a face at you and got up, dusting off his suit, "One of these days Flare, bang, zoom..."
"Ooooh noooo! Anon's gonna send me to the moon for a thousand years!"
>You made a face back at him.
"You're hardly an alicorn princess, Anon."
>"Fine. I'll just have to rape you instead."
>Pfft!
>You rolled your eyes and got up, trotting out of the room.
"You can try. Anyway, get ready, we need to go up to the castle today."
>Anonymous has joined your party.
>Now you just needed to eat something quick and get ready.
>Armor first. Then food, you can eat on the way.
>You went back upstairs to your room and pulled your shiny night guard armor out of the closet, removing the oiled leather wraps gently.
>You spent the next few minutes putting it on, listening to Anon moving about downstairs, probably changing suits.
>Armored up, you got to your hooves and did a few stretches to get used to the weight again, seeing as it had been a while since you'd even worn it.
>Saliva began collecting in your mouth as you thought of food.
>You settled the armor around yourself and headed back downstairs to find Anon raising an eyebrow at you.
>"Expecting trouble?"
"Expecting guard stuff."
>Anon nodded, no doubt figuring out that you had no more idea than he did.

{With the perspective switching, you'll have the option of switching between characters any time they're together or if the character you're currently 'riding' has a certain consumable object in their inventory which I'll introduce}

[Get some easy food, you know, pop tarts. Or something healthy, just that snack you go for by impulse if you're pressed for time. And go to the castle.]
[Be Anon maybe]

>Be Anon, now.
>"Expecting guard stuff."
>You nodded, Flare really had no idea, did she?
>The little pony went past you and straight into the kitchen, biting into an apple and removing it from the bowl, sucking the juices out of it as she spoke around the fruit.
>"Kay less goh."
>With that she was out the door, and you followed, wondering just why you were being dragged up to the castle.
>With Flare, usually it was just you for... Reasons.
>You shrugged it off, they'd tell you when you got there, end of story.
>Canterlot was up bright and early in the chill mountain air.
>Things were getting boring, and your only company was a guard mare who was content to trot in silence and devour her apple.

[Ask her why she likes apples so much. Give a somewhat uncomfortable stare while doing so.]
[When she might not respond, snag the scroll out of her pocket if she has one and read up. Once Anon knows it's nice and vague and completely uninformative, speculate with Flare.]
[Just to be a little annoying. You weren't about to let her enjoy her apple after she earraped you.]

>Your eyes fall on Flare again, happily sucking on her apple.
>The cunt.
>A wonderful idea comes to mind and you cough into your hand
>She doesn't notice.
>So it's gonna be like that, huh?
"Hey, Flare!"
>The mare grunts at you.
"Flare."
>She rolls her eyes and munches on her apple.
"Flare. Hey."
>With an irritated whine, she brings a hoof up and pulls the apple out, taking a bite out of it and chewing slowly, giving you a playful glare.
>You return her gaze with an uncomfortable stare, like that of a guy who must tell his best miniature horse friend that she's contracted cancer and that she will never live out her dreams.
"Why do you like apples?"
>"Huh?"
>You shake your head.
"Apples. Why do you like them so much? Like, to the point of shoving one up your cooch."
>Flare blushed! You had her now.
>Wait... did she actually...? Nevermind, you don't want to know.
>"They're... Good? Yeah. They're good for you."
>Flare's not getting out of this one, not after that ear raping.
"Good to know."
>Nodding, Flare went to put the apple back in her mouth and you interrupted her just as she was about to.
"Only..."
>"What."
"There are a lot of fruits that are good for you. Why this specific one?"
>Flare whined in frustration, she knew why she was being punished. The bitch.
>"I went to the summer sun celebration years ago in Ponyville as a foal, you know, when Nightmare Moon came back?"
>She slipped into an uncomfortable silence.
>You prompted her with a nudge.
>"Well, when the sun didn't rise... A lot of ponies began to panic, I uh... Got separated from Mom and, well, I thought the world was ending."
>"I got lost. In the dark."
>A bat pony? Lost in the dark?
>Pssh!
>"Shut up, Anon! I kinda went to Sweet Apple Acres and got trapped in a ditch. There was a big red stallion, Big Mac I think his name was, he found me, fished me out and gave me an apple while we looked for my Mom."
>She took another bite out of her apple.

>"That apple was the best thing I'd ever tasted after being stuck in a hole for three hours. I've loved them ever since."
>You tried to keep a straight face.
>Naturally you failed and burst out laughing.
"Oh my god, what? You got lost in the dark? You? A Bat Pony?"
>Flare's cheeks went red and she stuffed the apple back in her mouth, sucking more juices out of it.
>She was clearly pretty embarrassed, most Bat Ponies had an affinity for darkness, and Flare here had been scared of eternal night.
>Ha ha ha.
>Oh wow.
>You lapsed into silence for a minute or two.
>Flare began to become comfortable, complacent.
>You couldn't have that, now could you?
>Actually, you were curious about the scroll you'd seen sticking out of Flare's saddlebags.
>Reaching a hand down and snatching it out was easy, and Flare gave you a look of annoyance.
>You retaliated by poking your tongue at her like a retard as you opened the scroll and read.

<To Lieutenant Flare

<Your presence, along with Anonymous, is required at Canterlot Castle immediately. There is something I could use your help with, and Anonymous's too, his expertise may come in useful.

<Signed, Princess Celestia of Equestria.

>Heh, formal of Sunbutt.
>An idle thought occurred to you of calling her a filthy peasant girl the next time you saw her.
>Just to see how she'd react.
>Scratch that, how would everyone within earshot react?
>In any case, the scroll was vague as all hell and completely uninformative.
>It basically just said, 'Hey, come're, I've got a secret.'
>After reading out loud to Flare, which in itself annoyed the mare, you put it back in her saddlebag and gave her rump a pat.
"Well that was vague, what do you think she wants?
>Flare once again removed the apple from her mouth and gave you a desperate look, "Anon, please, can I just eat my apple in peace?"

[Let her have the apple, you can just bug her later. Later being when she's done with her apple. She didn't say anything for -after- she's done with it.]
[Go to the castle, await judgement before the sunbutt.]

>You experience a moment of mercy and smile.
"Sure."
>You'll leave her be with her apple, at least until she's done with it. That's when you'll continue annoying the piss out of her.
>For now, the castle loomed ahead, all bright and cheery.
>It was disgusting, castles were meant to be foreboding, and filled with rape dungeons.
>Maybe that'd be something to ask the princesses, if they had a rape dungeon.
>The guards gave the two of you odd looks as you passed.
>A big monkey thing and a bat pony with an apple in her mouth like a gag?
>Who wouldn't question that?
>But you were used to stares, you'd gotten a lot of them that one time you went around Canterlot shouting 'pomf!' every time a Pegasus opened their wings.
>Flare led you into the castle, one of the guards approaching and asking her to follow him.
>She grunted around the apple and turned to follow him, with you trailing behind.
>The stallion led the pair of you towards the Canterlot Archives. It left you wondering why Princess Celestia was there.
>Soon enough, the stallion halted outside what you recognised as the Starswirl wing. The room inside was a mess, papers scattered the floor, the table had been overturned and a bookcase had fallen over, spilling its contents everywhere.
>The Princess just stood in the middle of the room, looking directly at the pair of you.
>"Flare, Anonymous, thank you for coming."

[swat the apple out of flare's mouth, you've got business to talk about]
[Finish consuming your appul, listen to the butt of the sun.]
[Ask what's going on]

>"We're happy to help in any way we can your highness."
>Flare did a little bow and proceeded to put the apple back in her mouth
>You waited until the half finished fruit was almost in before reaching down and slapping it out.
>One more for the road, right?
>There was also business to talk about, so that was that, too.
>Flare turned to you and gave you a hurt look, she looked almost as if she were going to cry.
>You regret nothing.
>Princess Celestia shot you a look and levitated the apple before her, making the apple itself glow brighter and brighter.
>After a few seconds, the glow died down and the apple was completely whole again, as if it had never been eaten.
>The solar princess returned the fruit to Flare.
>"Eee!~"
>Flare happily took a bite out of it, working to finish the apple.
>Looks like it was up to you.
"Anyway... What can we do for you, Sunbutt?
>Princess Celestia sat on that big plump rump of hers and began to explain.
>"Some time early this morning, a student of mine was in here deciphering one of Starswirl's works."
>She looked to the clock on the wall, drawing your eye as well.
>The hands were frozen a little after two a.m.
>Odd.
>"Clearly, somepony took interest in her work. She, Midnight that is, along with a certain tome have gone missing. I'd like you two to find out who."
>Flare munched slowly on her apple thoughtfully, not saying anything, but looking around and then turning her gaze to you.
>It was clear what she was thinking.
"Why us, Princess? I'm sure you have the best detectives in the kingdom at ha- hoof."
>Flare looked up at the Princess and oddly enough, Sunbutt avoided her gaze.
>"As a... Canterlot Ranger, Flare is better suited to go after the perpetrators."
>She paused uncertainly, as though unsure how to continue.
>"I only wish Midnight's safe return. That cannot be done through normal channels."
>Celestia continued to avoid Flare's gaze.

[Say yes, but you need more informations, you know nothing about what happened. Ask where Midnight was last time, send Flare there and tell her you will join soon. Ask Sunbutt why she avoided looking at Flare.]

"Sure, we'll do it, but I'm going to need to know more, Princess. Where exactly was Midnight last night?"
>Princess Celestia nodded in thanks and gestured to the far end of the room, where it looked as though the struggle had began.
>It was also well out of earshot, at least you hoped it was out of Flare's earshot.
"Hey Flare, could you go take a look? See if you can find anything."
>Flare finished her apple and looked up at you, "Sure. Anon, Princess."
>She snapped a salute to Celestia and trotted off to the far end of the room.
>The Princesses gaze followed the little pony for a while before returning to you.
"So. Sunbutt. You seemed a little nervous, why did you avoid looking at Flare?"
>Celestia's eyes widened and she lifted a forehoof as though she'd been slapped, or caught with her hoof in the cookie jar.
>"Avoided? I don't know what you mean."
"Yes, avoided. Princess we can't help you if we don't know everything."
>Celestia now avoided your gaze, "I detest asking my little ponies to walk into possible danger."
>You observed the mare and let your eyes stray to Flare, who was lurking about at the far end of the room, unaware of your conversation.
>The Princess looked almost ashamed of herself.
"Princess. That's not all, is it?"
>"Anonymous, please..."
"Princess."
>She sighed and walked past you one of her wings nudging you to follow and you took one last look at Flare before doing so.
>The mare led you to a secluded corner of the wing, separate from the guards milling about.
>"I cannot tell you, and especially her if my suspicions are correct. I need you to trust me."
>The Princess gave you a pleading look, which seemed odd coming from her.

[Reluctantly agree, but be suspicious. Check up on Flare maybe, looking for signs or clues on the way over.]
[Apple slap was rood.]

>You give Sun Horse a stare and finally relent.
"Fine. I trust you."
>Celestia breaths a sigh of relief and steps forward, pressing her muzzle against your chest.
>"Thank you, Anonymous. I knew I could count on you."
>She stepped away after a moment, she looks to the side again, "However, I should warn you that this may become a personal matter for Flare. I'll leave you two to your investigations."
>With that, the Princess wandered off and you watched her go.
>She really did have a nice ass.
"Mmm..."
>As soon as she rounded the corner, you snapped yourself out of it and made your way back to Flare, thinking about what the Princess had said.
>Personal for Flare? You'd hang onto your suspicion for now, Celestia clearly knew far more than she was letting on.
>Doubtless you'd find out eventually, but for now, it was forensics time, without the trashy lab montage.
"What do we have, Flare?"
>The little horse turned to you and up turned a hoof, a little slip of torn paper resting on her frog.
>"Just this so far, looks like it was torn from whatever Midnight was working on."
>You reached down and took it from her, reading it.
"To invoke the power of a unicorn? Seems run of the mill. Anyone could walk up to a random ass unicorn and hold onto their horn until they magic everywhere."
>Flare blushed and facehoofed.
>"No. No, Anon, that's not what it means."
>She paused and scuffed the tiled floor idly.
>"At least I hope that's not what it means- Ah! It was Starswirl! I'm pretty sure he didn't write a magnum opus on how to bring unicorns to orgasm!
>You snickered.
"So Starswirl wanted to invoke the power of the Unicorn, that doesn't even make sense, it happens every day."
>Flare brought a hoof to her muzzle thoughtfully.
>"We could ask the Princess, she was around back then. On the other hoof, we could question some of the guards that were here when Midnight was taken, maybe they saw something.
>"What should we do?"

[Ask the goddess what the paper meant, and see if Flare can egg stuff out of the guards.]

"Thinking about it, I'll go pester Celestia again about this..."
>You waved around the slip of paper.
"...While you go poke at the guards for information."
>"Right. See you soon, Nonny."
>Flare left for a nearby group of guards and began to converse with them as you left to find Celestia.
>If you actually knew where she'd gone.
>You poked a guard and figured you'd ask.
"Hey, did you see where the Princess went?"
>The guard looked up at you with that stoic look that they had all seemed to master and told you that she'd gone to one of the historical halls.
>You thanked him and left off.
>The historical halls pretty much held the history of the country in stylised windows. Whole wings of the castle were cordoned off for them, and Equestria had a long history.
>You were never quite sure how the interior of the castle seemed more spacious than the exterior, so you had put it down to magic.
>They don't gotta explain shit.
>Reaching the wings, you found the Princess standing at the intersection between three of the halls, two of which were open.
>The final one being closed and, presumably, locked.
>This was the one she was having a staring contest with.
>You stood behind her silently.

[show the paper and ask what gives]

"Oi, Sunbutt! We found something."
>The solar princess startled, dragged out of whatever private thoughts she'd been in and turned to you.
>"Anonymous! Sorry. What do you need?"
>Panic? That's not suspicious at all.
"What do you think of this? Flare found it where Midnight had been working, I think it might have something to do with what she was working on."
>You handed her the slip of paper and she took it in her magic, eyes taking it in.
>She levitated it back to you with a heavy sigh, "That's what I was afraid of."
"Oh?"
>She nodded, "In his later years, after Luna's... banishment. Starswirl lost his mind, he became obsessed with 'leveling the playing field' as he put it, to that end, he researched all kinds of magic and science.
>The Princess shook her head woefully, "The silly pony. He did much good with what he learned, but he also did much harm. I'm not aware of what he means by invoking the power of a Unicorn, and that means that it was definitely something he had been doing during his final years."
>So Starswirl became a mad scientist, and someone out there in Equestria had their hooves or claws on his work.
>That couldn't end well.
"So any ideas? Any at all? It could help."
>Celestia turned to you fully and frowned, pointing at the slip of paper in your hand, "If that was part of Starswirls work of levelling the advantages each tribe held over each other, then it means that there's only on pony behind Midnight's foalnapping."
"Who?"
>Celestia looked towards the locked door and whispered, "Blue Moon is back."

[Ask who they is and what he/she does.]

"Uh, I'm sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone who knows what you're talking about.
>Celestia gave you an apologetic shrug and walked towards the locked door, running a hoof over it.
>"Blue Moon was once a student of mine forty years ago. Equestria was a very different place back then, a center of industry and progress, the arm of the Equestrian government stretched far and influenced much. One could say it was the most powerful nation on Earth back then."
>Celestia spoke with a degree of detachment and shame, as though she didn't approve of her ponies having that much power.
>"Blue Moon was the perfect example of the kind of ponies of that time, though I did not realise it then. She was ruthless and cunning, advancing fields of science magic regardless of the cost, regardless of the harm it could bring. The worst part was that at her core, Blue Moon's intentions were pure."
>Equestria a center of industry? You could hardly believe it, these days it looked very much medieval with a scattering of technology here and there.
"What happened?"
>Celestia sat, a pained look on her face, and you could see how the centuries weighed down on her, how holding up a country weighed down on her.
>"I have not always been a good ruler, and the thousand years Luna was gone almost broke me. I spend years, decades, even centuries secluded from the world. Once I saw the kind of pony Blue Moon truly was, I looked at the world I had allowed to happen in my absence."
>Celestia then went on to tell you how the government she'd put in place to rule in her stead had grown corrupt and power hungry, and how she'd stepped forth to put a stop to it.
>She had outlawed the more dangerous sciences and magic, to which Blue Moon had not taken to kindly.
>"Blue Moon swore that she would see Equestria progress at any cost and vanished, it seems that she's up to her old tricks."
"And now she's stolen Starswirls work and a pony to figure it out for her?"

[What was it BM was making? Weapons I guess?]
[Ask where to look]
[Sneak glances at butt.]
[Don't get caught.]

>You can't help but sneak glances at Sunnybutts sunny butt as she speaks.
>"Yes, and I dread to think what she has in mind."
"So what exactly was it that Blue Moon was doing? Making weapons?"
>Celestia nodded, "And not only that, mind control, space programs, genetics, cloning, she even dabbled in time travel and expanded on Starswirl's work on travel to other worlds. I have long suspected that your own appearance in Equestria was orchestrated by her. There are some workings of the world that are not meant for us, and she was driven to crack them all wide open."
>This Blue Moon didn't sound so bad, apart from the mind control it seemed like she was pursuing everything that humanity had ever dreamed of.
>You could see how it could bring harm, sure, but there was also great benefit.
"I'm sorry, Princess but... Blue Moon sounds like she just wanted to bring Equestria forwards-"
>"No! The cost was too great. The suffering she wreaked bringing those advancements was horrific. Blue Moon was responsible for countless deaths in her experiments, and those are just the ones I know of."
>You put your hands up in a calming gesture.
"Alright, alright, I understand. She was like a Nazi. Have you any idea where to begin looking?"
>Celestia took a moment to calm down, glaring at the locked door once again, it was clear that behind that was a period of Equestrian history Princess Celestia did not wish to repeat.
>With a deep breath, she finally calmed herself and shook her head, "No. Even before she vanished, Blue Moon always worked through others, and when she vanished she became a ghost."
>...
"Princess, I'll ask you again. Why do you need Flare to do this?"
>Celestia, closed her eyes and frowned, "Because Blue Moon is responsible for her birth mother's death, I don't know why, but I believe Blue Moon had her killed."
>It took a moment to sink in.
"You're using Flare as bait... To draw her out."

[>"You're using Flare as bait... To draw her out."]
[Get her to spill more beans and be slightly peeved about pic related. http://i.imgur.com/ESF0MBc.jpg]

>Celestia nodded staring ahead blankly, looking at nothing in particular.
"You..."
>You were actually angry about this, here was a ruler that was meant to be benevolent, and here she was using Flare as a disposable piece in a very large, very dangerous game of chess.
"Do you even realise how much Flare idolises you?"
>She looked down in shame.
>The rabbit hole went even deeper.
"But then, you know that already, don't you? Having her raised by Spring Breeze, a captain of the day guard and a Pegasus, you could tell her that she's the bait and she would do it anyway. You've been shaping Flare her whole life to be little more than a pawn, haven't you?"
>Celestia shook her head, shooting you a dirty look, "Flare is a Canterlot Ranger, Human. I've made sure she has the tools she needs to survive."
"But at what cost?"
>"It's an acceptable price to stop Blu-"
"I bet Blue Moon also thought that sacrificing ponies was an acceptable cost to advanc-"
>Celestia's hoof swiped across your cheek, it was clearly intended as a slap, but it felt like a fist to the face.
>You felt the temperature raise considerably and Celestia looked as though her very stare could incinerate you where you stood, "Never... N-Never compare me to her. You didn't see the suffering she left behind her, she needs to be stopped."
"Flare deserves better for her loyalty to you."
>The fire in the Princesses eyes died down and she looked aside, the weight of centuries pressing down on her again, "I know. They all do."
"Damn straight. Now spill it, Princess. Everything."
>Celestia nodded and levitated the amethyst out of her peytral, moving it over to the locked door and pressing it into a little slot, a dull thunk sounding from within the door.
>She replaced the amethyst and walked past you, "Everything you need to know is in there."
>You heard a flutter of wings and turned to look at her, only to find that she'd vanished through some non-magical teleportation.

[Go in and look, see what you're dealing with.]
[Tell Flare about the lead.]
[But not about how she's involved.]
[Not yet. But be ready to.]

>Ignoring Celestia's quick departure, you push open the doors and enter the hall, it's considerably darker in this hall in regards to the others, mostly due to the fact that this hall in particular extended into Canterlot mountain itself.
>The stained glass window in here were lit up from behind by torches, giving the hall an overall depressive atmosphere.
>No wonder the Princess kept this wing locked, even at a casual glance, you could tell that this period of Equestrian history hadn't been spectacular.
>The first window portrayed the Princess herself, weeping at the moon, her ponies gathered around at her hooves with concern.
>Moving down the hall, the second window showed a pair of golden doors emblazoned with the sun swinging shut, which you recognised as the throne room. Just before the doors lay a round table with four ponies seated, one of each tribe and the fourth being a unicorn wearing a crown. The others appearing to defer to the mare.
>Next showed a picture of prosperity, nothing grand, it seemed like life as usual, however up on a stylised cloud sat the golden doors of the throne room, still shut. Some of the ponies, but not all, looked up at the door in concern.
>Even you could tell that this window was supposed to indicate years passing.
>Next up was an image of other species, with a scattering of some monsters surrounding a group of three small ponies, shrinking back from the demonised enemies, fearful, while still the golden doors remained shut.
>The images continued, with Griffins, Zebras and other intelligent species and nations taking whatever they wished from the farming Earth Ponies and the magical Unicorns while Pegasi tried and failed to protect them, above them the golden doors remained ever sealed.
>Finally, you came to a window depicting a blue Unicorn in rags, weeping at the devastation around her.
>It seemed as if she journeyed to Canterlot and begged at the throne room doors for the Princess to save them.

>The doors opened a crack and the mare stepped inside, while the devastation continued, the government struggling to hold onto their land and wealth.
>The next window depicted the blue unicorn again, which at this point you'd come to identify as Blue Moon, as her cutie mark represented a half cog as a crescent moon.
>She stood proudly in front of the golden doors as they once again swung shut, she possessed a stylised golden halo and magnificent golden ethereal wings.
>This probably represented a mandate from the Princess.
>She took charge of the floundering government, bringing invention and progress and soon the tides were turned.
>Earth Ponies, Unicorn and Pegasi alike drove back enemies and monsters, reclaiming land and wealth through force, all while the unicorn stood on high before the doors to the throne room, wings and halo outstretched protectively.
>You began to see tanks, war ships and zepplins. Fertile land became industrial blocks. Metal barding and melee weapons were replaced with uniforms and firearms.
>As the windows progressed, the image of the blue mare became more and more insidious, the golden wings darkening, the halo beginning to fade, indicative that she'd begun to stray from the mandate of the Princess.
>Then came the last few windows, the Unicorn depicted with demonic red eyes, the wings and halo gone, the ponies under her surrounded by flame and evil looking machinery, soldiers once sworn to protect the country becoming oppressive towards their charges and those they had conquered, the Griffins and Zebras the monsters laying dead or dying.
>You halted at the next one, staring long and hard at it.
>The unicorn mare stood before what was definitely a mushroom cloud, the ponies she ruled over too fearful to do anything to stop her.
>That's when the golden doors finally opened and the Princess stepped out.
>The unicorn and Celestia fought, but it was a one sided battle, the unicorn being defeated and stripped of her position.

>She then fled into the darkness and the Princess sat at the table, representatives of all the species of the Earth sitting at it.
>You guessed Celestia had negotiated with them all and brought peace, because the next window showed the golden doors standing proudly open, with Celestia standing over a fire, burning many of the machines Blue Moon had brought into the world.
>The final window had the Princess sitting on the throne once again, sun on one side, moon on the other, the ponies below her happy and playful once again.
>There was peace.
>You knew enough about history to know that it was written by the victor, but would Celestia really spin historical events to her favour?
>Blue Moon had been depicted in such a good light at first, perhaps the lesson that was to be learned here was that power corrupts.
>In any case, Blue Moon had Midnight Flicker, and the implications of invoking the power of a Unicorn were much more daunting now.
>You needed to get back to Flare and see if she had discovered anything.
>If what Celestia had said was true, Blue Moon would still be working through others, trying to stimulate industry.
>And who was better at industry than Flim Flam Inc?
>You wondered if you should tell Flare about how she was being used by a pony she considered a god.
>No, she idolised Celestia, you'd let her maintain the illusion for now, but you'd tell her immediately if it put her in any extreme danger.
>Flare's loyalty may be to Celestia, but your loyalty was to Flare.
>You left the hall and closed the door on that part of Equestria's past, understanding now just why she kept it under lock and key.

>You made your way back to the Starswirl wing, still irritated with the Princess for her manipulation.
>Still, she had a country to run, what was one person in the grand scheme of things?
>You couldn't allow yourself to think like that, that way lay edge.
>And Flare had enough edge for the both of you anyway.
>Speaking of, you came across the little pony conversing with one of the guards, and she turned to you smiling, waving you over.
>She was smiling.
>You couldn't figure out if that was a good or a bad thing.
>"Hey, Anon! I think I found something."
>She nodded at the guard, who, like all the guards in the castle, had a completely stoic look on his face.
>He was also one of the few Night Guards that weren't bat ponies, and you recognised him as belonging to the magic squad or whatever they called it.
>It was more of a regiment, all unicorns, because you know...
>Magic.
>He managed to maintain his neutral look while you stared at him.
>You were going to have to make one smile one of these days.
>"Cobalt, this is Anonymous. Anonymous? Cobalt."
>She turned to the stallion, "Why don't you tell Anon what you saw?"
>The stallion looked up at you, craning his neck like all the ponies did when they had to talk to you.
>You dragged a seat over and sat down so he wouldn't hurt his neck too much.
>You were considerate like that.
>Sometimes.
>"Well, Mr Anonymous-"
>You put a hand up.
"Let me stop you right there. It's just Anon, Mr Anonymous was my father."
>The stallion corrected himself, "Anon, sorry, sir. I was on patrol last night when the break-in occurred, and I heard them talking to that poor mare who's been foalnapped."
>He shook his head.

>"I know I should have done something, but I was outnumbered."
>He looked away shamefully and you guessed that he'd been a little scared as well.
>Flare put a consoling hoof on his shoulder and urged him to continue.
>"...They were talking about her work, and how it was of interest to whoever employed them. They never said who, but when they came out, they saw me and I managed to get a good look at them before they knocked me out."
>He rubbed the back of his head and winced slightly from some head wound beneath his mane.
>"They were dressed all fancy-like, kind of like those special operators from those old moving picture programs they used to broadcast."
>Flare piped up, turning to you, "You wouldn't have seen those, Anon, T.V is rare enough these days, not a lot of broadcasts happen anymore, think hide tight suits and... I don't know, ninjas?"
>You got the gist.

[Well, we need more info, like if he saw faces of kidnappers, or at least their fur colour. Everyone can take off that suit.]
[And what about their voices, were they stallions or mares, the other thing- how many of them were here?]

"What else did you see? Faces? Fur color? Cutie Marks would be ideal. Tell me everything about them."
>"I uh... I didn't recognise any of them, sir, and their Cutie Marks were all covered up. One was sort of... Beige? There was a tan colored one, too. Those were stallions. There was also a pink mare."
>He rubbed his muzzle, trying to focus.
>"Their leader was the only one who spoke, he had one of those fancy accents, like from Trottingham. That's all I can think of, I'm afraid, if there were others, I didn't see them."
>Flare nodded in agreement and chimed in, "They were wearing sneak suits, too, so they didn't leave any Keratin for identification purposes, and without knowing what their Cutie Marks were, tracking the foalnappers themselves is impossible."
>She grinned at you and gave a wink.
>"But! They were wearing sneak suits, and there's only one company that makes those these days, and that's Flim Flam Incorporated. Chances are they left a paper trail, but that's just the hope."
>You nodded in agreement, things seemed to be pointing towards the two business ponies. Especially with Blue Moon's possible involvement.
"That's what I was thinking. I got some... Interesting information from the Princess that leads in that direction."
>Flare beamed eagerly, "So... Road trip?"
"Looks like it."
>Flare struggled to contain a burst of joy, giving Cobalt a sidelong look.
>"Oh, uh... Sorry, ma'am. I should go."
>You gave him an uncomfortable look as he left.

[Well, I don't know, prepare with Flare to the trip?]
[Just a tip, maybe ask us about what we should do when options are visible for us.] 
[For now we could say "wait for the guard to leave, ask Flare if she wants some fun sexy time before the trip, proceed to the nearest empty room if she agrees", but... we don't know if it is out of character for Anon and/or Flare.]

"So... Flare."
>Flare gave you a look and tilted her pretty little head.
>You try not to spill your spaghetti.
>You really do.
"D-Do you want to have some fun sexy time...?"
>...
>The bat pony just stared at you, not even a blush showing through.
>"Anon, please."
"I'm n-not hearing a no...~"
>You tried your best to summon a seductive expression and tone, even licking your lips slowly after.
>"Anon, please!"
>Spaghetti overload! Abandon ship!
"I'm sorry, okay! Maybe we should just get ready to head over to Flim Flam Inc."
>Flare had a confused look on her face and stuttered, cheeks red.
>Tfw no gf...
>You left the wing quickly and put it out of your mind, as you recall, Flim and Flam had their corporate headquarters based in Manehattan.
>If there were going to be sales records, they'd be found there.
>Flare followed you, calling out to you to slow down, "Anon, wait! Anon!"

a) Stop and let Flare catch up?
b) Keep going home to prepare for the trip and talk to Flare then?
c) Switch Character?
d) >rape

[Switch character to Flare.]

[Get prepared for the trip]

[b)]

>You're Flare, and you struggled to keep up with Anonymous without outright galloping.
>It would be poor form.
>Your friend, the human, had just asked you if you wanted to have sex with him.
>What's more, you'd even considered it for a moment on pure curiosity alone.
>The sound of your clippity cloppers on the tiled floor of the castle hooves reminded Anon that you were right behind him, and he quickened his pace.
>You were forced into a quick trot just to keep up.
>Damn his superior human strides!
"Anon! Come on. Wait up!"
>Anon mumbled something incomprehensible and turned out of the castle.
>Rude.
>Soon, you made it outside with Anon and flapped your wings, quickly shortening the distance between you.
>Who's the slow pony now?! 
>Hovering by his head as he walked, you tried to figure how you'd go about asking him just what in Tartarus that was.
"Anon..."
>The man ignored you and kept his eyes forward, you really couldn't tell if his cheeks were just ruddy from the cold or if he were blushing.
>Normally you'd go with the former, but considering he'd just outright asked for sex...
"Anoooon..."
>You prodded his cheek with a hoof, and he did his best to ignore it.
>Admirable, but you weren't easily deterred, and he'd been annoying to you earlier.
>Maneuvering in the air, you came up behind him and settled on his shoulders, your fore hooves on top of his head.
>Anon kept walking.
"Anoooon...!~"
>He finally snapped.
>"What...!? It was a joke! I plead the fifth."
>Huh, you hadn't planned this far ahead.

a) Ask him why he asked for sex.
b) Don't press the matter and try to comfort him
c) Be autistic and shout 'beep beep!'

[Tell him that you took it as a joke and he should no worry about the spaghetti in his pockets.] 
[Ask him however what would he react if she said yes.]

[I vote for b)]

"Anon, settle down, I'm sure it was just a joke."
>You felt him sigh with relief.
>He seemed pretty chill, relaxed even.
>Content...
>You couldn't have that!
"So what would have happened if I'd said yes?
>Anonymous seized up, his steady pacing faltering for a moment before getting back on track.
>Spaghetti everywhere.
>"Oh uh... Ha. G-Good one, Flare, you sure got me with that hilarious joke! Ha Ha!"
"I'm serious."
>You clutched at his head, smiling as you kept up your ruse.
>To that end, you stroked a fore hoof just softly, ever so softly against his cheek, whispering softly against his ear.
"Flare is here for you, big guy."
>You could feel Anon tensing up between your thighs and you giggled, patting his head in a friendly way.
"I'm kidding, Anon. Don't worry... I'm only into mares. So you're safe from this sexual predator."
>Anon reached his hands up and plucked you off of his head, setting you back down on the ground.
>You flashed him a triumphant grin and snickered.
>"You're the scum of the Earth."
"Says the alien who asked me for sex."
>Scoffing, you trotted up to your door and opened it, swishing your tail lewdly from side to side, giving Anon quite the view of your hindquarters.
>Gosh, you could be slutty at times.
>You had room in your saddlebags for a few items, what should you pack?

Flare has room in her saddlebags for various items, what should she pack?

a) More weapons.
b) Medical supplies
c) More Apples
d) Other [Or Combination]

[Med supplies, apples, and a weapon Anon can carry.]

>Keeping your mind on more serious matters, you decided that you'd need to pack more than just the basics if you're going after foalnappers.
>You decide that if you're going to Manehattan, you should take a healthy mix of supplies.
>To that end, you pulled out your first aid kit and packed a tub of healing salve and bandages, leaving the expensive healing potion where it lay. If what Cobalt the guard had said held up, you were likely dealing with professionals, and you'd like to think that you could deal with any injuries that would result if you ran into them.
>Next up was apples, you had no reason to take them with you, but you didn't need reasons. So you took three.
>You were dealing with dangerous people, so you'd need more than hoof blades.
>There were a couple of firearms you owned a single action revolver, the typical sort used in run-of-the-mill home defense and one repeating carbine.
>She was a special one.
>You nosed the glass case open and reverently pulled the gun out.
>It was a valuable family heirloom, sort of...
>The rifle had been upgraded a few times during its service, including the trigger mechanism so you could use it with your wing hooks.
>Anon came up behind you.
>"Expecting more guard stuff?"
"Trouble."
>"Wise."
>You turned and offered the gun for him to carry.
"I'll be carrying quite a few things, so the least you can do is hold onto this, lose it and I'll do edgy things to you."
>He took the weapon off of your hooves and you pulled out three cartridges of ammunition, five rounds each, along with a couple cylinders for the revolver, and stowed them away in your pack, separate from the guns.
>Anon did not need to be walking around with a loaded gun, ponies didn't trust him that much.
"I'm serious, Anon. Mom'll kill me if I lose that gun."
>"What's so special about it?"
"It's an heirloom."

a) Explain Gun
b) Decide on method of travel
c) Take the gun off of Anon so he doesn't cause a riot
d) Switch character

[Vote for b) so we can find a path that would be far enough from someone who can start a riot.]
>or way to hide our friend with gun

[A and B]
[And about C, is there a rifle bag?]

[>a) Explain Gun]
[>b) Decide on method of travel]
[Why not both?]

>Anon handled the rifle, and you were surprised to note that it just seemed to look right in his hands.
>Like it was a better fit for hands than hooves.
>Anon looked at you.
>"Look, I'm pro open carry, but you wouldn't happen to have a rifle bag for this, would you?"
>You nodded in agreement, you don't know why you didn't think of it earlier.
"I think so, hold on."
>Opening a nearby storage closet, you rummaged around in the dust and moth filled space and pulled out the the rifle bag for Wisp, luckily the moths had not eaten it.
>You blew a heavy layer of dust off of it.
"Here we go!"
>Tossing it to Anon, he unzipped it and slid the rifle in, slinging it over his shoulder.
>Closing the closet before the moths could fly out and invade your home, you turned back to Anon.
"Now, we need to decide how we're going to Manehattan, because that's where Flim Flam Inc is set up, right?"
>Anon nodded a tad stupidly and waved his hand dismissively, "I've been here a while, but I still don't really know how you ponies get around, I suppose we could go on foot."
>On foot.
"Anon, that'd take days, Midnight may not have that kind of time, though it would be good for not causing a riot. I suggest we either take the train or go by Sky Barge. I've never gone by Sky Barge before.
>The two of you headed out the door, with Anon waiting at the gate while you locked up the house.
>On the way, you grabbed your bit bag and slipped it into your saddlebags, reasonably confident that you had at least fifty bits in there that you might need.
>"So... Since you're the party leader here. Train or Barge?"

a) Train
b) Sky Barge

[>b) Sky Barge]
[That sounds interesting.]

[SKY BARGE]
[FJORD THE SKY]

>You thought about it for a moment.
>The train would be safer, as it was firmly rooted to the ground.
>But then again, Sky Barge!
>It sounded much more interesting than a horse draw train.
>She'd always wondered why they never brought back the coal engine for those.
"Sky Barge it is!"
>With that, you began to trot off in the direction of Canterlots Barge tower, which lay on the other side of the castle.
>You flicked an ear back at Anon as he muttered something.
>It sounded like 'Fjord the sky', whatever that meant.
>The human caught up to your side and cleared his throat, "So what's so special about this family heirloom of yours?"
"It's a family heirloom."
>Snickers internally.
>"Come on, it's got to have a story."
>You had a while before reaching the barge tower, you might as well.
"Alright, but it's a long story, so listen up, I'm not gonna tell it twice!"
>Anon made a zipping motion over his mouth and prepared to listen intently.
"Alright then, she's called 'Wisp', it was Mom's old rifle, been passed down from Dam to Filly for generations, it's a Carbine now, but believe it or not, it used to be a musket, you following?"
>Anon nodded, "Used to be a musket."
"Right, yes it did, but as firearms were improved, so was the gun, the only original part of the gun is the stock, to hear Mom say it, that stock is a little over fifteen hundred years old."
>Anon opened his mouth, brow furrowed, "But that's fucking wrong, dead wood doesn't last that long."
>You waited for him to finish, eyebrow raised.
"No, but this isn't normal wood, the stock is made of Wyrmwood."
>"What wood?"
"Wyrmwood, as in Dragon Wood. There’s a Wyrmwood tree in the Canterlot botanical gardens actually, been there longer than the castle has."
>”What’s special about it?” Anon asked, eager as ever to learn something about Equestrian history.

”The wood of the Wyrmwood tree is almost as resilient as a dragon and completely immune to fire. They’d have to be, since the trees are native to the dragon territories. Legend has it that each one marks the final resting place of a dragon, that the tree gets its strength and longevity from it. I think that’s all hogwash, though, a tree would have to be as hard as a dragon to survive in their lands.”
>Pointing at the rifle bag, you continued.
”Anyway, if family legend is to be believed, one of my Mom’s ancestors was taken by a dragon for her singing voice. Yeah, I know, dragons usually go for gold and gemstones, but sometimes you get a dragon that assigns value to other things, like virgin maidens.”
>Anon snorted and you gave him an unamused look, even though you contained a giggle of your own.
”Anyway, this particular dragon was nearing the end of her life, but her captive pony still spent almost thirty years living with her, singing for the dragons entertainment. Go figure, the dragons name was supposedly ‘Wisp’, like this rifle.”
>You pondered that for a bit, it was either embellishment, or one hell of a coincidence, but you continued anyway.
"When Wisp lay dying after millenia of life, her captive stayed with her, call it Stockholm Syndrome. This is where things get foggy, either Wisp gave her companion a shard of Wyrmwood, or told her how to harvest it from the tree that was to grow from Wisp’s body after her death.”
>It was a very suggestive story, could a pony even have... relations with a dragon? You didn't know, and you weren't sure it would be pleasurable to find out.
"In any case, the stock of that gun is that original piece of Wyrmwood. Harder than steel, can’t be burned or damaged in any way, and when the gun is fired, well... My mother fondly calls the gun ‘Whisper’ rather than ‘Wisp’, because of how loud it is when it’s fired.”
>You paused and gave Anon a grin.

"I’ve never heard it fired, or even used it before now, but Mom says when that rifle goes off, you can hear Wisp’s soul in the rifle, roaring in defence of the pony she once took captive.”
>Anon gave you a credulous look.
>Then he raised an eyebrow.
>You relented.
"Basically, it’s a very loud gun, and despite being centuries old, it’s never misfired once.”
>Anon looked at the rifle bag in disbelief, “So you’re telling me that the soul of a dragon is bound in the stock of this rifle?”
>You shrugged as you walked, you didn't believe it personally.
“Well... No, I personally think the wood’s been enchanted, but Mom swears by the whole dragon thing, I guess we’ll never know for sure. What I’m certain of is that Wisp has far more power than a gun of its size should.”
>Anon chuckled.
>"It’s a very romantic notion, though. The soul of a benevolent dragon guarding your family through the centuries.”
>You nodded in agreement. 
“Like we’ll always be part of her hoard.”
>You then sighed and shook your head.
“Unfortunately, I’m adopted, so the rifle being passed on to me kind of breaks the tradition.”
>Anon frowned in concern and stooped to give you a hug.
>”Don’t be stupid, Flare, I’m sure your mother considers you her foal just as much as any blood relative could be.”
>Settling a wing around Anon and hugging back, you kept your tone thankful.
“Thanks, Anon, you always know what to say.”
>In the time the two of you had been talking, you'd reached the barge tower and Anon stared up at it.

>Anon looked as though he didn't quite know what to say until he opened his mouth and looked at you.
>"You guys never had a Hindenburg, did you?"
"A what?"
>He grinned and shook his head, but you could tell he was nervous.
>"Nevermind, it's a human thing."
>You looked between him and the dirigibles moored at the top of the tower, some few taking off or coming in.
"What's wrong with Sky Barges!?"
>Your tone had gone up a few decibels in borderline panic and Anon leaned down to scratch behind one of your ears.
>That calmed you right the hell down and one of your fore legs lifted in appreciation.
>"Don't worry about it, Flare. You haven't had a Hindenburg, which means Equestrian engineers did something right."
>He kept scratching for a while and you prayed to Celestia that he'd never stop.
>"Who invented them...?"
"E-Earth Ponies. They wanted t-to fly...~"
>You desperately hoped he wouldn't stop, but he did, his hand pulling away.
>No tears now, only dreams.
>"Of course it was the Earth Ponies. You never look for anything until you need it."
>You sighed and clarified.
"They've been around for centuries, not to sound like a broken record about these kinds of things, but legend tells that they built it to reach the Pegasus city of Stratopolis."
>"Stratopolis? Never heard of that place before."
"You wouldn't outside of fairy tales and folklore."
>Anon frowned, "Ah. Well anyway, we'd better buy tickets for Manehattan. Or rather... You should, I've got to use the mens room."
>With that, he was off.

a) Be a peeping pony and follow Anon
b) Go buy tickets to Manehattan
c) Buy tickets to Vegas.
d) Watch ponies come and go until Anon returns.
e) Buy some apples.

[Acquire tickets to Manehattan. Joke that you bought ones to Los Pegasus]
[Don't buy apples.]
[Maybe buy apples. Depending on how much dosh we have.]

>You dismissed the idea of lollygagging or trying to touch Anon's peepee entirely and headed over to the reception area to buy tickets.
>You only had fifty bits after all, and after a quick check of your bit bag, you killed Schrödinger's cat by confirming the number of bits you had.
>See? Dad's history and science lessons had come in useful!
>Eventually...
>Lamenting parts of how you'd spent your foalhood, you purchased two tickets to Manehattan, costing you thirty bits in total.
>Damn taxation laws, now you only had twenty bits left, you might have to pick up some work when you got to Manehattan.
>...
>Not that kind of work! You didn't want to mix business and pleasure in that way.
>Maybe Anon could be convinced to loan himself out.
>Nah, he'd never go for that. Not even for 'horse pussy', as he put it.
>Currently, being down to twenty bits as you were, you didn't have enough dosh to buy apples from a stand you'd spotted.
>They were Sweet Apple Acres apples to.
>Damn.
>The pony at the stand shouted at passers by with his sales pitch.
>"Buy some apples!"
>Forward...
>Anon left the public toilet.
>You waved at him and he came over, grinning stupidly, "You ever realise how hilarious it is talking to stallions at the urinal? I do."
>You shot him a slightly disgusted, but amused look and continued.
"Anyway, I bought us a couple tickets to Vegas!"
>...
>"Vegas?"
"Yup!"
>"Flare, we're meant to go to Manehattan."
"And now we're going to Vegas. Isn't that fantastic?"
>The pair of you stood in place for a moment, with Anon frowning at you and you returning his look with a big old grin on your face.
>"You're rusing me again, aren't you?"
"Yup!"
>"Go fuck yourself."
>You snickered and trotted off towards the elevators.

>Anon soon joined you on the elevator, along with a half dozen other ponies.
>Elevators themselves were rarities, even in cities like this. As the abolishment of coal power meant that great demands couldn't be placed on the nations remaining power grid.
>Although in Canterlots case, it was better, because there were a series of heavy duty turbines beneath the castle that supplied the majority of the city's power.
>Therefore, elevators.
>You were glad that your destination, Manehattan, also had a stable power supply, meaning you wouldn't have to take the stairs down from their barge tower.
>While you'd been thinking about this, the elevator rose up all eight hundred meters to the top, and you took the time to give Anon his ticket.
"Okie dokie, it looks like we'll be taking Dirigible number seven, otherwise known as The Silver Lining."
>"Well that doesn't sound stuffy or shady at all."
>You nudged Anon with a wing and made your way through the crowds.
"Shush."
>The two of you quickly found the Sky Barge that was to carry its passengers to Manehattan. Except it hadn't docked yet.
>The aircraft was coming in around the mountain, its gondola sagging slightly beneath the weight of so many passengers.
>The enormous airship safely made its landing, however, and the pair of you boarded after all the ponies had departed.
>Being the first two on, you and Anon got to pick your seats, Anon went for one right up the back and you were inclined to agree, although, you pulled him from the center row and towards the window for the view of Canterlot.
>You were above everything but the castle, which still stretched higher into the sky, its fragile structure seemingly, and for all you knew, definitely, held up by magic.
>You could almost swear you saw Princess Celestia watching you from one of the windows, but upon closer inspection, the window turned out to be empty.
>It'd be some time before the Airship took off, so you leaned back into the comfy chair and relaxed.

>Sitting in one place on a Sky Barge really didn't suit you, but you remained in your seat as ponies slowly filed onto the craft and took their seats.
>At least the captain of the craft, somepony named Wind Skimmer, promised that movement in the gondola would be allowed after The Silver Lining took off.
>For his part, Anonymous simply sat there, staring at the floor with disinterest.
>Which meant that there'd be no fun allowed.
>If you didn't know better, you'd guess he were afraid of heights.
>Finally, after almost half an hour, you heard the engine below deck rumble to life.
>Outside the window, enormous propellers stuttered and began to whirl, the sound of it was like a changeling swarm, and reminded you of the time they'd invaded Canterlot.
>You had slept through the entire thing.
>Ever so slowly, the barge left its mooring and turned away from the tower, gaining altitude slowly as the propellers maneuvered on their arms.
>Causing a lurch in your stomach, The Silver Lining was on its way, the city of Canterlot fading away beneath the craft as it lifted into the air, eventually surpassing the highest tower of Canterlot and even the mountain itself.
>The speakers lining the inside portion of the gondola crackled to life and the captain spoke up, informing the passengers that free movement was now allowed.
>Some of the ponies around you left their seats and roamed about the cabin while others left the confined space for the balconies that lined the exterior of the gondola, preferring the view.
>However restless you had been earlier, you now weren't quite sure what you wanted to do.

a) Go find the Captain.
b) Explore the cabin.
c) Explore the balconies.
d) Remain with Anon.
e) Other.

[B]

[We need to find a cafeteria.]

>Figuring that Anon was going to be morose for the entire flight, you clambered over him.
>Anon gave a disgruntled grunt at your clumsy, armor laden movements, "Where are you going?"
"I am stretching my legs, also, you're being incredibly dull and it's rubbing off on me."
>Anonymous gave a huff and moved to take your seat by the window, leaving Wisp, still in her rifle bag, in the seat he'd just vacated.
"You could join me, you know."
>"I think I'd rather stay seated, if you don't mind."
>Like you had said. Dull.
>You turned away and began to explore the confines of the cabin, casually overhearing some of the conversation between the other ponies.
>Nothing important or threatening, just small talk.
>You also spotted a Crystal Pony heading out to the starboard balcony.
>Which was interesting in itself, they usually didn't stray far from their empire.
>It wasn't concerning in itself, what was concerning was your need for food.
>You had apples, but you didn't want to use those just yet, and maybe The Silver Lining had a small cafeteria.
>Apart from the view windows and seat, the main cabin also contained a small set of stairs that led down to the lower decks, where you guessed the engine room would be.
>Towards the bow, the captains cabin and control center lay cordoned off from the rest of the gondola.
>Back in the stern lay what you guessed to be storage for things such as luggage or light cargo.
>No cafeteria.
>Just the balconies on the port and starboard sides.

a) Go to the Captains cabin and control center
b) Venture below decks
c) Exit out to the balconies. Port/Starboard.
d) Check out the Stern storage closet.
e) Other. (specify)

[Why do we need to sneak around? We can try to talk to somebody or return to our place if there is no place for ponies to visit.]
>Or we can exit to the balconies and look around.

>Feeling as though you'd been sneaking around, you decided to go talk to someone and see if you could make a friend.
>The other ponies were still somewhat wary of Bat Ponies, even if they were guards, so you figured you'd go find the one other pariah on the dirigible that wasn't Anonymous.
>You'd never talked to a Crystal Pony before, so you made your way to the Starboard balcony and looked around.
>Reaching the balcony edge, you looked down and found that the airship had climbed even higher.
>The Silver Lining had to be higher than Cloudsdale at this altitude!
>Looking around yourself again, you found a few scattered groups of ponies, one or two enjoying the view on their own, like yourself.
>But no Crystal Pony.
>You could have sworn you saw one heading out here!
>Maybe you'd been mistaken...
>You're not sure how, though, Crystal Ponies didn't exactly blend in.
>Regardless, you knew you could approach a Crystal Pony out of curiosity, but any other pony? Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth Ponies?
>...Not so much. It brought up too many memories of your isolated foalhood.
>You cast your eyes towards the stern and caught sight of one of the enormous propellers that powered The Silver Lining, it was working at full capacity, and even at this distance, you could just barely feel the powerful stream of air it pulled in.
>Anyway, having lost the Crystal Pony you were certain had come out here, you'd totally failed to make a new friend.
>Princess Twilight would be disappointed in you.

a) Continue searching for the Crystal Pony.
b) Re-enter the cabin.
c) Enjoy the view.
d) Be unwise and fly around.
e) Other. (specify)

[C. And we can try to think about our situation and about anon spilling spaghetti around last time.]

>You decided to stay at the railing and enjoy the view for a while, putting the disappearance of the Crystal Pony out of your thoughts for later.
>Over the better part of an hour, you watched as the airship passed over farmland and a few small towns.
>You even passed over Hollow Shades, though you could not see anything below the thick canopy that enshrouded the place.
>The Bat Ponies down there would be sleeping for the most part, with a few guard patrols roaming around.
>Echo was probably still down there on assignment, along with a few other acquaintances you'd worked with.
>You blushed hotly as you were reminded of that one time Echo went around being a 'serial butt toucher'.
>Soon, though, Hollow Shades passed by and far off in the distance, you could make out the ocean and the city of Manehattan on the horizon, you guess that it would be another hour or two of travel before the Sky Barge would reach it.
>Looking up and squinting a bit, the sun hit its apex, the life bringing rays it cast warming your back, even through the armor you wore.
>It was a welcome sensation.
>Casting a glance at the view windows, you saw Anon gazing out of the window, not at you, though.
>Not at anything in particular, really.
>You thought back on how he'd outright asked you for...
>Well...
>You didn't swing that way normally, but you found yourself blushing anyway.
>Perhaps you were just into exotic things.
>Maybe it was something more?
>You did take the stray alien into your home out of the goodness of your heart.
>...
>The money he brought in from the royal treasury didn't hurt either.
>Still, you wondered why he'd done that? Was it a human custom to just ask for it?
>His Earth must be a strange place.

a) Locate Crystal Pony.
b) Take shelter in the cabin.
c) Observe the other ponies.
d) Find Captain Wind Skimmer.
e) Other. (specify)

[A]
[Serial butt toucher, lel]

[I guess we certainly need to find a captain for some reason.]

[Find that crystal pone]

>Putting Anon out of your mind for now, you decided you would try to find that Crystal Pony again. You know you'd seen one and there were only so many places on the airship a pony could be.
>Failing that, you figured a talk with the captain might be in order. Working the route between Canterlot and Manehattan, he might be able to give you some pointers for navigating the city.
>Making your way back inside, away from the crowds, the first place you decided to check was the port balcony.
>However, a cursory glance out of the window revealed that the pony wasn't out there either, and he certainly wasn't in the cabin.
>You frowned in concern, passengers weren't allowed anywhere else on the airship.
>Either you were hallucinating, or something was very wrong on The Silver Lining.
>Picking up your hooves, you made your way over to the stairwell and entered the confined quarters of the lower decks.
>Across from you lay the door to the cafeteria.
>Huh, you could have used that earlier.
>Turning the corner, you saw something that shocked you.
>In the corridor beyond, you saw two of the engine personnel laying still, from where you were standing, you couldn't tell if they were breathing.
>Right at the end of the hall, you saw a third worker engaged in a fight with the Crystal Pony you'd been looking for, and the worker was clearly out-matched.
>The Crystal Pony stallion, flicked one of his fore hooves up into the workers guts, causing him to cry out as a pair of wounds seemingly materialised out of nowhere.
>Upon closer inspection, you saw that the stallion was armed with hoof blades like your own, but they were almost transparent, you have never seen them if the workers blood hadn't been running over them.
>Withdrawing from the badly wounded, but still living stallion, the Crystal Pony cast a glance at you.
>And turned invisible.

>It had almost looked like each individual strand of hair had vanished from existence in a wave of blue.
>You cried out in shock and took cover around the corner, flicking your hoof blades out and at the ready, a crackle of electricity lancing along the blades length.
>Invisible Crystal Ponies!?
>You took a deep breath and calmed yourself, using your hearing, you could hear the stallion moving away from your position.
>Peeking around the corner, you found that the other two workers were alive, but unconscious, the third was groaning and clutching at his wound.
>At least he had the sense to maintain pressure, but you couldn't help him right now.
>You pulled out your revolver and loaded it, keeping an ear out for the invisible pony.
>Stepping out into the hallway, you readied your weapon to fire at the slightest shimmer in the air.
>Not a moment later, you felt a detonation emanating from the direction of the engine room, the airship lurching to one side, throwing you against the wall.
>The ponies above deck could be heard screaming and shouting in panic.
>And you cursed whatever hellish pit of Tartarus that pony had come from as you made your way back up the stairs and into the cabin.
>The sight that greeted you was one of chaos that would make Discord himself blush.
>Ponies were scrambled for hoof holds as the entire craft lurched to one side, outside, you saw the cause.
>That stallion had blown off the starboard propeller, and the craft was now turning circles in the air uselessly.
>You could worry about the saboteur right now, you had to protect these ponies!
>"Everyone listen up! Get in the stern storage room, now!"
>A few of the duller ponies reared away in fear of you, but a sensible few recognised the Lunar Guard armor you wore and did as you said.
>Anon, however made his way straight to you, shouting to be heard over the din of panic and shearing metal, "What the hell is happening!?"
"Trouble!"

>You opened up your saddlebag and tossed him a repeater cartridge.
"Take them into the cargo hold and keep them there! If that door opens for anything that's not me, you shoot! Even if you can't see anything, do you understand!"
>Anon shook his head and stumbled as the craft lurched even more as another part of the propeller arm fell away.
"Anon! Do it!"
>He nodded and grabbed Wisp, pulling her out of the rifle bag and loading her, corralling the panicked horses into the back room.
>Next, you opened the door to the control center and strode in to find the captain occupied with the rudder wheel, desperately trying to maintain control of the failing Sky Barge.
>You didn't bother with an introduction.
"Captain! Can you keep us in the air?"
>Wind Skimmer didn't turn to look at you as he replied, the rest of his bridge crew at their stations, scrambling to maintain what little was left of their control over the ship.
>"As long as we aren't interrupted here, maybe! But if we lose one more propeller, we'll drop."
"Alright, keep the door to the bridge locked, you have a saboteur!"
>You turned and left the bridge, one of the crew locking it as you exited.
>There was no one left in the cabin or the balconies that you could see, so you readied your weapon.
"Alright, Mr Invisible, it's just you and me."

a) Return to the engine room.
b) Search the cabin.
c) Exit the airship and survey the damage.
d) Ready weapon. (Range/Melee)
e) Other. (specify)

[Ready your melee weapon, search the cabin, but don't go too far from the bridge.]

[Use your 9kg of kee and scree to echolocate that faggot.]

>Knowing that the stallion'll get the drop on you first, you holster your revolver and ready your hoof blades.
>You steadily move through cabin, clicking your tongue to get a sense of the room, but you felt nothing out of the ordinary.
>Out of the ordinary being a pony who could turn invisible!
>Seriously. How?
>Outside, you could see a gaping hole in the side of the gondola and straight into the engine room, from which black smoke poured forth.
>Approaching the cargo hold, you knocked twice on the door.
"You all good in there?"
>Anon spoke up, keeping the door shut, "Sure! It's a picnic in here."
>You chuckled quietly and move off towards the stairs, noticing smoke coming out of it.
>The saboteur was probably still down there. He certainly wasn't up here still.

a) Go down the stairs to the Engine room.
b) Exit the airship and enter the Engine room from the outside.
c) Other. (specify)

[B]

>Looking at the stairwell, it was more than likely your saboteur was waiting to ambush you in the narrow corridors, and you needed maneuvering room if it came down to a fight.
>So you did the next best thing, you left the cabin and took off, flying towards the breach in the hull plates.
>You took a deep breath and flew in, landing deftly with a light thunk, as the metal of your hoof guards touched down against the wooden floor boards.
>The room was filled with smoke and a portion of the engine was on fire.
>Again, you clicked your tongue to get a sense of the room, and got nothing.
>Or rather, you got too much feedback, the ash floating around in the smoke made echolocation useless, so you'd have to rely on your eyes.
>You found another unconscious worker slumped against the wall, having suffered a head wound.
>You approached to make certain she was alright and got kicked in the side for your trouble.
>The saboteur had been lying in wait for you here, the large amounts of swirling smoke in the air serving to disguise the distortion he caused.
>You flew a bit from the force of the kick, your armor having absorbed most of the blow, the rest serving to knock the wind out of you as you scrambled on the floor.
>After the kick, the stallion had become visible once again, but quickly vanished again in another wave of blue enveloping his body.
>You kept low to the ground, refraining from focusing on any one spot so you could catch the smallest movement.
>It came in the form of a tiny ripple in the air, and you leaped back just in time to feel a small breeze as the stallions hoof blades graze past your cheek.
>You managed to dash forwards and tackle the stallion to the ground, causing whatever was keeping him invisible to fail.
>He slashed at you again and this time you caught the blade with your own, turning it aside.
>The stallion was now vulnerable.

a) Kill him.
b) Spare him.
c) Other. (specify)

[A]
[A]
[YEAH KILL HIM FUCK HIM UP]

[Give him a good whack with your hoof across the head if possible.]
[You know, a nice good night pat on the head, so to speak.]

[Spare and disarm him.]

>Blood pounding in your ears, you slash down to end the ponies life, but you're interrupted as one of his hind legs comes up and kicks you in the chest, knocking you off of him.
>You're able to regain your balance and, having thought about it in a split second, you realised that you wanted him alive for question.
>Flaring your wings, you prepared to take him down in a flying tackle.
>Before you could, however, the stallion again went invisible and sidestepped just as you flew at him.
>He managed to get a swipe in at the base of your wing, and you cried out as the weapon slashed against you, not cutting too deeply thankfully.
>His weapon now freshly bloodied, you could easily tell where he was and you slashed at him, forcing him to defend.
>Using the momentum of your attack, you spun around and clipped the invisible stallions head with a hind leg, concussing him
>Whatever magic he'd been using to make himself invisible apparently required concentration, because he immediately became visible as he slumped to the floor.
>Unfortunately, the blow to his head hadn't quite knocked him unconscious, but you did take the opportunity to disarm him and remove his saddlebags.
>The stallion seemed to be recovering far more rapidly than he should, and he struck out at you again, forcing you back if you wanted to keep your sensibilities.
"It's over! You lost, now give up!"
>The stallion said nothing, instead glancing between you and the weapons you'd stripped from him.
>In an act that shocked you, he turned and ran for the opening in the wall, leaping out.
"NO!"
>You ran to the edge and prepared to jump out after him, but cried out again, as your wing had been made useless by his attack.
>You were forced to watch him plunge to down to Earth, unable to save him.

a) ...What do you do?

[Eh, maybe he had a magic bobcat's coat, so he will be able to land safely, fuck him. Check Anon and others.]

[Can we switch character to anon?]

[Take note of the fire and stuff and take the stallion's stuff to Anon/Captain and tell them it should be safe now.]
[Also get bandages on that wing]
[How disturbing.]

>Sick at heart you turned away from the breach and set about setting the engine room to rights, using a nearby fire extinguisher to put out the flames before moving the unconscious worker mare from the smoke filled room.
>Looking at the saddlebags and hoof blades you'd stripped from the Crystal Pony before he jumped, you hoisted the bags on your back and slipped the now opaque hoof blades into your saddlebag.
>Out in the hallway, the first two workers that had been knocked out were beginning to regain their senses.
>Sadly, it was too late to do anything for the wounded one, and he had bled out while you were fighting with the Crystal Pony.
>Death toll at two.
>You brought the surviving three workers above deck and set the unconscious mare you carried on the seats to recover.
>The gondola still sagging to one side, however, thanks to the captains piloting skills, it wasn't so bad.
>You made your way to the cargo hold and knocked twice on the door once again.
"Anon... Anon, it's over. We're safe now."

>Be Anon.
>You opened the door, Wisp still in hand and looked down at Flare.
>The little mare was smudged with soot and bleeding a little on her right wing.
>"It's alright now, we're good..."
"Flare, what happened?"
>She shook her head and pushed the door open all the way, gesturing for the other ponies to file out.
>The guard looked beat up.
>"The crazy pony jumped, he probably magicked his way safely to the ground, I don't know, he could turn invisible."
>Invisible?
>What?
>It'd be time for questions later, for now, it looked like Flare needed medical attention.
>Without much effort, you picked the pony up and took her over to one of the vacant seats, away from the others.
"Here, let me take care of that."
>You weren't anywhere near an expert when it came to dressing wounds, but how hard could it be?
>Flare fidgeted and complained, insisting that she were fine, and that you should look after the others.
"Ah-ah. Shush."
>She adopted a neutral look and stared straight ahead as you rummaged through her saddlebags, finding something that resembled salve and bandages.
>Tenderly, you stretched her wing out and applied a little of the paste to the dual cuts.
"Okay, fold it back, please? What happened down there? We could hear the scuffle from up here."
>Flare complied and folded her wing back in, wincing and shaking a little as you did your best to bandage her wing up carefully, but firmly.
>"There was a Crystal Pony and he was somehow able to turn invisible. He... Blew out the starboard rotor. I'm guessing he wanted to crash the barge with no survivors."
>You finished bandaging her and gave her back a pat.
"There, healthy as a horse.

a) Interrogate.
b) Comfort.
c) Go to the captain.
d) Other. (specify)

[Comfort the bat]

[B]
[Then A]

>Even after your little pun, Flare seemed distant and you rubbed her shoulder gently, consoling her.
"Flare, it's not your fault. It's his, whoever he was."
>"Probably. But I saw him earlier and what did I do? I went and enjoyed the view, I should have picked up that he was up to no good."
>You gave her a little punch and stroked behind one of her ears, hoping to elicit some kind of positive response.
"So your bat sense wasn't up to par today, so what? You're not infallible, no one is. Besides, look around at all the other people you saved."
>And Flare did look around at all the other ponies, some of them casting grateful glances at her, crew and passenger alike.
>You felt more than saw her smile, "Yeah... I guess you're right, I did save the day."
>You began rubbing her shoulders slowly, feeling her relax.
"You're so tense here..."
>Leaning in close, she flicked an ear back at you as you whispered, giving her a massage.
"For you..."
>"What?"
>You chuckled, these ponies would never understand half the shit you said.
"Nothing, but in any case, we do need to talk about what happened."
>She relaxed and leaned back against you, letting her eyes close as you worked to loosen the little Bats muscles.
>"I don't much, but those are- were... his saddlebags right there, there might be something in them."
>Continuing to work her with one hand, you opened the extra set of saddlebags and began rummaging through it.
>Mostly casual stuff, but your hand did close around a parchment and you pulled it out, the seal catching your eye.
>For a minute, you thought it was the seal of Princess Celestia, but the Phoenix was looking to the right, rather than the left and lacked the words identifying it as the seal of Princess Celestia.
>Casting a glance at Flare, she seemed fairly relaxed, and wasn't paying attention to anything.

a) Keep the parchment to yourself.
b) Mention it to Flare.
c) Other. (specify)

[B, and the do what she say us to do.]
> ->

>You smack Flare gently on the muzzle with the scroll, delighting in the muffled eep she makes.
"I found a clue."
>She focused on it, going a little cross eyed and taking it in her hooves, freeing you to go back to your massage.
>"That looks an awful lot like Celestia's seal."
>You were inclined to agree, it had to be more than a simple forgery and you told her so.
>"What? You think it's a mockery? Why? Who would do that?"
>Blue Moon for one. Every other villain Equestria has had to deal with for seconds.
>"Well, that's what Celestia told me, apparently there's this pony called Blue Moon who used to run things, she got power mad, then overthrown by the Princess, and now she's looking to reclaim what's hers."
>"I knew it was going to be guard stuff." Flare unrolled the scroll and began to read.
>...
>"I can't understand any of this, it's in some kind of code, but I don't recognise it."
>You took a look over her shoulder and saw something that was comparable to the wingdings font, but more complex.
>There'd be no breaking it without the cipher, but it did strike you as a military code, one that Blue Moon would definitely use if you had her personality pegged.
"So we're dealing with an insurgent who can make ponies turn invisible? I kinda wish we'd stayed home now."
>Damn Celestia, she had to have known something like this would happen.
>"Not an option, if this stems from Blue Moon, then she just endangered a Sky Barge full of innocents and caused the death of one, and that's just terrible."
>Captain Wind Skimmer's voice suddenly came out over the speakers just as teams of Pegasi took up positions at the sides of the barge, tossing ropes to the crew.
>The captain informed the passengers that they'd be landing at an airfield close to Manehattan due to the damage they'd taken.
>He did make a special mention of how Flare had saved all their lives, though.
>Flare became embarrassed, and you chuckled.
>Everything went better than expected.

>The engine of The Silver Lining had failed on the way to the airfield, so the Sky Barge had to be towed completely under the power of the Pegasi teams.
>It was a delay, but at least you weren't crashing, or falling apart.
>Flare stood by your side on the balcony, fore legs leaning on the railing.
>Her wing was treated and she'd informed you that, thanks to the healing salve, she'd be able to use her wing by tomorrow.
>Zebra recipe or something.
>Other than her wing, the bat was still smudged with soot, her mane was frazzled in places and she had a tired look, but she was otherwise as hearty and hale as you were.
>Somewhat, you'd spent the entire time standing by the storage room door with Wisp in hand, the danger having passed, the rifle was back in its bag.
>It remained the only other thing you carried apart from the cartridge now stored along with the rifle
>On the hand, you felt kind of guilty for using Flare as a pack horse.
>She carried her own saddlebags, full of various items, and now carried the Saboteurs saddlebags as well, which the two of you had yet to sort through.
>The mare hadn't complained about the extra load so far, though, so you put it down to her current load not even reaching the maximum amount normally carried by a night guard
>Down below, on the city outskirts, lay one of Manehattan's two airfields.
>You could just barely make out crews on stand-by, ready to take the damaged airship into one of the hangars
>The airfield grew inexorably closer as the Pegasi guided the barge down to one of the landing strips
>Before you knew it, the craft shuddered as it came to a rest on several metal frames, providing wheels so the craft could be moved easily
>Other ponies on the ground set up ramps so that the traumatised passengers and workers could depart the craft
>"Well, end of the line, Anonymous."

a) Jump off heroically.
b) Depart like a normie.
c) Carry the bat.
d) Other. (specify)

[C. Batpacks need to be a thing]

>You looked at Flare.
>Flare returned with a stoic look, like a normal guard would give.
>Reaching down, you plucked the bat off of the deck and slung her across your back, her fore legs securely wrapped around you neck.
>She squeaked and struggled, her good wing flapping a few time half heartedly.
>"A-Anoooon!"
>The bat was heavier than you thought, the combination of her armor, the saddlebags she carried, and her own body weight threw you off balance for a moment.
"Hang on, stop squirming, I've got this."
>You leaned forward slightly, Flare's weight settling onto you as she wrapped her hind legs around you in fear of falling off.
>The result was a bat shaped backpack.
>Unfortunately, this precluded you jumping off of the airship heroically, therefore, you joined the line of ponies departing the craft, ignoring the looks they shot at you.
>For her part, Flare submitted to her fate and rested her muzzle on one of your shoulders, taking care not to hurt you with the armor she wore.
>Down below, there were several Manehattan police officers taking care of the passengers and workers, questioning them as paramedics checked for any injuries.
>Once there was solid ground beneath your feet, the pair of you were approached by one of the officers, though this mare looked to be in charge of the lot as indicated by her sergeant badge.
>She tried so very hard to contain a smile at the sight of you carrying Flare and failed dismally.
>"Sir, ma'am? If you'd care to follow me, we have some questions about what happened."
>You had been about to reply when Flare cut across you, muzzle still on your shoulder.
"Of course, sergeant, if at all possible, could we take this down to the station? I need your radio."
>The mare looked over Flare's armor and nodded, snapping a salute, "Yes, ma'am. I was actually going to suggest we go there now, my officers can handle things here."
>She turned and walked off, indicating for you to follow.

>Ahead lay a horse drawn carriage with police markings, however, unlike the others, this carriage had no team.
>"Now there's something you don't see every day."
>Even looking at it, you knew it was a fuel powered carriage.
"I didn't know you ponies had these."
>Flare shook her head as you set her down, the mare climbing into the carriage with the police sergeant.
>The sergeant spoke up as she took her place at the wheel, "You wouldn't, we only have three of these babies for all of Manehattan."
>Flare nodded and offered a hoof to help you up and into the carriage, which you took, "That's right, general use of coal power was abolished, but personal use for these is allowed since Manehattan... Well, it's a big city. Bigger than Canterlot."
>You sat by Flare and put Wisp down by your feet.
"To keep the carbon emissions down, right?
>"Carbon emissions?"
>Right, so they didn't know what that was.
"Nothing, never mind."
>Flare quirked an eyebrow at you and then turned to the sergeant.
>"Sorry, Lieutenant Flare, Anon. What's your name?"
>The sergeant started the vehicles engine and put it into gear, replying as you made your way off of the airfield, "Sergeant... Blueberry... ma'am."
>snnrk.
>Flare slapped your arm subtly with a hoof, "Blueberry? That's a nice name."
>"If you say so, ma'am."
>Talking over the rumble of the engine, she continued, "Anyway, pleasantries aside, I may as well question you on the way to the station, what happened up there?"

a) Tease Blueberry about her name.
b) Tell her what happened.
c) Remain silent and let Flare tell the story.
d) Lie.
e) Other. (specify)

[>a) Tease Blueberry about her name.]

[C]

>Dodging the question, because honestly, you had a fantastic view of the situation from inside the cargo hold, you leaned on the back of the front seat.
"So, how does a mare with a name like 'Blueberry' get to be a sergeant?"
>The teal mare blushed and furrowed her brow, muttering, "By tasing people who disrespect the law."
>Oh shit, nigger!
>An inaudible sigh escaped from Flare and she pressed her hoof to her forehead.
"Whoah, calm down, Robo-cop. It's a cute name, really. I just figured with a name like that, you'd be into... I don't know, baking."
>Blueberry guided the powered carriage over a bridge and into the city proper, jockeying for position amongst the regular, pony drawn carriages.
>"What makes you think I'm not? Baking is a hobby I enjoy, but I'm not about to let my talent rule every aspect of my life, not in this city. You'll find few who do."
>Your respect for Blueberry went up considerably, as you'd seen more than a few ponies in your time here who seemed little more than slaves to their talents.
>To hear that this city was filled with ponies who weren't like that made cutie marks seem much less depressing.
"Huh. Good philosophy, I like it."
>Flare nudged you into silence and spoke up, "Aaanyway. The Silver Lining had a saboteur on board, Crystal Pony, Stallion, don't know what his name or cutie mark was, he was the strong, silent type. Tried to crash the barge by blowing the engines."
>Sergeant Blueberry considered everything Flare said stoically.
>"I'll assume he got away then?"
>Flare remained quiet for a good few seconds, her gaze going far before snapping back from whatever memory she'd been in, "...He went skydiving... Without the parachute."
>The police mare winced, "Geez. I'll uh, I'll send out a search party to look for the remains."
>You noticed that Flare conveniently 'forgot' to mention that the stallion was able to turn invisible, or that she had looted his personal effects.

a) Mention the things Flare 'forgot'
b) Remain silent. (time skip to station)
c) Other. (specify)

[A.]
[If she doesn't believe the invisible bit, see if the blades still do their invisibility thing.]

>You're not sure why Flare failed to mention the invisibility, but Blueberry may be able to help.
"Also, he could turn invisible, purportedly."
>Blueberry's voice caught in her throat and she coughed, casting a glance back at you, "Wh... What?!"
>You noticed Flare shooting you a dirty, irritated look, however she relented.
>"He could, no unicorn magic that I could see, if something can even be enchanted with a light bending spell."
>Flare rummaged through her saddlebag and brought out a curious looking hoof blade, it was an opaque white and looked to be formed of crystal. The blades themselves were an impressive six inches in length.
>"He wore these, I'm guessing they weren't as hard to enchant as the rest of him, but they were almost transparent while he wore them."
>Once again, the carriage stopped at the lights and Blueberry turned an appraising eye toward them.
>She looked surprised.
>"That's odd, crystal weapons are notorious for being unable to contain magic, are you sure they were transparent?"
>Flare rolled her eyes and removed one of her own hoof blades, replacing it with the crystalline one.
>Almost immediately, it faded from view, leaving only the barest hints of white lines, indicating the edges of the hoof guard and attached blades, "Very sure..."
>Flare removed it and you watched as the crystal structure once again turned an opaque, off-white.
>She replaced it in her saddlebag and put her regular hoof guard back on.
>"Hm, did you get anything else off of him? I'll have to take anything you recovered as evidence."
>Flare maintained a neutral, if slightly irritated look, "Of course."
>In a matter of minutes, they'd reached the station and Blueberry guided the carriage into one of the indoor garages.
>You all departed the powered carriage and Flare surrendered the Crystal Ponies personal effects to Blueberry.

>Blueberry then led them into the station proper, and you felt uncomfortable as Flare kept shooting you angered, dirty looks.
>You probably should have kept your mouth shut, as Blueberry had now taken the encoded orders and with it, your only real clue about the Crystal Pony and who had sent him.
>Flare cleared her throat and reminded Blueberry that she needed to use their long range radio.
>"I'm taking you there now, ma'am. Am I right in guessing that you need to contact Canterlot?"
>Flare nodded, "Yes, that's right, I also have another favour to ask. Anonymous and I have some investigations to carry out, unfortunately, we haven't got anywhere to stay. You wouldn't be able to arrange a place for us, would you?"
>Sergeant Blueberry guided the two of you through the crowds of officers, and opened the door to the radio room, gesturing the two of you inside.
>Preceding her, you and Flare entered and Blueberry followed, closing and locking the door, talking over her shoulder as she moved to the radio, playing with the controls.
>"We have a few apartments reserved for witness protection, I'll loan one out while you're here."
>She then turned to Flare, eyes travelling between the two of you.
>"I know I probably don't have the clearance to pry into military affairs, but this is my city, I'd just like to know if the citizens under my protection are in danger."
>Flare shook her head and joined her by the radio controls, "That's confidential, Sergeant, but don't worry, your citizens are safe as long as they have nothing to do with why we're here."
>You wisely kept your mouth shut, as Flare gave you a pointed look as she said the word 'confidential'.
>Blueberry looked uncomfortable, but she was outranked here and had no choice, "Of course, ma'am."
>Flare nodded gratefully and her expression softened considerably, "Now, if you could show Anon to that apartment, I have to make a call."

a) Argue to stay. (specify)
b) Go with Blueberry.
c) Other. (specify)

[b]

>You were about to argue, but Flare shook her head minutely and you shut your mouth.
>"Yes, ma'am. Shall we, Mr Anonymous?"
>The little forget-me-not blue Earth Pony looked up at you with a smile and you couldn't help but return it.
"Sure, I'll see you later, Flare."
>"Have fun, Anon."
>With that, Flare turned away towards the radio while you and Blueberry left, closing the door behind you.
>Blueberry muttered, "Talk about ice queen, I thought she was going to pull a gun on you in there."
>You chuckled, fighting off a small urge to pet the Sergeant.
"No, she's just irritated at... Something I said."
>"I won't pry, sounds confidential."
>With that, she moved off and you once again fell in behind the pony.
"So where're we headed?"
>She slowed her step so that the two of you were walking side by side, "First off, I gotta drop these off by evidence, then we'll head out to that apartment I mentioned."
>That sounded good, maybe you'd be able to get some Blueberry pie.
>Your eyes wandered to her shapely flank and blueberry cutie mark as you thought this.
>You averted your gaze before you were caught, and made small talk with the sergeant, getting her to open up.
>It turned out that her talent for pastry had been determined her destiny by her parents as much as her cutie mark, but she'd said to Tartarus with them and pursued a career in law enforcement instead.
>While in the academy, Blueberry had been the underdog compared to those whose talents dictated their place in society, yet she worked twice as hard to get where she was than any of them had.
>You hadn't asked for her life story, but the mare was cheery and happy, so you couldn't find it in your heart to stop her.
>Dropping off the Crystal Pony stallion's personal effects off at evidence had occurred with nary a pause in her narrative.
>Before you knew it, the pair of you were leaving the station and exiting out onto the street.

a) Scenic route.
b) Direct route.
c) Other. (specify)

[a]

[a]

"Say... Sergeant?"
>She lifted a fore hoof into the air as she corrected you with a smile, "Blueberry."
"Blueberry. Have you got time for the scenic route? I've never been here before and I could use a tour guide."
>She gasped, "Never been to the city that never sleeps? Princess Luna would be disappointed, but sure, I've got the time. I honestly expected to be tied up with The Silver Lining investigation all day."
>The streets were bustling and filled with ponies, both hoof traffic and pony drawn carriages, the murmur of conversation and travel pervading all.
>You could get very lost in this city if you wanted to.
"So, where to first?"
>"Times Square! You tourists seem to love that."
>You frowned at her comparing you to a mere tourist.
>She laughed, "Oh cheer up, Anonymous. It's the only real place I can take you within reasonable walking distance."
>Looking back towards the station, you gave Blueberry a sly look.
"You know... we could take a patrol carriage for a joy ride."
>Blueberry gave you a somber look and shook her head.
>"Patrol carriages are not for joyriding."
"I was kidding."
>You weren't, but you didn't want to get tased for disrespecting the law.
>"Great! Let's go!"
>Without even looking back to see if you were following, Blueberry set off at a trot, you'd have lost her right there in the street if her uniform didn't make her stand out so much.
>You did manage to keep up with the mare, though, despite the crowd.
>Understandably, the parted for you, if only slightly.
>You must not have been the first weird thing to happen to the city.

>Block by block, the buildings began to get higher and grander, until finally, they got so tall that the sky above could only be seen between the rooftops as a narrow slit.
>Then suddenly, it opened out as Blueberry led you into Times Square.
>It looked similar to New York's version, but more...
>Horsey.
>You'd learned to stop questioning the similarities between Equestria and Earth, all it ever brought on was a headache.
>Blueberry stood by your side and scanned the place with her eyes, the sight wasn't new to her, all she probably saw here was a stop on a patrol route.
>Granted, it wasn't new to you either, and you ditched the sights for observing the ponies bustling about, trotting to and fro, each of them on some errand in their small slice of life.
>It occurred to you just how big the world could be, and how compartmentalised everyone kept themselves.
>You could lose sight of yourself if you kept looking at everyone else.
>"Here we are, the busiest place on Earth."
>Blueberry swept a hoof at the sight, "Just think, all this used to be a small town with a well."
"It sure is impressive."
>"And rife with pickpockets, hold on to your moneybags."
>She then led you into the fray, even here, you had a small advantage, as your height and strangeness made the ponies around you part, although not too much.
>They barely even noticed you.
>Something glinted in the corner of your eye and you turned to look at it, finding a few small souvenir stands.
>Approaching the one that had caught your eye, the grinning vendor grinned even wider, which was kind of creepy.
>The vendor seemed to sell little silver coins, not unlike bits, but you'd never known ponies to use any other currency than the gold plated coins.
>"Hey there, stranger! I see my selection has caught your eye!"
>Blueberry stood by you, looking at the coins with interest.

a) Ask about them
b) Ask about Times Square.
c) Other. (specify)

[a) Ask about them]

[Ask about these coins. Bluebutt seems to like them, make her a gift and buy one she likes the most.]
[If she will ask a question why you bought her a coin, tell it's for good luck or something]

"That it has, what are these? I've never noticed you ponies using any other form of currency."
>The stallion leaned on the vendor stall a gestured for you to pick one up, "They used to be valid currency from way back when. You know, from when the three tribes were at each others throats."
>The coin you held was slim, and plated with silver, the engravings were still legible, even after so many years.
"Earth Pony Confederacy, Three twenty seven. Hang on, are you telling me this coin was minted almost seven hundred years ago?"
>"Longer actually. Almost two thousand years, since we switched to the Celestian calender a little over a thousand years ago."
>Blueberry piped up with a question of her own.
>"How is it still in such good condition?"
>"Now there's the sales pitch, darlin'. When the tribes unified, they also unified their currency, so all these confederate coins had suddenly become useless. Many of them were melted down for the nickle and silver, but a great many survived, us Earth Ponies are a sentimental lot."
>Blueberry nodded, conceding the point.
>"So... The coins took on a sentimental value, Earth Ponies back then would give these as gifts to remember each other by, but there weren't enough to go around, so somepony probably figured they'd start the tradition of flicking the coin onto the ground to 'invoke the coins powers'.
>You gave the stallion a skeptical look.
"So they're magic?"
>The salespony scoffed, "'Course not! It's just a wacky little tradition, but flicking them onto the ground ensured that somepony could just come across it later for themselves. There's a whole bunch 'o ponies who hunt around for these things to sell to yours truly!"
>He thumped his own chest with a hoof for emphasis, "And I one hundred percent guarantee that my selection is all legit, no forgeries here, no sir!"
>You considered buying a few, but realised that Flare had all the money.

>However, Blueberry had fished out her own bit bag and dumped a modest number of bits onto the counter.
>"I'll take ten!"
>The stallions eyes glinted with glee as he eyed the pile of bits and rubbed his fore hooves together, "Thank ya kindly, ma'am!"
>You gave the stallion an apologetic look.
"I'd love to, but a friend of mine has all the money."
>"That's just fine, sir, I'll be here all week iffin' ya want to make a purchase later."
>He then gathered ten of the coins and placed them into a small silk bag, handing it over to Blueberry, who took it in her mouth, presenting it to you after.
>You couldn't understand what she was saying, but she looked unbelievably cute saying it while trying to keep hold of the bag.
>Reaching a hand down, you took it from her, "Thanks, Anon, I was asking if you could hold onto it for me. You're much harder to rob with those pockets all the way up there."
>She thanked the vendor who tipped his hat at her in farewell, his attention soon claimed by another prospective customer as the two of you moved off.
"So, where to now?"
>"Hm, I don't know, really. We've still got daylight left, and... I'm having a great time with you."
>She gave you a little smile.
>"What do you want to do?"

a) Suggest you go to the apartment.
b) Sight-see some more
c) Head back to the station to find out where Flare went.
d) Other. (specify)

[B]
>Why not C?
>>Because we want to spend more time with police horse

>Not wanting to end things just yet, you tell Blueberry that you'd like to see more of the city if she had the time.
>The mare eagerly agreed and over the rest of the day, the two of you walked the length and breadth of Manehattan isle.
>You caught a show at the theatre, a cheesy romance movie that Blueberry denied enjoying adamantly, but she certainly didn't look as though she'd hated it.
>She took you the top of the Equestrian State building, and not the top that was for tourists, she used her rank to get the pair of you to the very top to see the city skyline.
>The only other thing above you being the lightning rod of the building and a few high flying airships.
>Then finally, she took you to the seaside to see that Statue of harmony. An enormous steel representation of Princess Celestia, rearing and majestic.
"No Luna statue?"
>Blueberry shook her head, "Nope, they started construction of one for her off the east coast of Las Pegasus a couple years after she returned from her exile, it's still going actually."
>You'd wager it was because manufacturing the steel for it took longer these days.
>Right here, right now though, the sun was beginning to set behind you, casting the shadows of the sky scrapers across portions of the sparkling blue water.
>Ahead of you, the horn of Celestia's statue caught the waning light just so with a few reflective panels, making it glow gold, as though the solar princess herself were there, lowering the sun for the day.
>It was a fantastic sight.
>"Anon? I really enjoyed myself today..."
"I'm glad you did, you'd make a great tour guide."
>She hummed lightly, "I suppose I'd better get you to that apartment. It's not far from here, actually..."
>Sliding a subtle look her way, you saw Blueberry blushing oh so lightly as she looked out over the water.

a) Wait until you get to the apartment.
b) Fug her now.
c) Friendzone.
d) Other. (specify)

[D]
[Stay with her a bit longer, scratch gently behind her ears, tell her she is a great and beautiful tour guide, if she doesn't protest crouch and hug her from behind, let her lean and rest on your chest, enjoy the view with her and then slowly kiss police horse]

"I think we could enjoy the view for a little while longer, don't you?"
>Her slight blush went full red as you spoke and she looked up at you, eyes twinkling a little.
>Either she had literal stars in her eyes, or those big, beautiful teal orbs of hers were actually just reflecting the starlight above you.
>As one, both of you turned back to the view, although you reached a hand over and scratched behind one of her ears gently.
>The mare let her eyes slide shut and a quiet, amorous whimper welled up from within her. The sight of her enjoying herself was starting to get even you hot under the collar.
"I mean it, you did a fantastic job today, you'd make a great and beautiful tour guide..."
>Blueberry was far past the point of responding coherently, her only acknowledgement coming in the act of her leaning her head back into your hand.
>Maintaining the gentle rubs and scratches, you crouched down behind her, the mare flinched a little in surprise, but otherwise didn't protest.
>In fact, she leaned back into you and you wrapped your arms around her, just letting her lean and rest against you.
>"A-Anon...~"
>She turned her head slightly towards you, one eye partially open. Against your chest and through your arms, you could feel Blueberry quivering ever so slightly, her breathing deep and as she began to give in to the feelings you were giving her.
>Cupping her muzzle with a hand, you turned her muzzle up and towards you and kissed her.
>The little police mare gave a muffled, emotional 'eep', but seemed hardly surprised and leaned into it softly, working her lips against yours.
>The two of you spent the rest of the sunset like that.

a) Fug her rite inna pussy.
b) Take her to the apartment.
c) Other. (specify)

[A) RIGHT IN THE PUSSY]

[Scratch her fur on the chest, go slowly south, rub belly and, if she is okay with this, go right into her fun place.]
[Don't force her if she doesn't want something, we want to say "thank you" for spending a nice day together, not to use her as a sex toy- make her feel nice and warm. She is leaning into our chest, so nobody should notice our fun time]

>One hand resting on her cheek, the other on her chest, you began to rub slowly, working your way down her fluffy chest fur down to her belly.
>The mare squeaked lewdly as your hands brushed over her crotch tits.
>"A-Anon, that's... Mmh... That's not a-allowed...~"
>Her mouth said no, but her eyes were saying yes, and she didn't move to stop you as your hand snuck further down.
>Blueberry moaned quietly as your hand came into contact with her, cheeks growing even hotter.
>You took the opening she gave and kissed her again, muffling her moans as you thanked her for the day you'd spent together.
>The little mare leaned back against you comfortably and relaxed into it, accepting her reward.

a) What now, /bat/?
b) Other. (specify)

[>That's not a-allowed]
[Forbidden fruit is the sweetest.]
[Find the most pleasurable thing to do with her body, we are near her boobies, then why not to massage them, gently pinch her nipples, then slowly go even lower, but not exactly to the prize; rub around her happy place, the skin between her ponut and slit, then slowly tease her entrance.]
[One finger on the start, make her ask for more.]
[The second hand can do interesting things too, you can choose between scratching her belly and, if she is into it, teasing her butthole.]
[Kisses her neck and whispering lewd thing to the ear can be the third fun thing to do with police pone.]

>Blueberry squirmed in your arms pleasurably as you played with her nipples, pinching and massaging them, your free hand still rubbing her chest and belly.
>Eventually, you began to go lower teasing the flesh around her opening, taking note that she was quite moist at this point. skirting around her lower lips, your fingers found their mark.
>The nice warm flesh that lay between her labia and ponut. you caressed the spot gently at first, her moaning muffled by the kiss you still maintained, keeping her safe in your arms.
>After a while, you lightly dragged a finger around the edges of her opening, causing her to squeal with arousal, her clit beginning to wink in and out.
>You were fascinated with the movement, it was by far the first time you'd seen it, but it never lost its charm.
>Slowly, ever so slowly, you inserted the smallest tip of your finger and guided it up and down her slit, watching her flesh part around it, her lubricant collecting on your finger and her lips.
>At this point, you'd broken the kiss and left her panting and moaning as she rested against you, her body quivering with pleasure as you working her breasts and marehood.
>"M-More... Anon... Pl-Please...~"
>You nibbled at her ear gently.
"Beg for it..."
>"Ooh... Anon, please, I n-need this..."
>Obliging, you added another two fingers and pushed them in deeper, feeling her inner walls contracting around them, trying to pull them in further.
>Her clit winked out and grazed against your thumb, it was accidental, but the blissful pony in your arms squealed again softly, overcome with pleasure.
>You began kissing her neck and whispering sweet nothings into her ear as your free hand moved from her crotch tits to her ponut, playing with it lightly.
>Blueberry didn't resist and instead moaned.
>Luckily for the two of you, this portion of the seaside was deserted, and no one could hear her moan.

a) Free choice is overrated.
b) Other. (specify)

[A]

[Just continue, but a bit faster, give her the sweet release she needs and kiss.]
[Give her some time to calm down, enjoy the moment, and carry her back to the apartment]

>You keep working her, Blueberry's moans gaining in volume and passion as she nears her edge.
>Her hind legs kicked lightly, your fingers causing a small torrent of mare cum to flow out every time they pushed in, her clit winking rapidly.
>You did everything you could think of, from grinding her clit between your forefinger and thumb to pumping your fingers in and out like a piston, you even worked her crotch tits and ponut.
>Through all of this, she'd yet to reach orgasm.
>Blueberry must do this pretty often to have held out this long.
>With a telltale rhythm, her walls began to milk your fingers desperately, and you could almost feel the shout of bliss welling up within her.
>Not wanting to draw attention to the two of you, you silenced her with a kiss, Blueberry sounding off a muffled yelp as she moaned and orgasmed, her sweet smelling lubricant gushing out, coating your hand.
>You continued to work her marehood through her orgasm, the quivering police mare becoming little more than putty in your arms, her eyes rolling up into her head as she kissed back deeply.
>Finally, she settled down, but you kept your fingers hilted inside her, stroking occasionally to bring her down slowly.
>Eventually, she broke away from your lips and panted, remaining limp in your arms.
>Blueberry opened her eyes and looked up at you softly and contently, clearly satisfied for the time being.
>With a smile, you withdrew your hand from her and she shivered, moaning quietly.
"Thanks for showing me the city today...~"
>Blueberry recovered her breath and replied, "N-No problem..."
"Now, where's that apartment?"
>Blueberry nuzzled into you, "It's not far from here, Boardwalk View Apartments... Just behind us... Apartment three seventeen."
>Turning your head in the direction indicated, you found it was just a short walk away.
>Convenient.
>Figuring Blueberry would be too worn out to walk, you picked her up in your arms and made your way up to the apartment.

a) Take her to bed.
b) Ask if you can use her radio to contact Flare.
c) Step up the lewdness.
d) Other. (specify)

[C) STEP UP THE LEWDNESS]
>B after >>22829838

>You nudged the door to the apartment open and walked in, Blueberry still curled up in your arms.
>It was pretty high end for a witness protection suite, and you took Blueberry to the bedroom, setting her down on the bed.
>She gave a content purr and wiggled her rump into the sheets, dripping a little on them.
"Mind if I use your radio to contact Flare?"
>Almost as though she were drunk with bliss, she pulled the portable radio off of her uniform and handed it to you, "Sure... Whatever you want, Nonny.~"
"Thanks. I'll be right back."
>You leaned down and kissed her gently, with her returning it, hooves wrapping around you as though afraid to let you go.
>Managing to pry yourself away from the amorous police pony, you left the room quietly and keyed the radio.
"Uh... Hey, Anonymous here. Any officers on this frequency?"
>Lifting your finger from the button, you waited for a response.
>...
>Nothing, just static.
"This is Anonymous, accompanying Lieutenant Flare of the night guard, any officers, come in."
>Static...
>You got a sinking feeling in your stomach, which was relieved when the static ended.
>"Anon, is that you?"
>It was Flare, she sounded out of breath, and was whispering, you could faintly hear the trotting of hooves on the street and trundling carriages.
>Something was wrong.
"Flare? Where are you, what's happening?"
>"Okay, Anon, Lis-"
>Flare was cut off by a gunshot, and after a moment, you heard struggling and then static.
>"Anon! Whatever you do, do not tell me where you are! Do you understand me? Don't reply, just stay where you are, stay quiet, and keep Sergeant Blueberry with you."
>Another trio of gunshots.
>"Someone attacked the station, but I managed to draw them off before they hurt anyone. Okay? Stay. Low."
>The radio cut off.

>You put the radio down on the table, heart pounding.
>First the Sky Barge and now this? Just who were these ponies?
>Regardless, Flare seemed adamant that you remain where you are, and that Blueberry stay with you.
>You re-entered the bedroom, calming yourself.
>Blueberry dozed lightly on the bed, having stripped her uniform off while you'd been on the radio.
>Likewise, you began to strip off your own clothing and slipped into bed beside her, wrapping an arm around her.
>"Mmh... Anon."
>The mare turned to you and planted a kiss on your mouth, one of her hind legs draping itself over your waist.
>Keep Blueberry with you.
>There was one really easy way to do that, so you put Flare out of your mind, forced to content yourself with the knowledge that she could fend for herself as you rolled Blueberry onto her back, preparing to make love to her.
>On the vanity, the small bag of memory coins fell out of your suit pocket, and subsequently, one of the coins inside fell out also, the coin glinting in the candlelight.

>Be Flare.
>Have a pony struggling to escape your grip fruitlessly.
>You tightened your stranglehold, waiting for the Pegasus to pass out.
>Once he had done so you rolled him off of you and stood, dusting yourself off.
>Around you lay five other unconscious ponies, all of which had come after you, or rather, the encoded orders you had managed to recover.
>You set about stripping the ponies of anything useful, bits, ammunition, even a taser.
>That'd come in handy.
>All the while, you'd had to favour your right fore leg, one of the ponies had put a round through it and it hurt like all Tartarus, it was all you could do not to cry out in pain.
>Crying out would reveal your position.
>Figuring that now was as good a time as any, you pulled out your tub of healing salve and bandages, smearing the paste over the wounds, as the bullet had gone straight through.
>You then bandaged it up firmly and replaced your supplies.
>You couldn't remain here.

>No doubt the ponies out on the street had heard the shots, and with that, the police would come running.
>You couldn't risk losing the Crystal Pony's things again, they were your best lead if you could break the code on those orders.
>There was also Flim Flam Inc, but it was a flimsy lead at best.
>Even treated, you wounded fore leg wasn't exactly reliable, thankfully, you felt confident enough that you could fly.
>Even though it hadn't had the chance to heal fully.
>Carefully, you unwrapped the bandages around the wing and examined the slashes.
>They were mostly healed over thanks to the magical salve, but the muscles beneath were still tender.
>Nothing you couldn't cope with.
>Unfurling your wings, you took off into the air, rising higher and higher until you were above the buildings.
>The recent chase had taken you far from the city center, you'd somehow ended up in downtown Manehattan.
>You had no idea where Anon was, and thankfully, neither did whoever was after you.
>The extra weight of the Crystal Pony's things on your back also clamored for attention, as you'd yet to sort through them for anything else of use.
>Keying the radio, you were somewhat worried that the police band was still down.
>Either they were monitoring it closely or had decided to jam the transmitter entirely after your contact with Anon.
>You were also beginning to run low on medical supplies, so you'd need to see about getting more without drawing attention to yourself.
>There was also the problem of these ponies who were literally gunning for you, either you had to start shooting back or buy some non-lethal ammunition, your newly acquired taser was a good step in that direction.
>You didn't want to kill...
>Hovering right there in the air, you were unsure of what to do.

a) Return to the police station and check on the radio tower.
b) Find some more medical supplies. (specify plan of action)
c) Locate non-lethal ammunition. (specify plan of action)
d) Other. (specify)

[We still have some medic stuff, so maybe we should locate the Ammu-nation store.]
[Maybe we will find something interesting there, besides rubber bullets (maybe some kind of magicked thing that generates force field or something?).]
[Keep you eyes open and be careful.]
[I think if we want to take the non-lethal route, we need to be even more sneaky than we are now. ]
[Acquiring/capturing the device that allows us to become invisible would be good for that.]

[D fly around for a moment and look for a building to land on that has some cover like an air conditioner or pony equivalent, just stuff on the roof.]
[Try to make sure you aren't being followed by pegasi or something.]
[Look through the crystal pony's stuff but make it brief and get in the air again. Being pursued at a distance is detrimental to one's security.]

>Propelling yourself forwards, you scanned the surrounding rooftops for some place with cover, if you got into another fight, you wanted to be able to take cover so you could avoid getting shot up any more than you already have.
>Spotting a good wide rooftop, you touched down and hid by some ventilation units, large contraptions that would catch wind currents coming in from the ocean and deliver it through the building.
>They were made of quality steel, too. So they made perfect cover.
>You unclipped the saddlebags you carried and brought the Crystal Pony's deep purple one before you.
>A moment passed as you considered a stallion carrying a purple saddlebag, snickering a little.
>It was a finely made thing, weaved from strong materials and adorned with extra pockets.
>The saddlebag was of much higher quality that yours.
>Flipping it open, you rummaged through his things, there were a few gemstones, however, whatever magical energy they held were drained except for two of them, probably for refreshing the enchantment on his hoof blades.
>The drained gems were still valuable in themselves and you pocketed them all.
>In his saddlebag was an assortment of useless junk, clothes and such, but when you came to the side pockets, you found something curious.
>There was some kind of injector filled with a liquid, it was wispy, and you couldn't quite tell if it really was liquid or gas.
>It glowed a very slight blue.
>You decided against injecting yourself with it, but your best guess was that this was what allowed the Saboteur to turn invisible.
>Finding nothing else of use, you figured you'd trade up for the better saddlebag, moving your things into it before folding up your own and placing it in there as well.
>Strapping it on, you found the collective weight of everything you carried was nicely distributed across your flanks, though that could have just been less weight from all the clothes and useless knick knacks.

>Having dumped the extra weight, you took off again and circled higher, eyes scanning the streets for anything that even remotely looked like a weapons smith, or whatever equivalent Manehattan had.
>You had some money, maybe you could buy some of those newfangled rubber bullets, it'd let you shoot something back without killing and without overusing your taser.
>Soaring above the streets, you did eventually come across what looked like a street dedicated to storefronts and warehouses.
>Maybe you'd find what you needed here.
>To do so, however, you needed to touch down amongst the crowds.
>You hate to put civilians at risk, but it was one you had to take.
>More than likely, these ponies wouldn't dare start anything out in the open and so it was decided.
>Gliding lower and lower, you touched down just inside the mouth of an alley and began to walk down the street.
>The crowds parted a little before you out of respect, as your armor marked you clearly as one of the night guard.
>You might have to do something about that later.
>Along the street were late night stores, sundries, news outlets and other such small stores.
>Finally, you came across a weapons smith, or rather, the distribution part of it.
>No blacksmith working his trade, no forge, inside the store were just weapons and weapon related articles on display like it was a grocery store.
>This was nothing like you'd ever seen in Canterlot.
>You stepped up to the counter, "Howdy there, ma'am."
>The clerk noticed your armor and straightened a bit.
>"What can I help you with today?"
>At least he was direct.

---------------------------------------------

Weapons: Ranged

5x [Double Action Revolver]{20x Bits}
1x [Luger Pistol]{35x Bits}
3x [Dart Thrower]{10x Bits}
7x [Bolt Action Rifle]{30x Bits}
4x [Winchester Rifle]{15x Bits}
1x [Lightning](Special Longrifle){500x Bits}
3x [Crossbow]{25x Bits}

Weapons: Melee

3x [Field Knife]{5x Bits}
3x [Combat Knife]{8x Bits}
3x [Broadsword]{12x Bits}
3x [Longsword]{16x Bits}
3x [Dual Bladed Staff]{22x Bits}
3x [Polearm]{18x Bits}
3x [Quarterstaff]{10x Bits}
3x [Hoof Blades]{20x Bits}
3x [Plated Hoof Guard]{25x Bits}

Munitions:

99x [Round Cylinder](6x Chambers)
>Regular {1x Bits}
>Armor Piercing {2x Bits}
>Rubber {0.5x Bits}
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}

99x [Pistol Clip](12x Rounds)
>Regular {1x Bits}
>Armor Piercing {2x Bits}
>Rubber {0.5x Bits}
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}

99x [Repeater Cartridge](5x Rounds)
>Regular {1x Bits}
>Armor Piercing {2x Bits}
>Rubber {0.5x Bits}
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}

99x [Crossbow Bolt](10x Bolts/Case)
>Regular {1x Bits}
>Armor Piercing {2x Bits}
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}

99x [Dart](10x Darts/Case)
>Regular {1x Bits}
>Armor Piercing {2x Bits}
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}
>Stun {3x Bits}

---------------------------------------------

[Buy pr0n.]

[These darts looks interesting, maybe something with stunning or ice? Ask how exactly those work.]

>As you looked over the selection, a silly little thought of buying porn here crossed your mind, but you discarded the idea, as you had more important things to worry about for the moment.
>The Dart Thrower looked interesting. You picked one of them up.
"How do these work?"
>The clerk leaned on the counter as he explained, "That's a new addition to our range here, Flim Flam Inc developed those beauties for subduing wild animals without killing them. Darts enchanted with a stunning or sleeping spell, you know? More ethical that way."
"It looks like you're selling some lethal darts there, though."
>The stallion chuckled at you and pushed up the brim of his hat, "Yes, well... Since it's powered by compressed air, it's a quiet weapon, and you can imagine how some less than savory individuals would take advantage of that."
>You could imagine, the gun itself was a little larger than a pistol, but far from the size of a rifle. It had a slot for dart casings to be loaded and a thin tube under the barrel with a handle, almost like a pump action shotgun.
>Closer inspection revealed that the tube was meant for compressed air, which could be pumped into it with the handle.
>You figured if the darts had an ice or stun enchantment, this would make quite the non-lethal weapon, and a quiet one at that.
>You only had fifty bits, though.

a) Buy something
b) Buy nothing
c) Other (specify)

[Buy dart thrower + 3 stun darts.]
[By the way, we can get back these darts from stunned enemies, so even if the spell is no more active, we can still recharge them/dip in the sleeping potion or something.]
>This.
>we can get back these darts from stunned enemies
Is this the case or are they tipped with a one-time drug (that can maybe be refilled?)

[Ask about Lightning. We obviously can't afford it but it sounds pretty neat-o]

>You lay the Dart Thrower on the counter and take three Stun Dart Casings.
"I'll take these then."
>The stallion quirked his eyebrow at your questionable purchase, but his eyes went to your armor and he figured it wouldn't be wise to ask.
>He rang up the purchase, "That'll be nineteen bits, ma'am."
>You pulled out your bit bag, and payed him, your eyes falling on the mounted long rifle on the wall.
>It. Was. Gorgeous.
"What is that thing?"
>The stallion didn't need to follow your gaze to know what you were looked at and grinned.
>"Ain't she a beauty? That's Lightning. The pride and joy of the store, unfortunately for us, she's up for sale, five hundred bits, too."
"Why's she called Lightning?"
>You tried to disregard the fact that you tended to refer to certain guns as mares, like with Wisp.
>"The gun's been heavily enchanted, from way back before the Disarmament, there used to be a line of these things, though not anymore, this is the only one left and when you pull the trigger, she strikes forth like the wrath 'o Celestia, or Lightning, rather."
"So how exactly is she enchanted?"
>"Anything this gun fires keeps going, no bullet drop, no slowing until it hits something, and any unenchanted rounds fired by this thing get a lightning infusement before it leaves the barrel. Apart from that, it has a nice scope with an effective range to match the weapon."
>That sounded awesome, you really, really wanted this gun, but you were nowhere near being able to afford it.

a) Leave store
b) Other (specify)

[http://i.imgur.com/NkmQgNm.png]
[So it's like pic related, but Jakobs actually made an elemental. I need to not be as nerdy.]
[Ask him where to get medical stuff and shop around there for a bit. Running low on money. Where/how do contracts work. Perhaps the shop guy can offer?]

>As long as you were here, you might as well ask him if he knew where you could buy some medical supplies, if he couldn't tell you, you could always just appropriate some from the hospital.
"Before I go, you wouldn't happen to be able to direct me to a pharmacy, would you?"
>The stallions eyes fell to your wounded fore leg and he nodded, "Sure... It's just down the street. You're... Not going to start shooting things up, are you?"
>You quirked an eyebrow at the stallion and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Not unless they shoot first. One last thing, have you got any work you need done? I kinda need the bits."
>His ears perked up and he nodded, "Sure! We've got a shipment coming in tomorrow morning and I've been looking for an extra hoof to help out, if you come by then, I'd be happy to pay you for your trouble."
"Thanks. See you then, maybe."
>With that, you left and wandered down the street in the direction the stallion had indicated, slipping your newly purchased Dart Gun in your saddlebag.
>The sun was fully down now and with it, the stars had come out, you had immediate goals in mind, but you weren't sure how you were going to link back up with Anon.
>With these thoughts in mind, you entered the pharmacy, looking over your shoulder and scanning the crowds for anypony that might be following.
>Satisfied that you weren't being tailed, at least as far as you knew, you began to browse the pharmacy for goods.

---------------------------------------------

Medical:

10x [Bandage Rolls]
>Regular {1x Bits}
>Healing Infusement [Minor/Major/Great]{4/6/8x Bits}

10x [Healing Salve](7x Uses/Tub)
>Regular Strength {10x Bits}
>Healing Infusement [Minor/Major/Great]{14/16/18x Bits}

10x [Healing Potion]
>Minor: +25% HP {15x Bits}
>Major: +50% HP {25x Bits}
>Great: +75% HP {35x Bits}

Enhancement:

3x [Strength Potion]
>Minor: +33% {20x Bits}
>Major: +66% {30x Bits}
>Great: +100% {40x Bits}

3x [Agility Potion]
>Minor: +100% {50x Bits}
>Major: +200% {110x Bits}
>Great: +300% {170x Bits}

3x [Focus Potion]
>Minor: +10% Aim {6x Bits}
>Major: +20% Aim {12x Bits}
>Great: +30% Aim {18x Bits}

Detriment:

3x [Sleeping Draught](7x Uses)
>Minor: 3 hrs {2x Bits}
>Major: 6 hrs {4x Bits}
>Great: 9 hrs {6x Bits}

3x [Stunning Draught](7x Uses)
>Minor: 3 hrs {2x Bits}
>Major: 6 hrs {4x Bits}
>Great: 9 hrs {6x Bits}

3x [Depressive Draught](7x Uses)
>Minor: 3 hrs {2x Bits}
>Major: 6 hrs {4x Bits}
>Great: 9 hrs {6x Bits}

Special: 

1x [Regeneration Tonic]
>Grand: +25% Recovery Rate {200x Bits}

1x [Health Tonic]
>Grand: +25% Max health {200x Bits}

---------------------------------------------

[Too expensive, for now at least. We have figures now though which is good.]
[>Be nighttime]
[>Be batpony]
[>It's generally harder to see at night for most]
[Police station check time?]

>Everything in the pharmacy was extremely expensive, things back in Canterlot were cheaper than this!
>You looked at your sad little bit bag, the few remaining coins jingling together, reminding you of your dire finances.
>You really should have considered leaving Canterlot with more money.
>Feeling almost like a hobo, you left the pharmacy without buying anything, although you now had figures, so that was a good thing should you need to buy things later.
>For now, though, you needed to head back to the police station and find out where Anon and Sergeant Blueberry were.
>Hopefully your gambit to draw the attackers off had succeeded.
>Rising into the air once again, you flew back towards the center of the city. Even at this distance, you could make out the Pegasus air patrols and flashing sirens from the police station.
>You'd been shocked at the boldness with which your enemies had struck, right in the middle of Manehattan.
>If those ponies were acting on Blue Moon's orders, she really didn't want you finding out what that saboteurs orders said.
>You rose higher, settling in above the air patrols, gazing down at the carnage.
>The entire block out the front of the police station had been cordoned off, a few pony drawn carriages tipped over as makeshift cover.
>Surprisingly, there'd been no casualties during the entire shoot-out, the exceptional aim of ponies on both sides keeping each other bullet shy.
>You silently sent a prayer of thanks to Luna that the attackers had, in fact, retreated when you'd left the site.

a) Touch down in the street.
b) Land on the roof to check the radio transmitter
c) Continue circling.
d) Other (specify)

[Try the radio again and see if they brought the band back up, but don't say anything. I doubt these are truncated radios.]
[If the band is down do (c) and after a minute or two go check the transmitter, ending with (a) in a way that doesn't make the officers get spooked.]

[D) DO A BARREL ROLL!]

[We should check out the radio transmitter.]

>Something seemed a little off about the air patrols, so remained at your current altitude and keyed the radio, remaining silent.
>The police band was still washed out with static, but the transmitter was right there.
>Still, the air patrols seemed edgy, so you continued to circle above the station for a few minutes, taking note of the officers on the ground and in the air.
>You lazily do a few barrel rolls, hoping to pass the time more quickly.
>However, you kept any plane sounds you felt like making to a minimum.
>Reasonably confidant that you could avoid the air patrols, you dropped in altitude, slipping through their ranks and touching down lightly on the roof.
>Spooking the police wasn't high on your list of priorities, and there was still the matter of how they'd found out where you were so quickly.
>You made your way quietly for the transmitter tower, opening one of the panels on the side.
>What you found was some kind of device connected to the electronics, and you guessed this device was responsible for the jamming.
>Gripping the box in your hooves, you heaved to pull it off and failed spectacularly.
>You now lay on the ground like an overturned turtle, while the device remained securely fixed to the radio controls. It hadn't even budged.
>Dusting off your armor and your pride, you glared at the defiant device and inspected it again.
>The thing seemed to be clamped in place with some kind of magnet, the low hum of electricity keeping it powered.
>It was unlike anything you'd ever seen before, and was far beyond the capabilities of modern manufacturing, as far as you knew.
>A small dial, like one would find on a safe looked as though it'd take a combination that would power down the magnets.
>You didn't have time for this, the police band needed to be restored now.
>Flicking out a hoof blade, you stabbed into the metal hard
>Whatever you'd done worked, as the enchantment on your blades fried the thing

>The device was now, without a doubt, broken. So you slipped the remains into your saddlebag.
>Another clue you couldn't figure out.
>You moved to the edge of the roof and leaped off, gliding down to the street gracefully.
>Unfortunately, your entrance spooked the poor, worn out officers on the ground.
>At least they hadn't shot you.
>They recognised your armor, and like everypony else, avoided the night guard.
>It's not like you'd bite them.
>You keyed the radio again, and was pleased to hear the police band back up, filled with chatter and status updates as the law enforcement throughout the city reorganised themselves.

a) Investigate the interior of the station.
b) Investigate the exterior.
c) Radio Anon again.
d) Other (specify)

[B at a glance but go back inside, and ask the nearest officer what went on.]

[Check out the interior.]

>At a glance, the street was a mess, overturned carriages were riddled with bullet holes and there was a patch of soot where a unicorn had set off a flash spell.
>Further out, you could make out barricades at either end of the street, officers keeping the crowds of civilians and the press back.
>Overhead, the air patrols still circled, though it seemed like there were less up there now than there were a minute ago.
>You turned quietly and entered the police station, reasoning that it wouldn't by wise to radio Anon just yet, in case they were still monitoring the police band.
>Pulling one of the higher ranked officers aside, you asked him what was going on, and what had happened after you'd left.
>He gruffly explained that a few of the attackers had gone after you, but a majority stayed for a few minutes before retreating inexplicably.
>The police forces had been unable to arrest any of them.
>As he spoke, your eyes looked around.
>It was a mess, even in here. There were tables and filing cabinet blockades in the hallways.
"Did any of them get in here?"
>The stallion followed your gaze towards a few of the makeshift barricades, his expression that of worry, "We're... Not entirely sure. We think there was, but we couldn't see anypony. A couple guys were knocked out, and more reported hearing hoofsteps, but no one saw anything."

a) Interrogate officer.
b) Search interior.
c) Other. (specify)

[Search interior.]
[Interrogation could lead to bad news and more suspicions.]

>You thanked the officer for his time and let him go on his way.
>It was getting late, and you still needed to figure out where Anon and Blueberry had gotten off to, you could just easily radio him and live with the consequences, or you could do it the hard way and visit each apartment the police had listed.
>With that thought in mind, you vaulted over one of the barricades and wandered through the station.
>There were a few officers patrolling the halls and none of them payed you any mind.
>The place looked ransacked, the evidence locker had been broken into and the interior looked as though a whirlwind, or a mare on a mission had gone through the place.
>No doubt one of them had indeed gotten in and tried to make for the saboteurs equipment, which you had removed from the locker prior to the attack.
>This part of the station seemed abandoned, as the whole force was out on the street or in the main atrium.
>It was eerily silent, your only company being the distant echoes of activity in other parts of the building.
>Eventually, you came across an office of interest.
>Sergeant Blueberry's.
>Files were strewn about, desk drawers were opened and filing cabinets had been rifled through.
>If there'd been any doubt before, it was gone now, somepony had gotten in.
>You heard a clatter in a room down the hall and froze.
>That somepony was still here.

a) Use Radio
b) Investigate noise
c) Other (specify)

[Was the noise coming from down the hall where you came from, or further down?]
[And assuming it wasn't turned over, is there an ink well for a would be quill.]

>Moving to the door as quietly as possible, you twitch your ears, trying to pinpoint where the sound had come from.
>You began to hear hoofsteps coming from further down the hall, in the opposite direction you'd come from.
>There was no way an intruder would remain undetected in this building without being seen, so you had to assume invisibility.
>If you were going to deal with this again, you needed an advantage.
>A glance at the desk revealed no ink well, a shame, you could have used it on whoever was up there.

a) Set a trap
b) Go on the offensive
c) Learn more
d) Other (specify)

[Do c.]

>Your desire to know more won out over your need to act, and so the course was set. You snuck out of the office as quietly as possible and set off towards the noise.
>As it turned out, it was coming from a records room, case files, witness protection, statements...
>Witness protection!
>They were trying to find Anon and Blueberry.
>Reaching the door with a held in breath, you peeked around the corner and saw...
>Something.
>It was in the shape of a pony, a stallion by the heavyset shoulders and hooves, but completely invisible.
>The only indication of its presence at all was the way the air seemed to warp and bend around him, like a river breaking around a rock.
>If you hadn't been paying attention, or noticed his movements with your finely tuned sense of hearing, you'd have never seen him at all.
>Whoever it was, he moved towards a filing cabinet and began to search it, files seemingly lifting up on their own.
>You crept back around the corner.

a) Attack
b) Set a trap
c) Other (specify)

[So he's a -big guy-]
[Dart him and hopefully he isn't some kind of PCP wired junkie. Whoever he is, he shouldn't be allowed to leave.]

>Keeping your breathing slow and steady, you removed the Dart Gun from your saddlebag and quietly slid a dart case into it, wincing at the slight click that sounded off as the case was locked into place.
>Holding the handle with one hoof and the pump with the other, you filled the tube with air, compressing it with each pump.
>The stallion hadn't noticed and you had the advantage as you leaned around the corner and took aim.
>With a suppressed thump of air, you sent a dart into what you were pretty sure was his flank, watching him grunt in surprise, falling forwards against the filing cabinet.
>Starting from the tip of the dart, the stallion became visible in a wave of blue light.
>It was the same stallion from The Silver Lining! How had he survived that fall?!
>Shakily, he recovered and got up, turning towards you in anger.
>You didn't understand, you'd fired a stun dart at him, he should be a drooling mess on the floor right now.
>You barely had time to react as he suddenly surged forwards and planted a kick right into your breast plate.
>The force of it sent you flying backwards into the opposite wall, and while the armor absorbed most of the impact, you were still left with a slight depression in your finely crafted armor.
>Behind you, the wall had caved in slightly and you cried out at the shock, sliding down to the ground.
>Looking up, you saw the stallion leaning against the door frame, limbs shaking as his body seemingly fought a battle against the stunning spell that would have been enough to take down a Manticore.
>You were seeing double as his shaky hoof entered his pack and pulled out an injector, like the one currently in your pack.
>Almost feverishly, he plunged it into one of his forelegs and pressed the button, a hiss of air accompanying the sight of the entire dosage entering his body.
>Before your eyes, the stallions muscles rippled along his body for a brief moment.
>Then he straightened, unaffected by the dart.

>Still stunned by your impact with the wall, you could only stare up at him weakly, your armor seemingly too heavy for you to lift, head pounding as the stallion approached you and lifted you up, pushing you against the wall.
>He seemed to inspect you for a moment with mild disinterest before opening his mouth, voice gravelly and deep, "Much as I'd like repay you for our bout on the Sky Barge, my orders are to deliver a message to you and that freak that follows you around."
>The stallion tossed you to the ground, hard, earning another cry of pain from you as the dent in your armor grated against your bones, making it harder to breath.
>You felt his muzzle next to your ear, one of his hooves just in sight.
>Your Dart Gun lay uselessly on the floor, just out of reach.
>"Don't come after us, or that pretty little mare you're after is dead."
>With that, you got a close up of him vanishing, his fur standing up all over his body, crystalising as the light began to bend around his body, hiding him from view.
>You last sight was of him moving towards the roof access before you lost consciousness.

>You were on a cloud, lingering in that place between wakefulness and sleep, not quite aware of the world, not quite sure of your own mind.
>Bit by bit, memory settled in around you, marking out and defining who you were and what had happened.
>And like that, you were up in a flash, sitting bolt upright, half expecting that stallion to be standing over you.
>You had, in fact, been resting on a couch, stripped of your possessions and armor, heaped under a few blankets.
>The room you were in was unfamiliar, but outside, you could make out the statue of harmony, the sun just beginning to lift over the horizon.
>You'd been out all night.
>Lifting a hoof to your chest, you rubbed carefully, wincing as the area felt tender, but otherwise fine.
>The bullet wound on your leg had also been healed, but was still tender.
>Looking around, you found the cause of your rapid healing in the form of a Great Healing Potion bottle, empty on the counter, along with the tip of a bloodstained bandage peeking out over the lip of the bin.

a) Rest some more.
b) Explore.
c) Other. (specify)

[b)]

[Where are the bags]

>Leaving the comfort and warmth of your spot on the couch, you stretched your legs, wandering around the room.
>It was decent, if sparsely furnished.
>You found your gear piled neatly by the couch, including your armor.
>The chest plate bore a hoof sized depression, and you wondered just who in Equestria that stallion was that he could damage some of the strongest armor in the guard with just his bare hooves.
>In any case, you wouldn't be able to wear this until you could get it repaired or replaced.
>Searching your pack, you were relieved to find that nothing had been taken, it seemed that the clues you carried were now irrelevant.
>They had a hostage to ensure that you behaved, after all.
>Going back to your explorations, you found an attached kitchen, bathroom and three other doors, two of which led into bedrooms, the third of which was closed and locked.
>You had to assume you'd been found unconscious on the floor, and then brought here, where you'd been healed.
>Mostly, you were still tender in places.
>Blueberry had mentioned a witness protection suite, perhaps this was it?
>Your thoughts were interrupted by a growl from your stomach.

a) Find some food.
b) Explore some more.
c) Other. (specify)

[B]

[Food!]

>You searched around some more, but there wasn't really anything else of special interest in the apartment, apart from the view outside, which was a little grand for witness protection, but who were you to complain?
>What you needed right now was food, and to that end, you dug through you pack for an apple.
>Your old saddlebag had prevented any bruising from the knocks you'd taken.
>The skin was a little dry, and you thought that it'd lost its magic.
>Biting into it, however, you were proven wrong. Sweet Apple Acres apples were always sweet.
>Risking the other two was out of the question, so you moved those to the fridge.
>This was the best apple you'd ever had, and Celestia damn it all, you'd earned it.
>Thoughts of Midnight entered your mind again, you had to remain focused.
>Her foalnappers knew you and Anon were here in the city, and so far had outright attempted to prevent you from reaching it, done all they could to deny you leads.
>And finally, they'd threatened Midnight's life to keep you in check.
>Either they were acting extremely preemptively, or Midnight was actually here in Manehattan.
>It made sense, this was the closest major city to Canterlot, and it was hard to find anypony in the larger cities, let alone if said pony didn't want to be found.
>You had nothing solid, but you certainly had a place to start.
>The original lead that brought you here, Flim Flam Inc, still needed to be investigated.
>That saboteurs encoded orders needed to be quietly decrypted.
>Figuring out just what you'd pried from the police transmitter tower should also be on the list.
>And last, but not necessarily relevant, you needed to earn more money. If you were taking on an organisation that could field ponies with super strength, you were going to need more supplies.
>With a click, the locked door opened and out stepped Anon.
>Your heart fluttered with relief, but he hadn't seen you yet.

a) Call out.
b) Other (specify)

[a]

>You smiled.
"Anon."
>The man looked at you, eyes wide in disbelief, "F-Flare? You should be resting, you were in a bad way last night."
>He approached you with a worried look on his face.
>Anon was also only in his undergarments.
"Yeah, well, healing potions tend to fix a lot of things."
>Anon shook his head, "You should still rest, we can take care of things today."
"Anon, I'm fi- Wait what? 'We'?"
>The man did something you rarely saw, and blushed, "Yes... Blueberry's here still, and she offered to help us out with Midnight after she heard what had happened down at the station."
>You kept trying to make eye contact with him, and Anon kept avoiding it deliberately, you wondered why, it's not like getting shot was his fault.
>Then, it hit you like a hundred hammers hitting you.
"You didn't!"
>Anonymous slumped his shoulders in shame, but you knew from experience that he felt anything but.
>Anon, you sly dog, you.
>"I did... And it was great."
>Shame... She had a nice ass that you were hoping to tap.
"So, how was she?"
>"Flare, please."
"What?"
>He sat down beside you and began to scratch behind an ear.
>Oh boy, here we go!

a) Plan today's events
b) Wait for Blueberry to make an appearance
c) Other (specify)

[Enjoy ear scratch and B]

[Plan events with Flare, then wait for policepon]

>You'd want to plan things out with Anon, but all of that hardly mattered in the face of ear scratches.
>With a happy sort of sigh, you fell on Anon's lap contently, his hand still working behind your ears, his other one now petting you.
>You could die like this.
>"So... What happened to you? The police just said they found you unconscious on the floor looking like you'd had a run in with a Manticore."
>Blueberry had come out at this point and simply watched the two of you.
>She had sex hair.
>It was cute.
>Meanwhile, Anon kept handling you like a pro, and you succumbed, letting him pet and scratch behind your ears as you answered his questions.
"I ran into that colt from the Sky Barge, and he got the better of me."
>"We saw that, but I meant before, what happened at the police station?"
>You sighed and rolled over, remaining in Anon's lap as his hands shifted to your belly.
>Blueberry had moved to take a seat on the couch, and listened intently.
"Bl- Some thugs came for the saboteurs equipment, but I'd, ah..."
>You looked away from Blueberry quickly, "re appropriated it before they could get to it. I had to draw them off so they wouldn't hurt anyone."
>"So that's when you got shot? When you were on the radio with me?"
>You nodded and winced at the memory.
"Yes, anyway, enough about me, we still need to figure out what we're going to do today."
>"You mean Blueberry and I, right? You're gonna stay here and recuperate."
"But, An-"
>"No. You were shot, your ribs were cracked, you suffered one hell of a concussion and you're exhausted. You're staying put today."
>You opened your eyes and looked up at him with determination.
"Anon, they have a mare held captive, she never asked for this. I can't just sit idly by, so you're stuck with me."
>Anon sighed and rubbed behind an ear some more, "Okay, what should we do today?"

a) Investigate Flim Flam Inc
b) Decrypt [Encoded Orders]
c) Identify [Injector]
d) Identify [Strange Device]
e) Send party member on contract work. {100x [Bits]/Day}
f) Other (specify)

[Flare knows what the injector does, to an extent.]
[The orders are possibly outdated but can offer an idea of what they're doing, even if they're old.]
[The device is a scrambler of some kind maybe. Perhaps there's something on it that can give insight to who/where/etc.]
[We're near broke too. Damn.]

[If we can do more than one a day]
[D, B, and E.]
[If Flare's uninjured she can go help the gunshop guy with his thing.]
[Maybe even get info out of him, he may have even sold stuff to the culprits without realizing it.]

"Well, we're short on money, so I'm gonna go out and find work, you and Blueberry get to figure out what this is."
>You lean across the pair and drag the damaged remains of the device from your pack, handing it to Anon, who took it with interest.
>You then gave Blueberry the encoded orders.
"I guess since you're a part of this now, you can try and crack the code on this, whatever it says, it's likely outdated by now but it could still tell us something useful.
>Blueberry unrolled the scroll, eyes glancing over it, "I've never seen a code like this before, but it reminds of the old encryption methods used forty or fifty years ago, I think I know a guy who can crack this."
"Thanks, Anon, you used to be a science guy back on your world, right? What do you think that is?"
>Anon pulled you off of his lap and set you down on the couch, moving the device over to the table, "I'd need to get the casing open to know for sure, but... Are these magnetic clamps? You ponies don't have these! Where'd you get it?"
>You thought back to how difficult it had been to get the device off of the transmitter tower.
"I found it attached to the police station radio tower, it was scrambling the frequency, I had to uh... smash it to get it off."
>"You would have had to unless you had super strength or a team of ponies to pull it. In any case, it definitely sounds like an on site frequency jammer. I'm gonna need to go out and buy some tools to get into this girl."
"Help yourself to mine, it's not much, but it might get you what you need."
>Leaving your pack where it was, you got off the couch and headed towards the front door, giving Anon and the police pony a smile.
"Guess I'll see you guys tonight."

>You waved at Flare as she left the apartment before turning to Blueberry.
"So, do you know where I can get some tools?"
>The mare swished her tail as she gathered her things, slipping the encoded orders into a satchel, "Give me ear scratches like the ones you gave her and I'll tell you."
>You rolled your eyes, you'd spent much of the night doing nice things to her.

a) Gib her wad she wands :DDD
b) Ask her why she's willing to help with this
c) Other (specify)(Inventory management)

[B then A]

>You observed the little police mare for a moment, watching her get ready to go out.
>It occurred to you that she could be killed, any of you could be killed, you'd never taken ponies to be the violent sort, but there were violent ponies out there.
>And here was Blueberry, a law enforcement officer charging headlong into the thick of what was almost certainly a dangerous situation, when she could have just as easily turned her back on it and let things handle themselves.
>You already figured part of the reason was you, but there had to be more?
"Why are you helping us?"
>"Hmm? What do you mean?"
>You move over to her and began to scratch behind her ears as she'd requested, asking again.
"You don't have to help us, so why are you?"
>Blueberry inadvertently lifted a hind leg, closing her eyes as your magical fingers subdued yet another small colorful horse.
>You could use this as an interrogation tool.
>"This is my city... I can't just walk away from something this big and expect things to take care of themselves, it goes against every reason I joined law enforcement..."
>That's a nice sentiment, but you had the impression that she didn't really realise that her life could be in danger, but maybe that was just your worrying.
>Blueberry yelped in surprise as you pick her up and carried her over to the couch, arms wrapped around her.
>As she was currently dressed in her uniform and had yet to correct her disheveled mane from the previous nights activities, the image was a cute one.
>"Anon! What are you doing?!"
"You know exactly what I'm doing."
>You begin to rub her belly, keeping her firmly in your grip
>"Anooooon.~ We've got to go."
>The little mare squirmed, but made no other attempts to escape.

a) Keep going
b) You have more important things to do
c) Other (specify)

[B ]
[Good interrogation tool indeed]

>Much as you'd like to have more 'fun' with Blueberry, she was right, you had to go.
>You carefully set the now amorous mare on the ground and stood up, pulling Flare's bit bag out of her pack.
"So, tool store?"
>"Y-Yes... Tool store..."
>She finished getting ready and moved to meet you by the door, trying to fight her blush.
>Blueberry could be adorable when she wanted to be.
>You definitely wanted to disrespect the law right now.
>You had also left Wisp behind since you didn't need to be walking around the city with a gun. A rifle at that.
>Blueberry smiled up at you, "Ready to go, Anon?"

>After a quick, last minute check of the apartment, you find little else of use.
>Some apples in the fridge, which you assumed were Flare's.
>Flare's pack and armor, which she'd left behind.
>And your dignity back in the bedroom.
>You wouldn't be needing that.
>Blueberry stood by the door patiently, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof to keep herself occupied.
>You occupied your hand by slapping her rump soundly, bringing forth a squeak of shock, and a lewd little 'eep'.
>Were the pair of you ready to go?

a) Leave
b) Other (specify)

[Well, leave.]

>Blueberry, having had enough of waiting, took your hand in her mouth.
>Unf.
>And dragged you out of the apartment, afterwards, she spat your hand out and continued on down the hall, hooves sounding off against the floorboards.
>clippity clop.
>Since she knew her way around the city and you didn't, it was probably best to follow her.
>"So, I know this great little general store a few blocks from here, I think they sell tools. I'll drop you off there and then go get this scroll decoded."
>You opened your mouth to argue the wisdom of splitting up, considering last night's events. It occurred to you then that Flare had already split away from the group, unarmed and cheery.
>Would it honestly be any worse if Blueberry were on her own?
>Thinking about it, you were the real dead weight in this, your expertise was purely of an intellectual capacity.
>While you had the advantage of height and physical strength to subdue a pony, you hadn't gone up against anyone trained, or even unwilling.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Splitting up?"
>The two of you stepped out of the building and into the light, the sun having cleared the horizon by now.
>The statue of harmony still sparkled, and it almost looked like the enormous visage of Celestia gazed right at you.
>However, upon blinking away the blinding light, the eyes of the statue once again stared dead ahead, focused on nothing in particular.
>"Well, we'll cover more ground that way and get this over with faster."
>She had a point, time was not a luxury any of you could afford, and every moment Blue Moon had Midnight in her clutches was another moment she drew closer to unlocking Starswirl's work.
>However, there was safety in numbers, and there had already been attempts to slow your efforts.

a) Split up
b) Stay together
c) Think about it
d) Other (specify)

[C? This is a 50/50 situation, we need something to make it at least 49/51.]

"Well, we're not deciding here, let's go."
>"Right, this way!"
>Blueberry set off at a steady trot which you were able to keep up with by walking quickly.
>Although, it did work up a bit of a sweat.
"So! Who's this guy that's gonna decode the orders?"
>"Hrm? Oh, an old friend of mine, he's... Not exactly Lawful Good, if you catch my meaning, but he's useful, so I leave him be."
>Was this police corruption?
>You ask cautiously, ready to escape her taser.
>Getting tased was not something you wanted to experience.
>Again...
>Blueberry turned a reproachful glare at you, "Of course not! He's not a criminal! He just doesn't have as much respect for law enforcement as he should. I helped him out a few years ago, somepony had framed him and... Well, I'm the one who cleared his name, so he at least respects me if not the uniform."
>Mulling over this information, you gained a mental image of a stallion smoking a cigarette, sporting a five o'clock shadow with a husky voice.
"So what does he do, exactly? Apart from crack codes for kicks, that is."
>Blueberry shrugged, a difficult movement to pull of while she'd been walking.
"No idea, I'm not even sure he does that, but he seems well connected. If he can't do it himself, he'll at least no somepony who can."
>Great.
>At least you'd get something out of that device Flare had given you, which now lay at the bottom of a small sack you carried.
>Some time passed quietly, and Blueberry bought you both some coffee to counteract the lack of sleep the both of you had experienced.
>It was pretty good, although Blueberry had hers laced with honey, which shocked and appalled you.
>But a part of you still wondered if her mouth would taste like honey now.

>Finishing off your coffee, the pair of you reached a small general goods store.
>To be truthful, you couldn't make out what the store was called with how dusty and generally unkempt the storefront was.
>You'd never have noticed it at all if Blueberry had not stopped and turned in.
>The place almost looked like it was deliberately dingy to camouflage it.
>Entering the store, you found the interior mostly better kept than the exterior.
>And how!
>At a glance, you found a wide array of items and oddities, ranging from highly useful, to utterly garish.
>You almost thought you'd seen an old iPhone, but a glance back at the spot revealed a clay brick.
>In fact, every time you looked around, the contents of the store seemed to shift in subtle ways, things would move or pop in and out of existence, yet never visibly.
>Even the stands felt like they moved or changed arrangement when you weren't looking.
>The result was a store that was full of movement and life, despite it only being yourself and Blueberry occupying the space.
>Speaking of, you felt a small tug at the hem of your blazer and looked down to find Blueberry looking up at you with concern.
>"Try to ignore it."
>You'd been about to question her when she shook her head subtly.
>Doing your best to filter out the store from the forefront of your mind, you quickly found that the store became still, at least to your perceptions.
>Blueberry lead you to the counter, towards a Unicorn.
>He didn't look at all surprised to see you.
>"Welcome to my store. Where anything you need is right at your fingertips, guaranteed!"
>His smile was just a little too wide, and it unsettled you.
>"And welcome back Blueberry, I must say, you're becoming quite a regular here."
>Blueberry gave a nervous chuckle, and upon observation, you found that her muscles were bunched.
>She was tense.
>"Yeah, we need a tool set for Anon here, he's got some... Uh... Home improvements?

>The stallion leaned back in his chair and tapped his fore hooves together, his eyes only on you as he replied the Blueberry.
>"Now, now. Sergeant, your mother taught you not to lie."
>He leaned forward, still smiling at you, regarding you with extreme interest.
>"You need some very special tools to crack open that casing, don't you Anonymous?"
>Every part of you was screaming to grab Blueberry and get out of this place, and suddenly you had the distinct impression that you weren't even in Equestria anymore.
"Y-Yes. How did you know?"
>He seemed deadly serious as he replied calmly, "Anything you need, right at your fingertips, guaranteed."
>To your shock, there was such a tool box on the stand next to you.
>Wanting to get this strange experience over with, you grabbed the tool box and set it on the counter.
>"Excellent choice, you won't find another set of tools such as these, there's one for every occasion! That'll just be five bits."
"Only five?"
>"You're gonna need it."
>He rang up the purchase and held out his hoof for payment.
"Oh! Right."
>You pulled out Flare's bit bag and gave him the requested amount, his grin all the wider, "Thank you very much, Mr Anonymous. A pleasure doing business with you, as always."
>As always?
>Blueberry's words came back to you as it seemed the store began to shift around you again, calming yourself, the store settled around you again and you went to take the toolbox, finding your hand halted by the stallions hoof.
>The deep blue Unicorn slipped a small leather folder into your hand and closed your fingers around it, "Here. A gift for Flare, she's going to need it later."
"...How did you..."
>"Listen carefully."
>You felt like the rest of the world vanished and that it was now just the two of you, "The path you and your... Friends... Are on... Well. Let us say I have a... vested? ...Interest in seeing you succeed. So take the gift... My friend. And do not so readily question this... world you're in."

>The stallion withdrew his hoof and leaned back in his chair, his smile back in place.
>"Happy trails, Mr Anonymous."
>Blueberry nudged you after a moment, her voice strained.
>"Anon, let's go."
>She tugged you away and out of the store as it began to shift again.
>Once again, the two of you were out in the fresh air, and it seemed the sun was considerably higher than it should have been for how long you'd been in there.

a) Freak out
b) Follow the Unicorns advice.
c) Other (specify)

[B]

>You refrain from questioning just what had happened and instead opened your closed fist to look at the small leather folder.
>A lock picking set?
>You slipped the little folder in your pocket and kept the toolbox in your hand.
>Down beside you, Blueberry looked shaken, but quickly recovered, shaking off the tension she'd been experiencing.
>"A-Anyway... You've got tools now, shall we go?"
"Sure."
>You gave Blueberry a comforting ear scratch and left with her, looking back at the store, you found that it was no longer there.
>...At least to your perceptions.
>Now was the time to decide what you would do, you couldn't put it off any longer.
>Do you let Blueberry go off on her own and return to the apartment to crack the device open?
>Or do you stay with the little police pony.

a) Stay
b) Go
c) Other (specify)

[Is this the dangerous point when we decide about someone's life? I'd say split up, but when she is so nervous and distracted it would be not the best choice.]

[Then split up, switch to BB butt]

>Be Police Pony!
>Anon had been quiet for a while now, and you were worried that he was thinking of that store, you tugged on his blazer again and the man looked down at you.
"Something troubling you?
>"Trying to figure out if I should stay with you or not."
>Aw... How sweet of him.
"Don't worry about me, Anon, I'll be fine. You go get that thing figured out."
>You pull your radio off of your uniform and hold it up to him.
>Anonymous took it and gave you a questioning stare.
"I can get another one, if you need to contact me or... Just want to know I'm alright, get me on the radio, okay?"
>He then reached into his pocket and pulled out five of the memory coins you'd bought yesterday, giving them to you. "So you know that I'm thinking about you. I'll see you tonight?"
>You gave him a saucy wink and shook your rump at him as you walked away.
"You know it.~"
>The man blushed and you held in a giggle, walking off down the street.
>Earnest, the stallion you were going to see, would likely have a few radio's lying around.
>Tuning them into the police band wouldn't be hard, Earnest was good at that.
>It was disrespectful towards the law, but... You didn't want to worry Anon.
>Trotting along, you found it odd that so many things weren't far from where you were, though you reasoned that it was Manehattan, there was always something not far from where you were.
>Well, it wasn't far comparatively, it took you a little over an hour to get there on hoof.
>Earnest's 'shop'
>It wasn't actually a shop, he'd just set his home up within what used to be one.
>You entered and knocked on the door frame.
"Earnest! You home?"
>Of course he was home, the door was unlocked.

a) Wait outside
b) Enter anyway
c) Other (specify)

[B]
> I'm suspicious of that but B

>Figuring Earnest was in his workroom, you entered anyway, closing the door behind you.
>It took you a moment to find a path through all the haphazardly stacked electronics that cluttered the main room, but once you did, you quickly wound up before his workroom door, knocking on it.
"Earnest!"
>The sounds from within the room stopped and a moment later, the door swung wide open, your vision filling with the stallion himself.
>He was still as rough looking as always, although his lifestyle didn't lend itself much to general upkeep.
>His dusty brown coat and silvery brown mane and tail were messy, and his muzzle was adorned with an ash grey five o'clock shadow.
>You walked past him and rolled your eyes.
"You really need to take better care of yourself, Earnest."
>"Just mah luck, if anypony had ta follow up on me, 'course it'd be you."
>You leaned on a stack of boxes and knocked on it with a hoof, metal clangs sounding from within.
"Is that anyway to treat such a 'good' friend, Earnest?"
>You gave him your best pout and was rewarded with a blush from that stallion, "That was a one time thing, Sergeant, ah ain't gonna be shackled to ya for the rest of mah life for that."
>The stallion spoke in careful, measured tones, his southern accent still strong, even after all the years he'd spent in Manehattan.
>You kinda missed being with the colt, he was surprisingly tender at times.
"I don't intend to,"
>The stallion opened his mouth to reply, but you cut him off.
"But!"
>Earnest snapped his jaw shut obediently.
>It was almost adorable.
"I do have some business for you, and something interesting too."
>"This for the station, ma'am? Ya know how much ah dislike the authorities."
>Here was the hook, and you grinned as you dropped the bait into the metaphorical water.
"Not at all, they don't know anything about this."
>The stallion quirked an eyebrow with interest, "Ah like it already."

a) Give him [Encoded Orders]
b) Other (specify)

[give it to him, I don't know what anything else we could do there]

>You removed the scroll from your satchel and tossed it to him, Earnest catching it with his hoof as only Earth Ponies like yourselves could.
>Unrolling it, Earnest glanced over the contents, his expression shifting subtly to one of mild surprise.
>"Where'd ya get this then, Blue?"
"Uh..."
>Right.
"You know what happened yesterday? That whole fiasco with the Sky Barge?"
>The stallion nodded and moved over to his desk, depositing the scroll there, "Knew about it before you folks did."
>You disregarded his statement, resolving to ask him how he'd known before the police did later.
"Yes, that. This was on the culprit, I need you to decode it and find out what it says."
>Earnest sat and spoke over his shoulder, "Well, ah can tell ya now that this reminds me of them old military codes the Equestrian Guard used way back in the day, looks a little different, though. Shouldn't take me long to figure out."
"Right-o, mind if I borrow one of your spare radios? Mine's misplaced."
>"Not a problem at all, Blue, just don't make a mess o' things."
>You kissed his cheek lightly.
"Thanks, Earnest, you're a life saver."
>Earnest successfully fought his blush away and set to work on the scroll, "Don't get all mushy on me, Blue. Ya still ran out on me."
>You gave a huff and left the stallion be, grabbing one of the spare radios in the room before finding a seat in the main room, watching carriages and ponies pass by the shuttered windows.

a) Pass the time.
b) Look around.
c) Other (specify)

[Look around, of course. don't forget to iddly brush your tail against Earnest back, he looks like a guy who knows more than a regular pony. Maybe, besides decoding that scroll, he can tell us something more, for fun time?]

>After tuning the radio to the police band, you get up and wander around a bit, you occasionally check up on Earnest, 'accidentally' brushing your tail against his back to keep him on his hoof tips.
>Curiosity getting the better of you, you found his room, wondering what he'd been up to ever since you left Dodge City for Manehattan.
>A framed photo caught your eye and you picked it up.
>In it sat your younger self, happy and hugging Earnest, showing off an engagement band.
>A feeling of guilt overcame you as you remembered those times and set the photo back down on the little bedside table.
>You'd been engaged to Earnest, the pair of you had been pushed into it by both your parents, but you were at least happy with each other.
>One more than the other though, if you'd stayed and gone through with the pseudo arranged marriage, you never would have become a police officer.
>You ran off and left Earnest, pretty much at the altar.
>Of course, later on, he'd come to Manehattan and gotten in some trouble. A framing.
>You didn't even know it was the same Earnest until you met face to face, and he hadn't known you'd come to Manehattan.
>That had been awkward.
>He didn't blame you, despite his jab earlier, he knew that you wanted to be a police officer and weren't as into your pairment with him as he had been.
>You remained good friends, though, and you wouldn't deny that there was chemistry there, but it'd never work.
>Whereas you'd left behind all traces of your younger self in Dodge City, Earnest still clung to the past as strongly as he clung to his accent."
>"Ah found somethin'."
>Looking up, Earnest stood in the doorway, his expression non-judgemental.
>You kind of hated that about him, how he always understood, but it was at the same time, his most endearing trait.
"Shoot."
>He led you back to his workroom, saying nothing about what he'd no doubt seen.
>"Ah haven't finished with the decoding just yet, but ah found somethin' else."

>The stallion brought the scroll before him and lightly scraped his hoof along it, a fine coating of ash coming off.
"Ash...?"
>"Eeyup. Only one thing leaves a coatin' like this, an' that's when somethin's sent by magical fire."
>You tried to process that, but you really had no idea what the significance of that was, so you asked.
>"There aren't a great deal o' ponies that can send anythin' this way, you've got certain dragons, like Princess Twilight's and then you've got the Princesses themselves, though ah only know of Princess Celestia that does that."
>You still failed to grasp the significance.
"So...?"
>Earnest sighed and put the scroll back down, "So... It means that whoever yer after's got government pull or the resources ta rival it."
>Well that sounded serious.
>"Listen... Blue, ah may not wholly approve of the police here, 'cept you o' course, but are ya sure ya want ta be takin' these fellers on all on yer own?"
>You thought about last night's events, how the police station had been attacked just because there'd been evidence in the lock-up.
>How whoever these ponies were, they'd been willing to crash a Sky Barge with no survivors.
>Flare was right to want to keep this low key, it only put other ponies at risk.
>Your blood froze as you realised that you'd callously exposed Earnest to the same danger.
"Damn it."
>"Blue? What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry, Earnest... I've made a serious error in judgement."
>Earnest turned to you, "Talk to me, Blue."
"I... I've put you in danger by showing you this... I'm sorry, I j-!"
>Earnest plugged your muzzle with a hoof and waited for you to run your course.
>Eventually, you settled down and he removed his hoof from your mouth, "Ah can handle mahself, Blue, don't you worry none about me. Anyway, ah think ah got it."
>He turned back to the scroll and pointed at a specific segment, "This bit says somethin' about meetin' at a warehouse down at the seaside, but it don't say which one 'xactly."

"Well, that's more than we knew ten minutes ago."
>"Ah'd say so, if ya leave it with me, I'll work on decodin' the rest, ya look like ya haven't slept. Go home and get some rest."
>You rubbed your face with your hooves, knowing he was right, if there was anything more to be learned from the scroll, you wouldn't be doing any good hanging over Earnest's shoulder.
"I guess you're right. Last night was pretty rigorous for me."
>"Ah bet."
>You shot him a look, knowing that he knew exactly what you'd been up to the previous night, stallions could always tell.
>And still, he wore that non judgemental expression.
"Well, I owe you one Earnest, thanks..."
>The stallion nodded and went back to work with a muttered, "Eeyup."
>Frowning slightly, you didn't feel you could leave just yet.
>You turned his muzzle to yours and planted a soft kiss on his lips.
"I mean it."
>"E-Eeyup."
>His cheeks were on fire again and, satisfied with the effect you'd had on him, left him to his work.

a) Return to the apartment
b) Linger around
c) Other (specify)

[W-Well, maybe it will be more safe to stay with Earnest...]
[I mean, we have a taser to protect both of them, right? Show him how you "mean it"]
> Maybe you have more important things to do and shouldn't waste the time.
>> Right, less buttfun, more working, get your cute but back to the apartment, give Earnest at least a nice kiss
>>> This a

>You step back in and grab Earnest, kissing him deeply and... well, earnestly, which he returned after a moment.
"I really mean it, after all this is over, I'm coming back for you."
>The stallion was shocked and stuttered, a state that you left him in as you exited back out to the street, hurrying back to the apartment, mind buzzing with new information, and quite possibly hope for something more afterwards.
>You had no reason to believe Anon would stay in Manehattan for you, much as you'd like him to.
>Pushing your conflicted thoughts aside, you kept up a steady gallop.

a) Use memory coin (Because, you know, it's like you guys have forgotten what they do.)
b) Other (specify)

[switch to Anon?]

>You pull out one of your memory coins, practicing the ages old tradition of thinking of somepony, or rather someone and flip the coin from your hoof.
>The coin glinted in the air before clinking to the pavement, being left behind by the galloping police pony.

>Be Anon.
>Be on the floor amidst a mess of tools, casing parts and electronics.
>A few of the circuit boards...
>Ponies with circuit boards, by the way, had come as a shock to you, but they did have radios, so that was a forgone conclusion you'd been too stupid to see.
>Anyway, a few of the circuit boards had been utterly fried by what you figured had been Flare's hoof blades.
>However, it had blown the power source first, which seemed to consist of a battery that used certain crystal to store and distribute power.
>You guessed that, if you had a microscope, you'd find micro-filament wires throughout the crystals.
>Magic batteries.
>That little revelation asides, what had interested you the most was the serial coding on the device's parts.
>They were listed as being manufactured at Flim Flam Inc, normally, you'd figure that it was just a coincidence, but Midnight's kidnappers had also been using equipment from Flim Flam Inc.
>It was clear now that the company had it's ha- hooves in some dirty backdoor dealings.
>Suddenly, Blueberry's radio crackled to life, "Anonymous? Are you there?"
>Dropping everything, you grabbed the device and keyed it.
"Blueberry? Are you alright?"
>"Wrong...? Oh! No, actually, right. I've got a solid lead, maybe."
"Oh?"
>"Yeah!"
>You waited.
>...
"Blueberry, the lead?"
>"S-Sorry, I'm a bit occupied."
>She sounded out of breath.
"Why are you out of breath, Blueberry? Are you running from someone?"
>"Uh, no! No. I'm coming back as quick as I can."
"The lead?"
>You smiled as you heard Blueberry curse.
>"That stallion, the one who sabotaged The Silver Lining? He was supposed to go to a meeting at some waterside warehouse right here in Manehattan!"

"Blueberry, that's hardly solid, there must be dozens of warehouses in this city."
>After a moment of silence Blueberry spoke up again, exasperated.
>"Well...! Have you got anything?"
>You picked up one of the casing shards again and made sure.
"Well, another arrow pointing at Flim Flam Inc. Probably should have just started there first today."
>Blueberry gasped over the radio.
>"Anon, Flim Flam Inc leases some of their seaside warehouses!"
>You chuckled and nodded, realising afterwards that she couldn't see that.
"Alright, change of plans, Flare's... I don't know where, so we're going to have to follow up on this ourselves. I'll meet you out front when you get here."
>"Okay, see you then."
>With that, the radio burst back into static and you put it back down, moving to the bench, you grabbed a slip of paper and a pencil writing a quick message for Flare in case she got back before you did.
"Following a lead with Blueberry. Flim Flam leasing seaside warehouses. Will contact if we find anything."
>Pausing for a moment, you figure you'll take Blueberry out on the town afterwards if you find nothing, and add that to the end of the message.
"Going out with Blueberry afterwards. Love, Anon."
>Pulling open the door of the fridge, you set the note underneath one of the apples there, knowing full well that Flare would go to them first.
>You also set the lock picking set next to the note, remembering the Unicorns words.
>At last, you left the apartment just in time to see Blueberry trotting up to the doors.
>Her cheeks were flushed red from all the galloping, you guess.
"I'm sorry to make you run around so much."
>"No, not at all, it's fine. I should be embarrassed that I'm this much out of shape."

a) Hire a carriage (20x [Bits])
b) Walk
c) Carry the pone
d) Other (specify)

[Do we have the spare bits for a carriage?]
[If it empties our pockets, walk instead.]

[Carry the pone! Carry the pone! And be prepared, because that meeting at the warehouse smells like a trap.]

[I vote for the carriage then we can spare the bits.]
[But don't tip the driver.]

>Deciding that you'd rather sit than walk, you hire a carriage, handing twenty bits to the driver.
>Why did it need a driver?
>Anyway, you picked Blueberry up and carried her onto the carriage, causing her to eep in surprise and blush heavily.
>You set the mare in your lap.
"To Flim Flam Inc headquarters, and don't spare the whip!"
>Both driver and team looked back at you oddly.
"What? I've always wanted to say that."
>They all exchanged glances.
"Hey! You're the ones who're all gimped up to draw a carriage around, not me!"
>With that, the carriage set off.
>You spent about an hour just sitting there, holding Blueberry, who'd settled into your arms comfortably.
>She'd...
>She'd fallen asleep!
>It was too adorable to mess with, and you let the mare rest, petting and stroking her casually.

a) Anything specific you'd like to do or say? This may be the last chance you get.
b) Other (specify)

[I don't think so.]

>Silence is the best time killer, and you pass the ride with that, simply holding Blueberry close as she rests.
>Eventually, the carriage pulls up in front of the headquarters of Flim Flam Inc, a skyscraper that dominates the buildings around it in height and splendor.
>The glass window exterior reminded you of the buildings back home.
>Here were ponies who understood that the only way forwards was up.
>And you were about to accuse them of a kidnapping.
>Well, it wouldn't be the first time corporate secrets were involved in state affairs, though it might be a first for Equestria.
>If they really were leasing a warehouse to Blue Moon and her minions, you had to figure out which one and where, and that meant getting into company records.
>You nudged Blueberry awake and the mare mumbled, eyes fluttering open as she took in the sight.
"We're here."
>You picked Blueberry up and set her on the ground, watching as the police pony shook herself awake.
>"Alright... Uh, what now?"

a) Go in loud and proud
b) Trojan Horse your way in (Heh)
c) Try to sneak in the back
d) Other (specify)

[Nice trips]
[What do you mean by B, pretend we have other intentions?]
> {Whatever you want it to be, bluff your way in, hide in the laundry, pretend to be a jewish accountant.}
>> A would be too obvious and she'd probably die if they are actually associated with them.
>> >13 hours to Midnight, Blue Moon sure does have a -Flare- for the dramatic
>> You're implying we need Flare for this aren't you. That's what I feel.
>>
>> C is hella sketchy. Flare would have been perfect for it but guess who sent her to work with the shopkeep. Fug.
>>
>> And I mean. 
>> >Anon, basically an alien
>> >Blueberry, adorable cop
>> If those two walking in prying for information isn't fishy, I don't know what is.
>>
>> Ok. See if there's a way in through the back. 
>> inb4 I killed the cyoa

>Looking up, you found the sun to be slowly crawling slowly into the afternoon from its zenith.
>You quickly assessed your options.
>There was a slight chance of bluffing your way in, as both you and Blueberry were hardly inconspicuous.
>The Trojan Horse method had little chance of failure, but you couldn't afford to wait for a delivery.
>Looks like you were going in the back door.
"Come on, we're not getting in through the front without drawing attention to ourselves."
>Blueberry followed as you led her around the block towards the rear of the building, where a delivery bay sat, not quite bustling with activity, but nowhere near unmanned.
>There was only one security guard in the booth, though, and he seemed enraptured by a comic, paying no heed to his surroundings.
>Apart from that, there were three or four workers moving about, looking as though they were taking inventory.
>Blueberry might be able to get herself in without getting noticed, but it was going to be harder for you.
>You could try sneaking, but being the size you were, and ponies being the prey animals they were, you'd no doubt be detected easily.
>As if reading your thoughts, Blueberry nudged you, "Anon, I don't see how you're getting in there."
"Any ideas?"
>Blueberry thought about it, eyes darting around the bay.
>The two of you had to hurry, loitering here was beginning to look suspicious.
>"It might not have worked if we tried it at the main entrance, but we could try bluffing our way in here. That security guard in the booth probably wouldn't notice if we just walked past, so that just leaves those laborers over there."
>Three of them looked bored, and didn't seem as if they particularly cared about what they were doing, the fourth moved about as though he were a supervisor, but was dressed in the very same uniform as the others.

a) Bluff
b) Sneak
c) Other (specify)

[A]

[Let's bluff, sneaking is bat's job.]

"Right, let's try bluffing. Time to put your charm on, Blue."
>The little pony chewed her lip for a moment as she either thought of what she were going to say or grappled with her moral compass regarding breaking and entering.
>Whatever it had been, she settled and nodded, walking past you confidently, but not quickly.
>You followed at much the same pace, keeping rapid movements to a minimum.
>Luckily, the guard in the booth didn't notice either of you at all and you passed undetected.
>Blueberry then boldly approached one of the workers, who turned to her in surprise.
>The police pony put on her police voice.
>"Good day, sir, would you mind letting us in? My partner and I have some questions for your manager."
>The stallion was at a loss for words for a moment before managing to find his voice, "Uh... Is there a problem, officer?"
>Blueberry shook her head, while the stallions attention wavered between her and you.
>Every time he looked at you, you'd return his look with an uncomfortable glare.
>It seemed to intimidate him and keep him off balance.
>"Not at all, we're just following up some leads in an investigation."
>A lie of omission? Blueberry was good.
>"Oh, uh, okay, it's just through he-"
>The laborer with the inflated sense of self importance approached, "What's going on here, Dubs?"
>Your guide turned to him, "Just some investigation stuff, they want to see our manager."
>"Really?" He turned an appraising gaze at the two of you, seemingly unaffected by Blueberry's authority and your strangeness.
>"I'll take it from here, I need you to run a check on allocation."
>"Right, 'boss'."
>With that, the two of you were now left with what was an undoubtedly nosy pony with an ego.
>This was trouble.
>Nevertheless, he led the two of you into the building, asking questions as he went.
>Blueberry managed to deflect most of them with non answers, but you could tell that he was growing suspicious.

>Eventually, the three of you reached an office and the stallion gestured at the door.
>"Thank you."
>"No problem, it was my pleasure."
>He continued to stand there.
>You hated this horse, this was exactly the kind of pony who messed plans like this up, and here you were thinking that nothing could go wrong.
>Blueberry tried again, more clearly, "You're dismissed, you can go back to work now."
>The stallion stood his ground by the door, "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to stay? I may be able to answer some of your questions, as I'm here most of the time."
>You desperately wanted to tell this horse to just fuck off, but you kept your silence, as this was Blueberry's plan.
>Blueberry, for her part, seemed to deal with him easily.
>"If I have questions for you, I'll be sure to seek you out later, but this is police business, so I'm going to need to question you separately."
>Her reprimand seemed to have worked and the stallions ears folded back in embarrassment, "Sorry, I'll be in the loading bay if you need me.
>He walked off, but he kept casting glances back at you.
>Blueberry opened the office door and walked in.
>Was she crazy? They weren't actually questioning the manager.
>Regardless, you followed, the mare looking up at the pair of you.
>"Police? Is something the matter?"
>This was not part of the plan.

a) Bluff more.
b) Crouch and hope she doesn't see you.
c) Other (specify)

[B]
[If she will notice you, you just tied your shoes, you know?]

>You immediately dropped down, hoping she wouldn't see you.
>However, she only furrowed her brow in confusion at you, still staring.
>Fug.
>Quickly, you made as if to tie your shoe, fumbling with the laces.
>"What are yo- aggh!"
>Blueberry had used the distraction to get close, and had stuck her taser in the pony's side, holding it there until she was unconscious, drooling into the carpet.
>Fug!
>The police pony switched the taser off and re-holstered it, looking at you.
>"What was that?"
"I-I was trying to sneak!"
>She opened her mouth to reply, but figured it wasn't worth pursuing and instead, dragged the mare behind the desk, hiding her body from casual view.
>"Okay, we haven't got long, she'll be out long enough, but I can't guarantee that she won't be noticed missing."
>...
>"We need to move."

a) Search office.
b) Locate records department.
c) Other (specify)

[B, we have no time.]

"Well, we need to find some kind of records department, then, should be somewhere upstairs."
>Blueberry moved to the door and nudged it open, looking out.
>"The coast is clear, you go out first since you're the distraction."
>Moving to join her by the door, you hissed out as silently as you could.
"Why am I the distraction?! You've got the booty!"
>Blueberry pushed you out into the hall and moved past you, heading down the hall, looking about cautiously, ears twitching every which way as she listened.
>"Okay fine! Be useless, then."
>Wending through halls and office blocks, you eventually came to emergency stairs, which the two of you used to make your way higher into the building.
>Neither of you had any idea where you were going, really.
>Each time you would reach a new floor, Blueberry would silently open the door a crack and peer through, shaking her head and uttering things like office blocks and presentation areas.
>This must have gone on for around an hour, and suddenly, the both of you were becoming fatigued, having checked fifty seven floors.
>Finally, Blueberry had some luck, but it came with bad news.
>"I think this is it! But there are guards everywhere."
>You took a spot by the door with her and peered through the crack.
>There must have been six guards that you could see, all moving about in patrol routes.
>However, you were in agreement with Blueberry, this seemed like it was where records were kept.
>There were cardboard boxes filled with papers and even a few computer servers that looked as though they'd been ripped right out of the eighties.
>No way both of you were sneaking through the guards, though.
>And definitely not you.

a) Bluff
b) Sneak
c) Cause a distraction
d) Other (specify)

[We need a distraction. When one is distracting, the second one is sneaking.]

"We need a distraction."
>"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
>You shrugged and idly petted Blueberry.
"You got any better ones?"
>Blueberry chewed her lip thoughtfully, "Do you have any rifle cartridges or magazines?"
>You were about to say you didn't when you remembered the one Flare had given you back on the Sky Barge.
"I do, actually!"
>You pull it out and hand it over to Blueberry, who then begins to pry the rounds out of it, passing them back to you and pocketing the now empty cartridge.
>She then gives you her radio and explains her plan, "You're going to key that radio every so often, and draw them away, while I get in there and find what we need. Head downstairs and make sure you keep them following you..."
>She reaches up and grabs your cheeks, kissing you lightly, "Don't get caught, I don't want to have to bail you out."

a) Remain as Anon
b) Switch to Blueberry
c) Other (specify)

[Switch to BB.]

>Be Blueberry
>After kissing Anon, and resisting the urge to tongue him, you snuck into the records room, keeping low.
>Thankfully, the windows were tinted, so it was semi dark.
>After a moment, you heard the burst of static from the radio you'd given to Anon, watching as three of the six guards peeled away to investigate, leaving you with the other three.
>You sent a prayer to Celestia to keep Anon safe as you began to search for the information you needed.
>You had to fight the urge to hyperventilate every time one of the security guards came close to where you were hiding, and the urge to move quickly, understanding that rapid movements were more likely to draw their ire than slower ones.
>Carefully and cautiously, you made your way around the edge of the room, searching as you went.
>Sales, distribution, quarterly figures, none of these were what you were looking for.
>Eventually, you came to one of the storage rooms, the printing on the glass indicating it as leasing records.
>This was what you were after!
>However, there was a guard standing by the door stoically.
>You'd come prepared for this.
>Removing the empty cartridge from your satchel, you drew your hoof back and tossed it towards the other side of the room, the clatter it made as it hit the ground drawing the guards attention.
>"Huh?"
>He moved towards it, leaving you free to sneak into the records room.
>You quickly drew the blinds shut and looked around.
>There was a large pile of boxes with paper records and a computer terminal, screen dimmed for electronic ones.
>Searching the paper records would take time, time Anon didn't have, but going through the electronic ones came with the risk of detection.

a) Search paper records.
b) Search computer terminal
c) Other (specify)

[Fuck it, let's computer.]

>Deciding to risk it, you sat down at the computer and took the stylus in your hoof, tapping away at the keys.
>Most of the leasing within the last week was innocuous enough.
>A few smaller companies had hired Flim Flam warehouses as temporary storage because of an influx of trade goods from Cervidas.
>Others were for more private enterprises, ones that you were pretty sure were linked to illegal smuggling.
>You took note of those for later reference.
>One in particular stood out, not because of who hired it, but who hadn't.
>It wasn't in use at all, according to the file, and yet it was here in the leasing records.
>The warehouse had been hired by a small fishing business for storage up until a week ago, when Flim Flam Inc had cut off the contract.
>No one had hired it since, it wasn't even on offer.
>You took note of the address and closed the terminal down, peering back out of the door.
>The guard you'd distracted had moved away on a patrol route, so you took the opportunity to reclaim the empty rifle cartridge in case you needed another distraction, making your way back to the stairwell stealthily.
>You rapidly made your way back down towards the ground floor, repeating the address in your head.
>It was the most suspicious one you'd been able to find.
>As you passed the third floor stairwell, you found your radio sticky taped to the wall, the button held down.
>You reclaimed it, wondering where Anon had got to.
>Suddenly, the buildings fire alarms went off and you hurried.
>If Anon was going to be anywhere, it'd be in the office where you'd tased that manager.
>However, as you rounded the corner, there were security guards milling about the office, along with that pony from earlier.
>Someone grabbed you from behind and pulled you away from the corner, a hand over your mouth.
>As that fact settled in, you relaxed, Anon pulling his hand away.
>You had to get out.

a) Loud
b) Quiet
c) Other (specify)

[B If possible]

[DO IT LOUD BBY]

{I'm sensing some conflicting ideas...}
> Be quiet as loudly as possible.
> Muffled action scene, go!
> But really, might as well bail asap without drawing more attention. B

>You tried to think over the blaring of the fire alarm, and it suddenly occurred to you that the guards didn't seem to be panicking.
>"We're not getting out that way, let's try another way."
>Anon took you back along the corridors and towards the main atrium.
>Peeking in, you saw ponies rushing to get to the exits.
"I'm guessing you did this?"
>Anon grinned and nodded, "Yep."
>You gave him a look.
>"You told me to cause a distraction."
>You had told him that.
"Maybe we could just run out normally. Nopony'll notice in the panic, right?"
>Anon shrugged and checked behind him, "Maybe. But I'm still going to draw attention."
>It was now or never, the flow of ponies out of the building was beginning to thin out.
>You grabbed Anons's hand and tugged him out, urging him to run as you cantered beside him towards the exit.
>The ponies around you didn't seem to notice Anon in their fear of a fire, and as easily as that, you and Anon had made a a loud escape without drawing attention to yourselves.
>However, the two of you kept going for a couple of blocks before stopping for breath.
>"Now, where are we going...?"
>You passed the empty cartridge back to Anon as you replied.
"We're going to wharf three, the warehouses there don't seem to be hired by anypony, and that's suspicious for a company like Flim Flam Inc."

a) Hire a carriage.
b) Walk.
c) Other (specify)

[Probs do A, Think we have enough bits.]

>You raise your hoof and whistle, a carriage pulling over as you stepped up and onto it.
>It looked a little different than the standard taxi carriages, probably a private enterprise.
"We should hurry, we can radio Flare when we get there."
>You helped Anon onto the carriage and sat beside him, telling the driver your destination, passing over the standard fare of twenty bits.
>It was getting late, the sun dropping lower now, and you guessed that it was somewhere around three pm.
>For his part, Anon set about reloading the empty cartridge, even though he didn't have that rifle with him.
>You leaned against his side comfortably, prepared to take another short nap.
>The carriage had been about to take off when you heard a shout, a call for the carriage to wait.
>For a moment, you thought that one of the security guards had followed you, but looking across from Anon, you saw a big guy getting on the carriage.
>You hated that, when other ponies would hitch along with other fares.
>"Thank the heart, I almost missed you."
>He gave the driver his own fare and destination and then turned to you and Anon.
>"Sorry about this, I was telling somepony just last night to stay out of things that didn't concern them, but they didn't listen. Now I have to clean up the mess. Imagine that."
>He recovered from his mad dash for the carriage and held out a hoof to Anon, who then took it and shook.
>It was then you noticed that the big pony was a Crystal Pony, you didn't see too many of them this far south.
>The stallion spoke up in greeting, giving the both of you a friendly smile.
>"My name's Rough Diamond, pleasure to meet you."

... ... ...

>You're Flare.
>Back from your day of hard work with bits in metaphorical hoof.
>Nudging the door open, you were greeted by the silent apartment, devoid of any occupants.
"Hey guys...? Anon? Blueberry?"
>Silence.
>Those two crazy kids must be having a night on the town.
>How adorable.
>You smiled to yourself in the dark and flipped the lights on, dropping your bag of hard earned bits on the counter.
>Next, you rummaged through the fridge for one of your remaining apples, eyeing a note beneath one of them, along with a leather folder that you recognised as a lock picking set.
>Odd place to put it, but it made sense.
>A frown replaced your smile as you read over the note, Tartarus be damned, of course it was Flim Flam Inc.
>Considering neither of them were here, the note seemed to confirm that they were having a night out.
>Something felt off, though. You'd done some investigating at the gun store and found invoices for bulk munitions orders from Flim Flam Inc.
>There were too many leads pointing in that direction, and Anon hadn't contacted you yet.
>Perhaps he had missed something while there.
>In any case, with fresh evidence in mind, you could hardly sit on your rump here.
>You glanced at the clock on the wall.
>A little past eight pm.
>Perfect, you would have done things the sneaky way anyway, it would be easier under cover of darkness.
>You placed the bits and the lock picking set in your saddlebags and did some other sorting, removing the unnecessary things.
>Idly, you wondered if there was anything else you should do.
>Wisp had been left in her rifle bag leaning against the wall, and there was a mess of equipment on the ground where Anon had clearly been working.

a) Final check. (specify)
b) Ready to go. (You will not be able to return here)
c) Other. (specify)

[Rifle isn't too heavy right? Grab it and jam to Flim-Flam.]
[B.]

>Ignoring the mess on the floor, you pulled your beloved rifle out of the bag and slung it to your side, moving to the balcony and taking flight directly.
>You shivered a little at the cool night air against your wings, but it was well within tolerable limits.
>The city glimmered in the night beneath you. It almost seemed like day down there, still.
>All the lights, carriages and ponies just as busy, in just as much of a rush.
>Truly, Manehattan never slept.
>After half an hour of steady flight, you spotted Flim Flam Inc coming into view, towering above the surrounding buildings.
>Down on the street around its base, ponies bustled busily. It seemed as though there'd been some kind of catastrophe.
>Or false alarm, at least.
>Worry for Anon and Blueberry grew within in you, but you dismissed it, likely this had happened hours after their visit, right?
>Swooping in, you touched down on a rooftop across the street, observing the front entrance.
>Private security guards were everywhere, and even a few police officers were there, investigating whatever had happened most likely.
>The police you could deal with, but private security was another matter, especially if Blue Moon was in charge here.
>Time to get your sneak on.
>You had to decide how you'd get in.

a) Front.
b) Back.
c) Roof.
d) Other. (specify)

[Do the back]

>There were too many out front for you to sneak in undetected, and more than likely any roof access was looked down.
>Maybe the back door would be easier.
>With a shake and a few hard flaps, you took to the sky again and gained some altitude, circling around the building to the back.
>It was also bustling with activity, but not as much. 
>A number of crates from deliveries had also built up during the investigation, so there was ample cover.
>However, it was crawling with private security.
>Even from above, you could tell they were on edge, almost like they were waiting for something.
>They moved about like ants, roving between the crates in a staggered patrol, bright and alert.
>If any of them went missing, it would be noticed in short order.
>If the alarm was raised at all, you were done. They'd lock down the building, whether you were inside or not wouldn't matter.
>Finishing your reconnaissance, you touched down a short distance away, thankfully unseen.
>Using a wing hook to lift your Dart Gun out of its holster slightly, you took it in your hoof and chambered an extra dart, pumping air into the canister, replacing the weapon afterwards.
>A few different paths presented themselves to you, and you could almost hear Night Watch in your head, sounding off training drills.
>Along one edge of the delivery bay lay several crates stacked closely together.
>Plenty of cover, but the low visibility worked both ways, and you'd be up close and personal if you had to subdue a guard.
>In one portion, you'd noticed a slight gap in their patrol patterns where you could slip in unseen. However, it was a very small gap that would close quickly, and there'd be no where to hide if you were seen.
>The third path you'd taken note of was one you were suited for, having wings.
>You could just fly over the worst of it, as people seldom looked up.
>Pegasi did, however, and there were one or two on patrol. 

a) Crates
b) Patrol Gap
c) Flight
d) Other (specify)

[Do A]

>Deciding heavy cover was your best bet, you crouched low and moved over there slowly, ears twitching this way and that, eyes darting around to keep track of the guards.
>You came across a final obstacle between you and the crates.
>There was a short stretch of a few meters between the gatehouse, near which you remained hidden and the crates.
>You'd be in full view for however long it took you to get there.
>At first, your instincts told you to make a dash for it, hoping that by going quickly, you'd reduce your chances of being seen.
>However, you could almost feel Night Watch's hoof slap the back of your head.
>Speed was no substitute for stealth, the rapid movement would draw attention like a... Well, like a flare.
>A strained smile adorned your muzzle at the pun as you took a deep breath and moved forward, keeping low, and moving slowly.
>Time seemed to stretch out, every little movement you made was carefully measured, and it seemed you had dozens of eyes on you.
>You broke out into a sweat from the nervousness alone. A small part of you screaming to dash the rest of the way, that the guards would see your brightly colored mane, that they might just look it your direction.
>Your world shrunk to the size of a pinpoint, all that mattered was each step forwards, inch by inch, the safety of the crates grew closer.
>In the end, you relented to your instincts a little bit, moving at a bit of a faster pace towards the shadowy lee of a large crate, pushing up against it.
>It took you a few moments to calm yourself, your muzzle pressed to the cold wood of the crate, keeping your eyes closed.
>In a moment, the night air seemed to dry away your sweat and you were ready to move on.
>Amongst the crates, you winced at every little sound you made.
>Surely the guards could hear you.
>You could certainly hear them in the adjacent rows, occasionally a pair of them would meet up and talk in hushed tones.

a) Eavesdrop
b) Move on
c) Other (specify)

[a) Eavesdrop]
[You can get info while remaining mostly still so you don't make noise]

>The guards were far too close for you to move undetected, so you might as well listen in.
>You sat cautiously and perked your ears in their general direction, straining to hear them.
>"...Know why we're here still? It's been hours, and nothin's happenin'."
>A mare's voice piped up, hushed, but easier to hear than the deep rumbling voice of the colt.
>"Why're you asking me? They don't tell me anything. Far as I know, we're just supposed to keep on guard until midnight."
>The stallion spoke up again, his voice even quieter, so much that you had to strain even further just to make out a few words.
>"...Apparently... Break in... Afternoon. Some of the guys... Someone else... Try."
>Sounded like Anon and Blueberry had been busy. Although, you couldn't really understand what he'd said afterwards.
>"Well, we'd better get back to it, you know how much of a hardass the chief is."
>"Right."
>With that, it sounded as though the two guards had parted ways, and you froze as one of them made their way towards you.
>You moved back a bit, Dart Gun in hoof as one of the guards, the stallion, walked past the intersection, tired eyes not bothering to search.
>You caught your breath, praying to Luna that he wouldn't turn his eyes to you.
>He passed without incident, Luna be praised.
>Silently, you moved through the intersection yourself moving ahead, weaving your way steadily through the collected crates.
>Oddly enough, all of them were stripped of identifying codes, which you found suspicious.
>You had no time to search them, unfortunately, Blueberry would have to deal with it after all this was done.
>Up ahead, there was one final stretch between you and the building proper, but there was a problem.
>There was a guard by the door.

a) Wait for him to move.
b) Cause a distraction.
c) Other (specify)

[Stay put for A.]

>The guards were so high strung, you weren't sure what a distraction would do, so you did the next best thing and sat on top of a crate, keeping low as you eyed the guard.
>Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes stretched on until it felt as though you'd been there for an hour, your muscles stiff from inactivity.
>The guard had remained as still as you had until moving on.
>Not wanting to waste the opportunity, you stretched as quietly as possible and crept towards the door, slipping in silently while the guard was elsewhere.
>You'd made it inside.

a) Search the offices.
b) Search the upper floors.
c) Other. (specify)

[b]

>What you were looking for wouldn't be in the delivery bay, you'd need to go higher, and there'd be no telling if the guards wouldn't come in while you were searching.
>Moving quickly now, you found an elevator.
>The little panel on the wall indicated that the car was currently on floor fifty nine.
>You didn't want to trigger some kind of alert by using the elevator, and you certainly didn't want to take the stairs.
>Rummaging around in your saddlebag, you pulled out your lock picking set, finding something you could use as a screwdriver.
>Quickly, but quietly, you removed the elevator panel and cut a couple of the wires with your hoof blades.
>You weren't an electrician, but if you could just spark the wires a bit.
>With a ding, the elevator doors opened to the shaft, heavy cabling running up through the building.
>You replaced the panel and flew into the shaft just as the doors closed with a ding.
>It was dark and cold, a draft chilling your wings as you looked up.
>Flapping your wings, you steadily ascended through the building, the only source of light were those of maintenance panels, blinking with soft red light.
>It was tiring, but eventually you got to floor fifty eight.
>One floor below the elevator car.
>The only issue was that you had no idea if there was anypony else on the other side of the elevator doors.
>One could say that you were as blind as a bat right now.
>There might be another way through if you look around, though.

a) Splice the elevator doors.
b) Other (specify)

[Elevator doors aren't entirely soundproof, see if you can hear anything, if not splice the doors.]

>Maybe you couldn't see through the door, but you might be able to use your super bat hearing.
>Hovering close to the door, you pressed your ear to the cold metal, right along the crack.
>Focusing, all you could hear was the steady hum of computers.
>No hoof beats, no voices.
>They could be stationary, there was no way to tell for sure.
>Regardless, you brought out your lock picking set again and worked at a maintenance panel, splicing the door open.
>With a ding, the elevator door slid open, the draft blowing through the room, upsetting a few papers.
>"Huh?"
>With a cry of shock, one of the guards approaching the door and aimed his weapon at you.
>Time seemed to slow as he prepared to shout.
>You were faster in drawing your dart gun, firing a pair of darts at him. The first hit his chest, pushing him back as the spell worked to stun him, the second impacted his leg, overloading his body with the spell.
>He fell back against a pile of paperwork, knocking it over with a racket as you touched down at the elevator door, sweeping the room for anypony else.
>However, it seemed that he had been the only one stationed here.
>You wouldn't have long before he would be noticed as missing.
>What you needed was... Well, was anything you could get your hooves on that could tell you where Blue Moon would keep a foalnapping victim.
>You searched boxes of paper records and several computers, finding little more than sales figures and resource expenditures.
>That's when you finally spotted the records room, barging in and heading straight for the computer.
>Someone had already searched it, allegedly, as the screen was open on a particular page, showing a warehouse that had been reserved for no one in particular.
>Wharf three, warehouses A through D.
>That was a bit excessive for a foalnapping.

>You had a bad feeling about this.
>Someone had searched the computer, and it had to be Blueberry and Anon, yet the note had said they'd contact you if they found anything.
>They may have bitten off more than they could chew and went straight there, in which case, you needed to get over there right now.
>A crackle of static behind you caused your ears to flick back.
>"Hay, you there? Post wants an update."
>Celestia banish you to the moon, your luck had to run out right now.
>"Hay. Report!"
>You didn't even wait for him to finish before crushing the radio beneath a hoof to buy time.
>Hopefully they'd believe his radio was just broken.
>You needed to get out, now.

a) Exit via the roof.
b) Escape from ground level.
c) Other (specify)

[The roof is closer]

>You cantered for the stairs, kicking the door open.
>The roof was your only hope, they'd figure out they had an intruder sooner or later, and you didn't want to be stuck in the building when they did.
>The clatter of hooves coming up the stairwell could be heard, and upon listening more closely, you could hear that there were guards on their way up.
>You had a minute a best.
>All thoughts of stealth abandoned, you flew up the stairs.
>Floor fifty nine, sixty, sixty one...
>Up you went, you weren't entirely sure just how many floors this building had, but you had to be nearing the roof being this high up.
>It was certainly closer than the ground floor.
>After passing floor seventy five, you ran into a fire exit, pushing it open and stumbling out into the night.
>And straight into five Pegasi security guards.
>"Stop right there!"
>Almost as one, they raised tasers at you and you halted, sitting and putting your hooves up.
>Five of them and one of you.
>Come on, think, think, think!
>One of the guards keyed his radio, keeping his eyes and taser trained on you, "Control, this is roof detail, we've got an intruder up here. Lock the building."
>A dull, resounding thud could be heard behind you as the fire escape deadbolt slid into place.
>Retreating into the building wasn't an option, outflying a team of Pegasi would prove difficult without being tailed.
>You weren't sure what to do.

a) Fly for it and hope for the best.
b) Draw!
c) Other (specify)

[Fuck, I drew!]
[But really we're pretty fucked/10. Did the other four drop their guard because Flare put her hooves up or no?]

>You observe the other four ponies, all of them are at attention, one or two of them seemed a bit green, the other three had steady aim on you.
>You could probably take one taser.
>Maybe one.
>But certainly not five of them.
>"Cuff her."
>Two of the Pegasi, the junior ones, holstered their tasers and moved forwards, one withdrawing a set of hoof cuffs, the other with wing restraints.
>You could probably get two shots off before any of them were able to react, there was no guarantee either of them would hit anything, but it was better than nothing.

a) Fly.
b) Draw!
c) Other (specify)

[draw n make em dance]
>Fly too, don't forget that

>They were getting closer, it was now or never.
>Taking a deep breath, you close your eyes and draw your dart gun.
>Everything slowed down, the two Pegasi that had been nearing you startled and pulled back slightly, dropping their restraints and going to draw their tasers.
>They weren't fast enough and your first shot zinged by one of them, miraculously hitting one of the other Pegasi behind them, causing him to stagger and fall against one of his comrades, tangling them up.
>The remainder of the three, their leader, managed to fire his taser, the twin darts travelling towards you, electrical current sparking between them.
>You were close enough to one of the guards, so you grabbed him and pulled him in front of you, letting him take the taser instead.
>Up came your dart gun again, the poor stallion in your arms writhing and collapsing to the ground.
>Again, you shot at the closer Pegasus just as he pulled the trigger on his taser, forcing him to shoot wide of you as the stun dart did its work.
>That left two, one almost having untangled himself from his comrade and their leader, already in the process of drawing his baton with his teeth.
>You turned and galloped straight for the edge of the building, keeping your wings closed as you leaped, dropping like a rock.
>Real time set back in and you looked back as two of the Pegasi gave chase, and with that, you opened your wings, gliding out and away from the building, angling down towards the closely grouped apartment blocks and businesses.
>Hopefully you'd be able to lose them in there.
>It'd be tight maneuvering, though.
>Your only other option would be to try and outpace them through speed alone.

a) Outfly (Speed)
b) Outfly (Agility)
c) Other (specify)

[Batponies were slated as faster than the average pegasus in flightCitation needed.. A]

>You couldn't waste time trying to lose them in the alleys, you needed to end this now.
>Putting your all into it, you began to gain distance on your pursuers, you never thought you'd be able to outfly Pegasi like this, but Luna be praised if you weren't doing it now!
>Keeping your pace was a challenge, however, and soon you broke out into a sweat, the wind zipping by, cooling your damp body.
>You dared not look back for fear of ruining your aerodynamics.
>Ahead of you, the city center loomed ahead, and having noticed it, you were suddenly amongst it, taking a hard left and gaining in altitude.
>Down below, the Pegasi passed a moment later, flying steadily, searching for you.
>Having mostly lost them, you rose up above the skyscrapers and turned your eyes seaward.
>On the coast line, all but one of the wharfs were quiet, the one that wasn't was a hive of activity.
>The beams of search lights lanced through the sky, guiding flying machines in and out of the area, at this distance, you could make out ponies moving crates and other supplies, but not much else.
>That was definitely wharf three. It couldn't be a coincidence.
>The wind whipped at your mane and tail, the buckles on your saddlebags jingling, the cold weight of Wisp at one flank and your dart gun on the other.
>You gave your wings a determined flap and took off for the wharf.

>Throughout its recent history, wharf three had been leased to a small fishing company who'd use the warehouses for storage.
>Before that, it had been leased by a myriad of minor and major companies.
>In all that time, wharf three had never seen such an abundance of activity as it had seen over the past week.
>Passers by had not remarked on the many Gyrocopters flying in and out, both carrying supplies to and from the wharf. They hadn't remarked on the armed and armored ponies standing guard over the place.
>To most, they had assumed that a private military company had hired the area for something.
>They wouldn't be half wrong.
>Tonight, however, they were in a buzz of activity, equipment had been taken down and flown out, ponies had been boarding the aircraft and flown off to destinations unknown, and a strange ship, low in the water had been on stand-by.
>You'd thought about all of this as you touched down a block away, leaning around the corner to gauge the area.
>You ducked back again as one of the Gyrocopters, its storm cloud battery sparking to life, lifted out of the compound and flew over you, back towards the city.
>Back towards the gate, you took note of the guards, they wore armored uniforms rather than the metal plating common to the Canterlot guard, and every one of them had their faces and heads concealed beneath a filtration mask.
>They stood silently, at perfect, well trained attention.
>You could spot no hole in their patrols, no weakness in the guards themselves.
>Stun darts may not even reliably penetrate their uniforms.
>There had to be a way in, though, you just had to keep looking.

a) Attempt entering through the gate. (specify)
b) Look for another entry point. (specify)
c) Other (specify)

[It's a wharf, see if there's a way to get underneath the pier unseen]

>The gate was far too heavily guarded, not even a disguise would help you get in.
>You withdrew from the gate and left for the edge of the pier.
>The water slapped gently against the concrete walls.
>There wasn't any direct way under the pier, but there were storm drains along the walls, just above the water line.
>Further ahead, you spotted a pair of guards walking patrol along the edge, eyes searching the water for intruders.
>Even further ahead, you could just about make out the silhouette of the ship moored alongside the pier, most of its hull rested below the water, those parts of it above the surface were smooth dark painted metal in angular shapes, giving the vessel a somewhat predatory look.
>Occasionally, it would bob up and down with the sea, revealing the same seal you'd seen on the encoded orders. The Phoenix looking to the right.
>In a flash of realisation, you recognised the vessel as a submarine.
>There was no doubt about it now, this is where you had to be.
>You flicked your attention back to the guards. This portion of the pier wasn't so heavily guarded, perhaps they weren't expecting anyone to get in through the storm drains.
>Perhaps it was a trap.
>Either way, you couldn't sit here all night.
>You waited for an opportune moment and jumped off the pier gliding out and in towards one of the storm drains, landing as silently as possible.
>Thankfully, you hadn't been seen.
>it seemed your luck had come back.
>Moving forward through the drainage channel, trying to ignore the foul smell coming of the water, you came across an intersection.
>One would go straight towards the other side of the pier, heading right would take you beneath the gate, while heading left would take you deeper beneath the warehouses.
>Left or right?

a) Left
b) Right
c) Other (specify)

a) Left
We can probably see more of what's roaming around the surface that way.

Wait. She still have the Crystal Hoofclaws? Those could be very handy while sneaking the Warehouse/Sunmarine.
Also Left

>No point heading back to the gate, you guess.
>Left it is!
>The drainage tunnel seemed to stretch on and on, while outside, you could hear the muffled sounds of more Gyrocopters landing and taking off, orders being shouted and other such noise.
>Eventually, you came to a wide area that you guessed was some kind of water treatment plant.
>The reasoning for putting one at the end of a storm drain was lost on you.
>The room was immense in that it took up much of the pier's interior.
>In the center was some kind of filtration device, pumping gallons of water a second.
>Several catwalks crisscrossed the room, connecting different levels, a few of them patrolled by more guards, alert and well armed.
>You shrunk back and replaced your hoof blades with the crystalline one, watching as the enchantment made them fade from view.
>If only the rest of you could go so invisible.
>However, between the roar of rushing water and all the pipes and catwalks, you were confidant you could stay out of sight.
>Upon looking again, you found there were two clear exits, one was a ladder and hatch at the far end of the room, the other was a valve operated blast door.
>You'd need to decide which you would attempt to go for.
>The blast door might not even lead to the outside, however.

a) Blast Door
b) Hatch
c) Other (specify)

See about the hatch.

>The hatch was exactly across the room from you, between you and it, was the pool of collected sewage water, and the pump.
>You'd need to work around the edge of the room.
>Remaining in place for a moment, you kept track of the guards, plotting out their movements and taking note of any blind spots.
>There were two in total, neither of them left you much time to get up the ladder.
>You also spotted a maintenance panel by one of the pipe lines, you might be able to cut the lights from there.
>While it would keep you unseen, it'd alert the entire base that they had an intruder if they had any brains. It was also out of your way.
>If you acted quickly, you could simply incapacitate the guards, but that would leave you with a limited window to act in.
>As the first blind spot came up, you slipped out of your hiding spot and moved quickly, relying on the noise of the pump to mask your movements.
>One of the guards turned in your direction and you barely had the time to take cover before he saw you.
>Your heart pounded in your chest as he passed by on the catwalk above you, looking around before turning back and heading the other way.
>One more blind spot left, you could either use it to get through the hatch, or cut the lights.
>It'd be a close thing either way.

a) Cut the lights
b) Make for the hatch.
c) Other (specify)

It's either risk getting caught with no cover at all, or alert everyone and have cover. Or maybe they've had electrical issues before.
Try to make for the hatch

>Counting down in your head, you marked the blind spot and slipped out of cover, all but dashing for the ladder, you began your climb.
>Thirty seconds.
>The hatch grew closer as you made steady progress, the quiet 'clink clink' of your hooves against the metal rungs drowned out by the pump.
>Fifteen seconds.
>Reaching the hatch, you flexed your wings, hooks helping to keep you steady against the ladder as you worked the valve, hearing the thud as the bolt slid out.
>Five seconds.
>Panicking, you pushed the hatch open pulled yourself out, tail just barely making it out of the room in time to close the hatch without anypony noticing.
>You breathed a sigh of relief, that had been cutting it close.
>Looking around, you found yourself in an alley between warehouses, at the end, you could see ponies loading containers of water into metal crates, which were then being loaded onto the submarine.
>What were they doing with all that water?
>Movement caught your eye and you spotted a large pony walking alongside a mare, you couldn't make out much, but you noticed that the guards by the door saluted to the pair and moved away from the door as they entered, leaving it unguarded.
>It was fairly dark, and the guards were busy with their tasks, sneaking around wouldn't be difficult.

a) Board the submarine.
b) Follow the ponies into the warehouse.
c) Other (specify)

Probably B, there isn't time

>If you were going across the courtyard, you'd need a disguise.
>Subduing one of the passing guards and taking her uniform didn't take much time, you had the element of surprise and the training.
>A minute of redressing later, you stepped out of the alley and circled around to the warehouse those two ponies had entered, pushing the door open and stepping inside.
>You'd expected some kind of command post, however, it was pitch black inside.
>And silent.
>A shiver traveled up your spine as you got the distinct impression that something bad was about to happen.
>You had reached a decently clear space in the middle of the warehouse when several flood lights turned on, all trained on you.
>The sudden light blinded you for a moment, and when you recovered, you found yourself the target of no less than twenty guards, rifles all trained on you, positioned on the catwalks to the left and right of the room.
>Ahead of you, stood him.
>That saboteur.
>You could almost swear he'd gotten even bigger.
>There was no getting out of this one, but they hadn't shot you yet, so you maintained your position, glaring right back at the crystal stallion, which he returned with an impassive, almost bored look.
>The sound of hooves against the catwalk drew your attention away from him, and you found yourself looking at a Unicorn mare in her middle years, her coat a deep, ocean blue, her mane and tail several shades lighter.
>She wore a crisp, black business suit with a red tie, reminding you of Anon's suit, and upon her flank, was a Cutie Mark depicting a light blue gear shaded to look like a crescent moon.
>The mare finally stopped and turned, standing by the crystal stallion, appraising you silently.
>Even from your position, you could make out slight crows feet by her eyes and one or two strands of grey in her mane.
>But despite her visage, the fire in her eyes bespoke of anything but an elderly mare.

>She took a breath and spoke loudly and clearly, her voice carrying throughout the warehouse easily.
>"I had wondered when you would be joining us here, Lieutenant Flare. Rough Diamond here had his doubts about your abilities, but I just knew you would find a way in without being seen."
>She gave you a smile and continued to appraise you, apparently liking what she was seeing.
>"You must forgive my curiosity, I've not had many dealings with your kind before, even back in my day, they were very isolationist. Granted, they had good reason to be, but you..."
>She tapped a hoof against her muzzle and slid a glance at each row of guards.
>"Standing there, defiant, not at all fazed by the very real threat around you. Color me impressed!"

What say?

Ask why she kidnapped Midnight and what it has to do with "Invoking the power of a unicorn." And what all this hardware she's packing is for.

>The mare gazed down at you quietly, like she was expecting questions.
>Stall for time.
"Why did you kidnap Midnight? What has she got to do with invoking the power of a Unicorn?"
>Blue Moon, waved her hoof in the air dismissively.
>"Unfortunately, despite my numerous resources, I was unable to find anyone capable of translating Starswirls works, Miss Midnight is the nations... Possibly even the worlds... only expert on his later writings."
>She put her hoof down, a look of derision adorning her face as she replied to your second question.
>"As for what it means, I'm afraid you'll get no exposition from me, but I will say that our work will return our great nation to the foremost power of our world!"
>You looked around at all the crates.
"What do you mean by that? We're at peace! What could you possibly need all this hardware for?"
>Blue Moon followed your gaze towards the various crates.
>"Oh these? Vital equipment for various operations across Equestria and beyond. By now, you've likely noticed our Deuterium stockpile."
"You mean all the water, right?"
>"Ah, so you're not completely ignorant, that's good. Yes, Deuterium is what we use as a fuel source, it's not as efficient as those used back in the day, but it's difficult to track."
>She looked straight into your eyes seriously, "Princess Celestia has sent you to stop me, and she has no doubt informed you of my perceived crimes. I'd like to take a moment of your time, if I may, to correct your view."
>You raised an eyebrow skeptically, here was a mare who'd ordered the destruction of an airship full of civilians.
>"I used to run this great nation in time of desperate need, I saved Equestria from its enemies and worked tirelessly to ensure our country could be free from hostilities, both foreign and domestic. Some called me a patriot. The Princess declared me an extremist."

What say?

So she's probably staging a coup. So what's she going to do with Midnight anyway? Kill her off?

"So, what? A coup? What happens to Midnight when she's no longer useful?"
>Blue Moon feigned a look of insult.
>"A coup?! My dear Flare, you wound me. If I had wanted to regain control of the country, I could very well have done so by now. No, now is not the time for a coup, that comes later."
>She tapped her hooves together, judging you.
>"As for Midnight, you're correct in that she's no longer of use to me."
>She waited a moment longer, and you noticed Rough Diamond flexing a little, his eyes fixed on you.
>"This brings us to your predicament, I believe. Were the circumstances different I would relish the chance to study you further, even to recruit you in service to the Equestrian people."
>"Sadly, I don't have the time, and my attentions are required elsewhere. So I shall lay it out simply for you. There is an abandoned hotel building half an hour's flight from here named 'The Silvery Thestral'"
>She smiled.
>"Your friends, Mr Anonymous and police Sergeant Blueberry are being held there until midnight. As for Midnight, she's right here, in one of these warehouses, she is also, incidentally, being held until midnight."
>Blue Moon checked her pocket watch, "It is currently nearing eleven thirty, so I'm afraid you haven't the time for both."
>You near growled at her, the horse!
>Around you, Blue Moon's troops tightened their grips on their rifles, and you knew that one wrong move would mean your immediate death.
>Blue Moon had also noticed your change of stance and returned your glare with a triumphant look, "So! You must choose, Lieutenant. The mission or your friends! For now, I leave you in the capable hooves of Rough Diamond, he has expressed a... Desire... To engage you in combat, believe me when I say he will fight to the death. Farewell, Lieutenant, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but I'm needed elsewhere."

>Blue Moon turned and made for the door behind her, pausing and turning her head back to look at you, "Should you survive this, I look forward to studying you in greater depth."
>The mare passed through the door, leaving you with Rough Diamond.
>For the first time since you entered, a smile had crept onto his features, with a shake of his head, he dismissed the soldiers and retrieved an injector from his bandoleer, the liquid passing into his body.
>The stallion leaped over the railing and fell the equivalent of two stories, landing with a crack of the pavement, unharmed.
>The soldiers filed out of the warehouse after Blue Moon, leaving the two of you alone.
>You crouched low and extended your hoof blades.
"If I took your injectors away, would you die?"
>The stallion readied himself, his heavily plated hoof guards, combined with his strength, would be capable of crushing you, "It would be extremely painful."
>He was enormous, bigger than Big Macintosh had been.
"You're a big guy."
>"For you."
>With that, Blue Moon's personal attack dog dashed right for you.

>You lunged to the side as Rough Diamond charged past, barreling straight into a stack of crates.
>The sheer mass of him shattered the wood, revealing the Deuterium tanks encased inside.
>The reinforced glass container cracked beneath his weight.
>You took the moment to size him up, from the dual bandoleers of injectors to the heavily plated hoof guards he wore.
>From you previous encounter, stun darts would only slow him down.
>If you were going to win this, you'd either have to kill him, or outsmart him.
>The stallion pried himself away from the wreckage and turned back to you, preparing to charge again.
>You readied yourself.

a) Offensive
b) Defensive
c) Other (specify)

[Defensive. Mostly evasive maneuvers, given he's so huge.]

>You'd need to come up with a plan to take him down if you weren't going to just shoot him outright.
>Rough Diamond charged again, but feinted left.
>You'd barely dodged back to the right before he hit you,
>The stallion skidded to a halt, turning slowly.
>It was then you realised that his sheer muscle mass was inhibiting his movement.
>That gave you a little breathing room.
>"Stand still, so I can crush you."
>Was he serious? He was serious.
"How about no, instead?"
>You'd been expecting another blind charge, but were surprised when Rough Diamond began to approach you steadily.
>There'd be no desperate dodge once he got in range.
>Backing up, you found yourself with your back against the damaged Deuterium tank, cornered.
>You'd either have to shoot him or come up with something else.

a) Evasive
b) Offensive
c) Other (specify)

[A]
[Bait him into hitting the Deuterium.]

>The stallion adopted a savage grin as he approached, seemingly confidant that he'd won.
>You ensured that you were between him and the worst of the crack in glass shielding.
>As soon as he got in range, he raised one of his plated hooves, ready to strike you.
>Just as he swung his hoof forwards, you dove forward, past his strike and to his left side.
>You turned in time to see his considerable strength drive his plated hoof through the glass shield, shattering it and causing the Deuterium to rush out, soaking Rough Diamond and coating much of the floor with a pool of heavy water.
>Rough Diamond cursed and lumbered around to face you.

a) Offensive
b) Defensive
c) Other (specify)

[A]

>Before he could recover, you drew your dart gun and fired twice. The two darts punching into his coat with a 'thwap'
>The dual shots sent him staggering, collapsing against the broken Deuterium tank.
>Yet still, he was otherwise unaffected.
>With a groan, Rough Diamond retrieved one of his injectors and plunged it into his fore leg, the luminescent liquid flowing into him, reinvigorating him.
>Next, he pulled the two darts from his shoulder as he stood, turning to you again, water dripping from his coat.
>He actually looked angry now.

a) Offensive
b) Defensive
c) Other (specify)

[Defensive]

>Rough Diamond swung at you again, however, you weren't quick enough to dodge, and his plated hoof grazed your flank, knocking you off balance.
>As you fell to the ground, your saddlebag opened and out slid one of your lightning infused hoof blades.
>Your flank was on fire, it felt like train had just hit it.
>Flexing your hind leg, you were just thankful that he hadn't broken your hip.
>Rough Diamond came at you again, and you barely had the time to roll out of the way before his hoof came crashing down, splashing the water about and cracking the pavement.

a) Defensive
b) Offensive
c) Other (specify)

[B]
>Also check your surroundings to see if something like that mech from the Alien movies is around or something crazy

[Grab the blades, focus your ass, get the defensive pose and if he attacks you again, go offensive and stick your claws into him.]

>You really didn't want to shoot him, but looking into his eyes, you saw the intent to kill.
>It was either him or you.
>The big guy attacked again, and you used the moment to roll to the side, retrieving your lightning hoof blade, replacing one of the transparent ones.
>With a flick of your hoof, the blades flicked out and sparked to life, the lightning reflecting off of the water eerily.
>You'd been about to put your hoof down when you noticed the pool of water you were both fighting in.
>Rough Diamond seemed oblivious to this and charged again, but this time, you dove right at him, entering his guard before he could strike you, you slashed across his shoulder, bringing a growl of rage from him.
>The big stallion bucked and writhed, tossing you off of him and across the warehouse, right into another crate.
>The wood splintered behind you and the impact drove the wind from you.
>Guy had quite a buck.
>You needed to end this, so you looked around for anything to help you, seeing nothing but crates and a few overhead floodlights reflecting off of the water on the floor.
>You pulled yourself back to your hooves and re-entered a defensive stance, waiting for him to come at you again.

a) Offensive
b) Defensive
c) Other (specify)

[Bait him into a pool and see if you can't topple a floodlight to electrocute him.]

>Water.
>Overhead lights.
>Electricity.
>You knew what you had to do.
>There was water everywhere, so you didn't need to do much luring.
>With a few beats of your wings, you flew up to one of the lights, wing hooks wrapping around the cable.
>Rough Diamond paced about beneath you, grinning menacingly.
>"You don't have much time to save your friends, Flare. You gotta go through me first and the clock's ticking."
>He was right.
"No, I don't have much time, but neither do you!"
>You drew your hoof blades across the cable and held it in your mouth as the light fixture fell to the ground uselessly, without power, it didn't do what you were hoping it would.
>Cursing inwardly, you gathered your strength and dove down, dragging the electrical cable with you, thrusting it into the pool of water.
>It took everything you had to remain in the air as the current ran through the water, electrocuting Rough Diamond.
>The stallion screamed, then took a few steps towards you, his hair and coat standing on end.
>Finally, he succumbed to the current and dropped into the water, a few wisps of smoke rising from his body.
>You tossed the cable away and landed, breathing hard.
>Rough Diamond was still breathing, you'd only stopped him for the moment.
>Looking at the clock on the wall, your blood froze as you saw the time.
>Eleven twenty seven.
>Blue Moon's ultimatum came back to you.
>You didn't have time for both.

a) Your mission.
b) Your friends.

[rooftop a]

[Buy porn]

[Up to the roof with you.]

>You hated yourself for it, but you couldn't trade one life for two.
>No matter how important the mission was.
>Giving Rough Diamond a light kick, you told him to stay down as you took what you could from him.
>The stallion struggled to rise, you knew he wouldn't be giving you any trouble.
>No, the legion of armed ponies outside the building would be the ones giving you trouble, and after your confrontation with Blue Moon, they surely knew you were in here.
>As far as you could tell, there were two ways out of the building.
>The main door you'd entered through or the roof access Blue Moon had left through.

a) Roof access
b) Front door

>The arithmetic was obvious, you could either deal with a certain number of armed guards, or every single guard that was still outside at ground level.
>A few flaps of your wings brought you up to the catwalk where Blue Moon had stood moments ago. A groan from Rough Diamond drew your attention and you found him glaring at you, still struggling to get up.
>You didn't linger, the stallion was done for the time being.
>Up the stairs you went, dart gun at the ready.
>After this was all over, you were going to buy a copy of Hoof Fetish weekly and hole up in your room for a week.
>It was an odd thing to think at a time like this and you brought your mind back to the task at hoof.
>You nudged the door open slightly, and remained there for a moment.
>Twenty armed soldiers had gone this way after all, and finding yourself on the receiving end of so many barrels was uncomfortable in the extreme.
>Nevertheless, you pushed through a moment later and reached the top of the stairs unimpeded
>The stairwell circled back around and opened up to a roof supported Gyrocopter pad.
>Thankfully, it was currently unoccupied, and it seemed that the soldiers who’d come up here had already been airlifted out.
>Blue Moon sure was in a rush to get out of Manehattan, whether that was a result of your intervention or something else was up in the air.
>Literally.
>The final Gyrocopters were flying out and south.
>You had to move back into the shadows of the building as another Gyrocopter came in, landing upon the adjacent pad.
>It sat there, a pair of troops standing guard by it.
>Nothing seemed to be loaded onto or retrieved from the aircraft, it just sat there, waiting.
>You could fly to the Silver Thestral yourself, but that would take time.
>Or you could 'appropriate' one of these flying machines.

a) Hijack the Gyrocopter
b) Use your own wings
c) Other (specify)

[Dubs demand]
[B]

[Where would we stash a gyrocopter anyway?]

>What were you gonna do with a Gyrocopter? You couldn't even fly one of those things.
>With that thought in mind, you took off from the building, flying away from your responsibilities and towards another.
>You did, however, take note that the Gyrocopters were universally flying south, looking back, you found no sign of the submarine that had been moored at the pier.
>You'd have to get Blueberry to monitor the radio chatter later.
>If you ever got to her.
>The wind cooled your wings as you glided across the city, mentally kicking yourself for letting Anon and Blueberry get into this mess. If you'd been with them, you may have succeeded here tonight.
>Or perhaps not.
>Blue Moon had proven already that she plans ahead, however deranged she might be now.
>She claimed to be working for the good of Equestria, but the good of Equestria does not lie in underhanded tactics such as she were using.
>It's almost like she thought the country was at war, or under a tyranny.
>After some time, you reached the down town area and touched down on the highest roof top you could find.
>The Silvery Thestral wasn't all that difficult to find, as a Gyrocopter waited on the roof of the building.
>The name of the hotel also happened to be stenciled on the side of the old, decrepit, abandoned building.
>Guards milled about the entrance, and you could just barely make out movement at the windows by the top floors.
>From the edge of your vision, you caught the movement of an armored vehicle waiting in the shadows.
>The moon was almost at its zenith, whatever they were to do with your friends, they were going to do it soon.
>Going in quiet would be difficult, the area was well lit and the guard patrols were tight.
>If you were going to go in loud, you had to be as loud as possible.
>The armored vehicle came to mind.

a) Loud
b) Quiet
c) Other (specify)

[Go loud]

>If anyone were watching, they'd catch the moonlight glinting off of your fangs as you grinned mischievously.
>You felt like sending a message.
>Quietly, you glided down from the roof into the network of alleys that separated the buildings of the block you were on, dart gun holstered.
>You were better able to make out the armored vehicle as you got closer to it, recognising the thing as a Little Willie armored cannon platform. Thankfully, they weren't much harder to operate than a carriage.
>Having this thing barrel down on you was a sight, however, it didn't leave you much room for aiming the cannon.
>The door seemed like a good target.
>The mechanical beast rumbled quietly as you took refuge in the shadow it cast.
>What in Tartarus did they need a tank for anyway? Were they expecting a griffon invasion?
>Possibly if Blue Moon's sentiment was anything to go by.
>Dart gun at the ready once again, you knocked twice on the rear hatch and waited.
>After a moment, the hatch opened and out popped the head of a stallion, whom you immediately clapped around the ears before firing a dart into his chest.
>He let loose a muffled cry and fell back as you clambered in.
>Thankfully, he was the only pilot.
>He'd be drooling into the base plate for a while.
>You closed and sealed the hatch, taking a seat at the controls by the main cannon.
>Through the viewport, you had a fantastic view of the front door.
>Seven guards, four stationary, three patrolling, to within the blast zone of the door.
>You didn't want to kill them, so you'd have to spook them away from the door.
>The tank waited for your input.

a) The tank is waiting for your input, what do you do?

[Maybe just shoot somewhere to scare them away?]
[Does this tank have machine guns?]
[Open fire above their heads or on the sides to let them know you are not joking.]

[Maybe the tank has smoke rounds?] 
[I don't think that'd seriously harm anyone unless they got hit directly]

>You searched the rest of the operating cabin, hoping for smoke grenades or gunner turrets to scare them off, or at least cause confusion.
>No such luck on the smoke grenades, but the tank did have two side mounted gunner turrets, both modestly loaded, using them would preclude you from moving the tank itself.
>The primary cannon's firing angle could be adjusted to a limited extent, but more than enough to fire at the first floor, which appeared to be disused.
>You'd be able to drive the tank and fire the cannon at the same time.
>If all else failed, you could just ram the thing into the building, that'd cause all hell to break loose.
>The masonry in old buildings like these tended to fill the air with powder when shattered, if you crashed the tank into a sufficient amount of it, that would provide you with sufficient smoke screen to move around in.
>Opening the viewport again, you took note of the ground between the tank and the building, which consisted of the street, the boulevard of the hotel which led up a short set of stairs to a large set of glass doors.
>The lobby of the building itself was rather spacious with a few columns arranged in a 'u' shape, likely for decoration rather than load bearing structures, those would be contained in the walls.
>It wouldn't be hard to crash a tank into the building, the guards wouldn't be willing to stand in front of a tank going at ramming speed.

a) Ramming speed, captain!
b) Open fire
c) Both
d) Other (specify)

[Ramming speed]

>Taking a seat at the controls once again, you began to gun the tanks engine, drawing the attention of all the guards.
>One of them began to approach, weapon ready.
>Boy was he in for a big surprise.
>You put the pedal to the metal and the armored vehicle lurched forced, the metal treads screeching against the concrete sidewalk.
>The guard in front barely had enough time to get out of the way before he was crushed.
>The others began to shout and fire at the tank, the rounds pinging off of the armor plating.
>Up the vehicle went onto the boulevard, cracking the marble tiling before tearing its way up the stairs, forcing the guards out of the way.
>With a crash, you were through into the lobby, the weight of the vehicle making short work of the two pillars and still you kept the pressure up, crashing the tank straight into the elevators.
>The shock of the abrupt stop jolted you to the bone, the tank half into the elevator shaft, hanging slightly.
>Shaking off the daze of crashing into the building, you fell out of the seat and crawled towards the hatch, unsealing it.
>A cloud of powdery masonry began to fill the cabin and you made out the damage you'd caused.
>Those pillars had, in fact, been load bearing structure for the floor above, and it had all collapsed into the lobby.
>You pulled yourself out of the tank, coughing as the smoke and dust clogged the air.
>The other guards seemed to be hanging back, possibly worried of another collapse, but they wouldn't wait forever.

a) Fly up the elevator shaft
b) Use the stairs
c) Use the pony made hole in the ceiling
d) Other (specify)

[Go with c]

[C]

>Opening up your wings, you lift off of the ground and take off through the hole in the ceiling.
>Turns out you brought down more than just the first floor, the first five floors had collapsed during the sudden loss of support.
>At least now you were above the debris and cloud of dust.
>This particular hotel had around fifteen floors, the final three had looked like they had the most activity.
>If they didn't know you were coming before, they knew you were here now, and would be on high alert.
>More than likely, they were expecting you to come by the elevator shaft or the stairs and would be standing ready at those places.
>It was also possible that they were moving to get Anon and Blueberry out of your reach as quickly as possible.
>If that Gyrocopter took off, you wouldn't be able to give chase to it.
>Your ear twitched as you heard a quiet zing, followed by shattering glass and blinding pain.
>You cried out and fell against the wall as another two rounds were fired at where you'd just been standing.
>The pony on the opposite rooftop had a bead on you, gladly, the bullet had only glanced past your shoulder.
>You checked and found that the armored uniform had taken away most of the velocity, it had still left you with a flesh wound.
>It wasn't bad, but it was painful and felt like somepony had just attempted to brand you.
>Your dart gun wouldn't be able to put a dart that far, and the only other weapons you had were lethal.
>The windows of the building were grimy in places, perhaps you could lose him.
>Another trio of shots reminded you that unless you acted fast, other guards would soon arrive.

a) Engage the sniper
b) Retreat
c) Other (specify)

[Do you still have those sneaky claws that makes you invisible? If yes, use them try to rape the sniper]
>{The sneaky claws go invisible, they don't make you invisible, that's something else you picked up from Rough Diamond}
>> >that's something else you picked up from Rough Diamond
>>uh, like what?
>>>Think those injectors Diamond uses are what makes them work.
>>>>Then use that injector, and slap the bitch

[Use an injector and the invisibility hoofblades to sneak up on the sniper]
> >and the invisibility hoofblades 
>But don't kill him

>Rummaging through your pack, you came across the bandoleer of injectors you'd taken from Rough Diamond.
>Six of them had a greenish liquid, while the seventh was blue, the one you'd taken from him in your first encounter,
>You didn't know what effect it would have on you, exactly, but hopefully it'd make you like the Invisible Mare.
>Closing your eyes, you pressed the injector into your foreleg and pressed the button, a slight hiss sounding off as the contents were pumped into your body.
>After a moment, the breath was driven from your body, as though you'd been dumped in icy water, simultaneously shivering and overridden with the sensation of having your muscles locked in place.
>It soon passed and you watched as one by one, the hairs of your coat seemed to crystallise and fade from view, even extending over your clothes and bags.
>Oddly enough, your weapons did not fade from view and you set them down, figuring it only worked on fabric.
>Hence the transparency enchantment on the hoof blades you wore.
>Acting fast, you took off out of the window and towards the sniper, hovering over him for a moment before dropping down, stabbing your hoof blades through the clothes he wore, pinning him to the roof, but leaving him unharmed.
>The stallion yelped in shock and tried to pull away.
"You shot me!"
>The stallion writhed more, quite obviously spooked out of his mind.
>You relieved him of his scoped rifle and slung it over your shoulder, noting that the strap quickly faded from view.
"I'll be taking this."
>You looted him where he lay.
>When you were done, you used your free hoof to slap his cheek playfully.
"Now play nice."
>Once you were finished with him, you took off and let him go, flying back to recover your weapons.
>Whatever was in the injector hadn't worn off yet, and you wrapped the weapons you had in cloth to keep them out of sight.

------------------------------------------------
You have gained:
+1 Long Rifle
+8 [12.70 mm](Long Rifle)

You have lost:
-1 [Stealth Injector]
------------------------------------------------

a) Take the stairs
b) Fly in through the window
c) Other (specify)

[go b, you are invisible]

[I don't know, B]

>You were still invisible! Whoever made these, you had to get more, you could do so many things while invisible.
>Up the stairs you went, feeling energetic and hopeful that you'd find Anon and Blueberry soon, perhaps they'd learned something about where Blue Moon would take Midnight.
>You burst through the door to the roof and happened across a scene that felt like it was straight out of a movie.
>The lone Gyrocopter, looked ready to take off, a slim, dangerous looking mare standing in the cabin of the aircraft, looking over everything as a pair of guards dragged a still resisting Blueberry towards her.
>As for Anon, he appeared to be unconscious, already loaded onto the Gyrocopter.
>The mare herself was armed with... A really big gun.
>An anti-tank gun.
>You acted almost without thinking, going straight for Blueberry first, tackling the guard to the ground.
>Your brash action alerted everypony that they were not alone on the roof, and the mare on the Gyrocpoter shouted for the pilot to take off.
>"Take off! We have the valuable one! Take off, now!
>Oh no she didn't.
>You charged for her before the Gyrocpoter could take off, but she was faster.
>She swung the anti-tank gun towards you and fire in one smooth action.
>The resulting blast as the explosive round hit the roof between you and her threw you back, setting your ears ringing.
>The dust cleared quickly beneath the gale the Gyrocopter set off as it rose into the air, with Anon on board.
"No! You get back down here!"
>You opened your wings, preparing to fly up to the Gyrocopter just as she fire again, sending you tumbling away.
>She couldn't see you, but she didn't have to.
>By the time you recovered, the aircraft was already a block away.
>By the time you were in the air and after it, it was three blocks away.

a) Continue to give chase
b) Give up and go back to Blueberry
c) Other (specify)

[B]

[That's too fast. You'd be wasting your time, b]

>The aircraft was heading south at speed, and having taken note of that, you gave up and flew back to Blueberry.
>You'd have to find out where they went later.
>Touching back down on the roof, you found Blueberry cuffing the stallions on the rooftop.
>You half wondered where she even got the cuffs from.
>Soon after that thought, you were relieved that she was okay, at the very least.
"Blueberry!"
>The mare found herself on the ground and in your hooves, having tackled her much as you'd tackled the guard earlier.
>Blueberry panicked and struggled batting at you with her hooves.
>It was then you realised that you were still invisible.
>You got off of her and stood back.
"Berry, calm down, it's me."
>She propped herself up and stared in your general direction, quite literally seeing right through you.
>"Flare? Where are you?"
>You rubbed the back of your head, then promptly dropped your hoof.
"Invisibility thing. I feel like I'm covered in sand."
>Blueberry's eyes widened.
>"Anon! Where's Anon!? They took him!"

a) Reassure her.
b) Ask her if she knows anything
c) Save it for when you're out of immediate danger
d) Other (specify)

[c]

"I know, I'm sorry Berry, but there's nothing I can do right now. We need to get out of here, there are still a dozen guards downstairs."
>She opened her mouth to argue and promptly snapped it shut, seeing the reasoning.
>She got to her hooves with a crestfallen look on her face.
>Had Blueberry been able to see you, she'd know that you felt exactly as she did.
>Moving up close to her, you nudged her with your flank.
"Get on, I'll fly us out."
>It took her a moment to get on safely, the first attempt had Blueberry riding you backwards.
>After giving her some manual direction, she was safely settled on your back, hooves around your neck.
>Your only concern was whether you could actually carry her weight in flight. You were no Pegasus and it was a long way down to the street for the both of you.
>After several flaps of your wings, you were confident that you could at least glide with Blueberry on your back, and so you leaped off the edge.
>Blueberry whinnied and squirmed at the sudden drop in altitude, however, you were able to slow the descent enough to glide.
>With effort, you might even be able to gain some altitude.

a) Go for full flight
b) Get back down to the street
c) Other (specify)

[b, to be safe]

[B.]

>It'd been a long night for you, so you didn't want to take any chances.
"Berry, I'm bringing us down, hold on."
>The police pony nodded her assent and tightened her grip on you, strangling you a little bit.
>It wasn't too bad, but it'd be best to get back down to the ground quickly. Earth Ponies never dealt well with being air borne.
>You angled your wings downward slightly and began your descent, picking up speed as the ground grew closer.
>A meter or two from the ground, you pulled up and let yourself touch down, feeling Blueberry dismount soon after.
>Appropriate that the Stealth injector should choose that moment to wear off.
>Your coat warmed again as they lost their crystalline properties, you body becoming visible for all.
>Blueberry squeaked a bit.
>Your foreleg itched slightly where you'd injected the liquid and you scratched at it.
>Blueberry noticed this, "Are you sure taking that stuff is healthy?"

a) You're fine, just a little itchy
b) Maybe, maybe not.
c) You should go
d) Other (specify)

[a]

"I'm fine, just a little itchy."
>Blueberry looked skeptical.
>"If you say so."
>Looking back at the hotel, it was buzzing with activity and you had half a mind to go back and engage them.
>They'd know where that Gyrocopter was headed, what Blue Moon wanted with Anon, where they were keeping Midnight.
>You didn't know how you'd do it, but you had darts for all of them.
>You even took a step.
>"Flare, no. Leave them."
>You felt Blueberry's hoof on your shoulder and felt her tug lightly.
"They know where Anon is!"
>Blueberry tugged again, pulling you away, "So do I, come on, let's go back to the police station... Or anywhere away from here, and I'll tell you, just leave them."
"What's the problem? It's not like I'm going to kill them."
>Blueberry shook her head and managed to turn you away, pushing you ahead of her.
>"You've the look of somepony who's about to lash out and you have guns. This is Blue Moon's doing, not theirs. Come on, let's go."
>You give up and walk with her. Blueberry placed the blame with Blue Moon, would you?

a) Ask her about what she knows.
b) Wait until the police station, where you can do something about it.
c) Ask if Blueberry is alright.
d) Other (specify)

[a]

"You can't be liking this any more than I do, Berry, where did they take him?"
>Blueberry kept her mouth shut for a while, and it was only after having traveled several blocks away from the carnage you'd left at The Silvery Thestral that she opened her mouth.
>"When that pony, Rough Diamond I think his name was, took Anon and I. He mentioned that we were to be taken to some base they have set up way down in Sao Palomino."
>Sao Palomino? What could Blue Moon be doing down there?
>You asked Berry, but she shook her head, "I don't know, he just said that was where we were to be taken. They may have changed their plans since, but it's something."
>To your knowledge, Sao Palomino was far to the south of Equestria, beyond the deserts, beyond the deep jungles and nestled on the coastline.
>It was a tropical area, very remote, and very hard to reach by anything but air due to less than friendly Sea Serpents, Dragons and Changelings in the jungle.
>It was odd that Blue Moon would settle somewhere so remote, though you supposed being that far removed from any element of the Equestrian government would suit her purposes.
>On top of that, there were a large number of islands and archipelagos that she could hide on.
>It'd be like finding a needle in field full of haystacks.
>And you were just one pony.
>But even so, you couldn't let that horse win.

a) Question Blueberry further
b) Focus on getting to the police station
c) Ask police pone what she's going to do now
d) Other (Specify)

[A]

"Is there anything else you remember?"
>Blueberry seemed to think about it for a moment as she walked.
>The steady clip clopping of hooves served to calm you down, loosening muscles you hadn't even noticed were bunched up.
>Even your wings had been flared out ever since you'd crashed the tank into the hotel.
>"They seemed really interested in Anon. That pony you're after, Blue Moon, even came around and asked Anon a few questions."
"Questions? What kind?"
>"At first, they were about you. Then she asked him about where he came from. Anon got real quiet after that, and she seemed almost excited."
>You're not sure what any of that meant to you, or why Blue Moon was excited to learn where Anon was from as it was no secret that he wasn't of this Earth.
>Perhaps there was now something she wanted from Anonymous.
>You thought back to what that mare had said.
>'We have the valuable one'
>How was Anon valuable? More and more questions and you still didn't know what Blue Moon was planning.
>You hadn't even retrieved Midnight.
>The walk continued in silence after that as the pair of you entered the more active part of Manehattan.
>Maybe you could do something to pass the time.

a) Play around with your radio [Science]
b) Examine the green liquid filled Injectors [Medicine]
c) Learn more about Police Pone [Speech](Specify Question)
d) Other (specify)

[B, bb]

[B. Let's check out the green stuff.]

>You'd been taught basic medicine as part of your induction into the Canterlot Rangers, but this was beyond your meager skills to full identify.
>The injector itself was a stainless frame housing a glass tube filled with a viscous green liquid.
>It didn't take a master to tell that this would have a different effect on you than the Stealth Injector.
>If you had to take a guess, you'd say that this had been brewed from the Sinew Vine found in the Savannah's of Zebrica.
>Considering the effect it had on Rough Diamond when he used it, you guessed it would increase your strength.
>Finding out who was making these should probably be a priority.
>They represented too great an advantage to just leave it be.
>Replacing the Injector back into your pack, you looked up to find the police station in view.
>There wasn't much you could conceivably do right now.

a) Get some sleep.
b) Radio Canterlot to arrange transport down to Sao Palomino
c) Other (Specify)

[b, rest can wait]

[B) sleep can wait, radio for the transport]

>Blueberry lead you into the building, head hanging with fatigue.
>It was hard to believe this all started barely even two days ago.
>You left the mare to her own thing as you made a beeline to the radio room, claiming it from the attendant.
>You just sat there for a minute, collecting yourself.
>After all, you were about to inform the Princess of your failure.
>The room was much as you’d left it the previous day apart from the officer who was now operating it, with a gesture from you, he saluted and left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving you alone with the radio.
>The last time you were in here, you’d reported to your superiors in the guard about the events that occurred on The Silver Lining.
>They’d been shocked to say the least, but thankful that you’d managed to keep the airship in the air.
>You sat at the desk and began operating the radio, tuning it to the Canterlot frequency and keying the microphone.
“Canterlot command, this is Ranger Lieutenant Flare, come in. Repeat, this is Lieutenant Flare with a status report, over.”
>The radio remained awash with static for a moment before crackling to life. The voice on the other end of the line wasn’t who you were expecting at all.
>Princess Luna herself was on the line.
>”Lieutenant Flare, greetings. I trust you and Anon are well?”
“I...”
>You paused and shook your head, it may be over the radio, but you were still speaking to a princess.
“Ma’am. Lieutenant Flare reporting.”
>”At ease, my little pony. What have you learned?”
>You told her everything. About the events aboard The Silver Lining, the attack on the police station and subsequent chase.
>Your encounter with Rough Diamond and leaving the investigations to Anon and Blueberry.
>You told her about Wharf Three and The Silvery Thestral.
>You told her about your failure to even keep Anon from harm.

“Blue Moon... She made me choose between Midnight, Anon and Blueberry...”
>The was silence over the radio waves as Luna digested the information.
“They’re gone, Princess.”
>The silence was oppressive, and you were suddenly worried that the signal had cut out until Luna spoke again.
>”Lieut-... Flare, I’m so sorry, we should have given you more support.”
>Gripping the microphone, you replied heavily.
“It’s okay, Princess. It’s not your fault, you couldn’t have seen this coming.”
>Luna was silent for a few seconds, only the sound of movement on the other side of the line coming through.
>”Is there anything you need?”
“Yes, uh... I need private transport, I don’t want to risk taking public again. An airship if you can spare one, I have it on good authority that I need to head down to Sao Palomino."
>”Of course, whatever you need, Lieutenant.”
>Luna still sounded as though she blamed herself, though you weren’t sure why, perhaps because she'd allowed her sister to send you alone?
>”I’ll have an airship organised for you, it should be at Manehattan tomorrow morning.”
“Princess, I swear I’ll handle this.”
>Like you’d handled Wharf Three?
>”I know you will. Now try to get some rest, Lieutenant. I suspect the worst is yet to come.”
>That didn’t sound good, you didn’t like the sound of that, not one bit.
“Yes, Princess, thank you.”
>Static washed over the line again as Luna closed the connection while you just sat there a while longer.
>Rest. The Princess had told you to get some rest.
>A yawn left your mouth at the thought of it.
>You were in no condition to fly back to the apartment, even if you wanted to. It’d just remind you of what you lost.
>Maybe they'd let you sleep in the infirmary, you could get the wound on your shoulder treated at the same time.

a) Find Blueberry
b) Head to the Infirmary
c) Other (specify)

[B, rest is for te weak and you are Flare]

>You trudged through the police station, seeking out the infirmary.
>Beneath the armored barding, your shoulder was beginning to ache.
>You were laden with ammunition and guns, like some kind of mobile armory.
>In your heart, you just wanted this to end, you wanted Anon back so you could go back to just living with him.
>In your mind, though, you knew you had to press on. Blue Moon was delusional, a serious threat to the peace.
>Wasn't she?
>You shook your head and walked into the infirmary. You knew enough about first aid to treat yourself and 'commandeered' some supplies, replenishing your stocks.
>Beneath the armored coat, the graze on your shoulder wept a small amount of blood. Carefully, and with gritted teeth, you cleaned it out, applied some healing salve and bandaged it.
>It still twinged a bit, but the salve would heal it up nicely in a few hours.
>Your eyes began to droop, and sand filled your head.
>You needed some real sleep

------------------------------------------------
You have gained:
+4 [Bandage Rolls]
+9 [Healing Salve]
------------------------------------------------

a) Sleep.
b) Other (Specify)

[b. go find a comfy spot AND THEN sleep]

>Rest sounded good right about now.
>With that in mind, you clambered onto the nearest Infirmary bed, not even caring whether you shouldn't do it.
>Compared to how you were feeling, laying down on a hospital grade bed was heavenly.
>Even with the room itself in a kind of half light, you were able to fall asleep fairly quickly.
>Your head hadn't even hit the pillow.

... ... ...

Somewhere off the coast of Sao Palomino...

>When one imagines the deep sea, often the first thought to come to mind is the color blue.
>However, it isn't like that at all. It's just black, darker than a moonless night.
>Millions upon millions of amounts of tiny flotsam floating in the water of the ocean block out the light.
>The deeper you go, the darker it gets.
>This particular stretch of ocean floor was exactly like that.
>However, a light soon began to grow, a piercing white and red.
>The inky black of the sea was first pierced by dozens of red lights, their beams feeling the ocean floor like the feelers of an Octopus.
>Next, the bright white light grew stronger and stronger, lighting up the area before a great behemoth of the sea.
>This was no animal, however, its shell was constructed of cold metal, cold as the sea and propelled by turbines through the water.
>If one kept still, you could feel a slight pulse emanating from the object every couple of seconds along with a metallic 'ping'.
>Steadily, the Submarine inched forwards, the red beams of light finally touching upon a deep sea trench.
>The vessel came to a stop and waited.
>Whatever was going inside was a mystery to the ocean creatures who hid from the great metal beast.
>A moment later, a dull thud sounded off and a long metal tube propelled itself away from the main craft.
>Through the water it went, and just when it seemed it would pass the chasm by, its fins altered the tubes path, angling it down into the chasm.
>It passed from the sight of the Submarine for a second, two, four...

>Suddenly, the sea floor quaked, a flash of light billowing from the inky blackness of the chasm.
>Yet still the Submarine waited, and waited.
>The ocean had gone still.
>What followed that stillness was something the land, and even a great deal of the ocean had never seen in a good many millenia.
>From the chasm rose creatures, serpentine, yet bequeathed with arms and elaborate fins.
>Their scales gleamed in the light cast from the Submarine.
>More rose from the depths, dozens, a hundred.
>The moved to surround the vessel, closing in with their weapons.
>Just when it seemed they would attack, the vessel screamed.
>A long, drawn out whine replaced the steady pinging, forcing the creatures back.
>Just at that moment, the submarine fired a trio of torpedoes into the chasm, driving the creatures up and away.
>Another trio of detonations forced more and more of the serpents out of the chasm, and up they went, fleeing from the sound the Submarine made.
>Up they went to the surface.
>The Submarine drifted forward, taking position over the territory it had conquered, the Phoenix emblem on its side shimmering in the light the floodlights cast off.

... ... ...

>You're Flare.
>And you were beginning to think that sleeping in the infirmary was a bad idea.
>The bed may have been comfortable last night, but upon waking up you found it to be stiff.
>It had just enough give to make it not seem like a rock, but it was stiff enough to be infuriatingly uncomfortable.
>Woe is you.
>At least your shoulder had healed up, at least it felt like it had.
>A quick check beneath the bandages confirmed this.
>You spent a minute sitting there, collecting yourself and rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.
>The morning sunlight streamed in through the few windows and the quiet hum of power running through the building buzzed through your ears.
>You were also alone, and somepony had drawn the curtain partway around the bed you'd been using.
>Your thoughts turned to Anon, and you wondered where he might be and if they were at least treating him well.
>He might at least be with Midnight now, so she wouldn't be alone.
>There was very little left in Manehattan for you, but you might have some things left to do before you made your way to the Airship Mooring.
>You definitely had enough bits to buy that special long rifle, or pick some things up from the pharmacy.
>It might be best to save the money, though.
>It was a difficult decision.
>Blueberry had also vanished, you should probably go look for her before you leave, whether to ask her to come with you or to say goodbye, you weren't sure.

a) Buy some stuff.
b) Find Blueberry first.
c) Head to the Airship Tower without doing anything.
d) Other (specify)

[B]

[A]

[Buys stuff, A]

>Might as well go see Blueberry first, there was something between her and Anon, so she might want to tag along.
>If not? Well, it was rude to ask so much of her and not at least say goodbye.
>You'd go buy some stuff afterwards, there was no telling when you'd get another chance.
>And liquid assets were only good for bribes anyway.
>On your way through the police station, you got directions to Blueberry's office.
>Sadly, you hadn't thought to ask where the mare herself was.
>Yawn.
>You were still tired, give yourself a break.
>Blueberry's office was...
>Neat, to say the least.
>However, it was lacking in the amount of Blueberry it had inside it.
>Lots of dust, though.
>You ran your hoof along the desk, leaving a track in the fine layer of dust.
>She definitely didn't use the office much, which made sense.
>Blueberry seemed very much the hooves-on type of police pony.
>Perhaps she was at the apartment?
>You could do some shopping on the way.
>And add...
>To..
>Your gun collection.
>It was almost like you were from Hooveston or something
>It might be prudent to buy more darts though, however, you'd used surprisingly few.
>Most of them had gone into Rough Diamond to no effect.
>Against everyone else, it was a one hit knockout, so far.
>You left the office as it was and left the police station.
>Hopefully things would be quieter for them now.

a) Guns, guns guns, guns.
b) Do some other shopping.
c) Beeline to Blueberry.
d) Other (specify)

[We need more gadgets, B]

[Yeah, b]

>You needed more gadgets.
>The problem was finding a place that sold them
"Uh..."
>You figured you'd just wander about in Blueberry's general direction until you found something.
>With that in mind, you set off, preferring to fly rather than wend your way through the crowds.
>Did these ponies not sleep at all? Because you'd never once seen the streets completely clear in this part of the city.
>It was also still fairly dark, as the buildings and irregular gridwork of the city blocked out the sun, and would keep it blocked out until later in the morning.
>The result was something of a cool atmosphere, filled with noise and ponies dressed warmly.
>Not in winter clothes, but just generally clothed.
>The morning air was making your wings cold.
> :^(
>You should probably buy some wing warmers too if you could, though you weren't sure if they sold them for bats here.
>It was a pretty niche area of clothing.
>You passed by the gun store and shot a wistful look at it.
>Lightning would use up most of your six hundred bits.
>The pharmacy wasn't far off, either.
>There were a couple of other stores on the street and one mall.
>Including an odd little general store squeezed in between sundries and such.

a) Check the mall out
b) Gun store
c) Pharmacy
d) General store
e) Other (specify)

[odd generals store for odd things to buy]

>That little general store gave you the creeps, but it definitely gave you the impression that it had just what you needed.
>You dropped to the ground and entered the little store, shivering as you did.
>This place had no heating.
>Suddenly, you were hit with a killer headache, everything around you seemed to shift, but when you focused on anything, it sat still.
>Things would move just at the corner of your eye, or you would feel things change behind you.
>There was no one else inside.
>What the hell was this?
>Moving forward into an aisle you were at least pretty certain hadn't been there earlier, you tried not to think about it, and your headache subsided and everything became still.
>Perhaps you had just been under a lot of stress and needed to relax.
>As you thought this, you spotted a set of lavender scented candles just within hoof reach.
>Not the time.
>You continued towards the front and found the clerk standing ready and watching you.
>"Welcome to my store. Where anything you need is right at your fingertips, guaranteed!"
>He shot you an unnaturally wide, unsettling smile which quickly faltered.
>"My my, I'm having a spot of trouble figuring out just what you need. That makes my whole guarantee a null point."
>He eyed you, seeming to wait for something.
>Some input from you perhaps.

a) What is it that you need?
b) Other (Specify)

[Uh, someting useful during the combat, to hide, to stun, to move faster, anything?]

"I... Need something, to help me."
>The stallion blinked at you, obviously unsatisfied with your vague answer.
>"Something..."
>He seemed to roll the word around on his tongue a bit, eyes on the ceiling.
>"Something to help you..., I see. You require something to help you with your task."
>His demeanor was totally unsettling, but you found yourself standing still regardless of your every instinct telling you to leave immediately.
>"You will have an opportunity later to build something, this will help greatly."
>He reached beneath the counter and pulled a large, round and pink crystal, setting it down between you.
>It glowed softly and you could hear it humming with power from where you were standing.
>It was a battery, you knew that much.
>But that wasn't going to help you move faster, or hide.
>Just as you thought of this, you noticed a small hoof brace.
>The stallions eyes followed yours impassionately as you picked it up silently and set it on the counter.
>Somehow, you intrinsically knew it would help you hide.
>"Excellent choice. Be wary of its power requirements, though."
>He eyed you further, as if waiting for you.
>You wondered if there might be anything else you'll need.

a) Look around more [Firearms]
b) You have everything you need.
c) Purchase [Magical Energy Gem](specify amount)
d) Other (specify)

[Firearms. Also, how much monies we have?]

>You look around some more and spot Lightning.
>From the store across the street.
"...How?"
>"Whatever you need, right at your fingertips, guaranteed!"
>Fingertips?
>Whatever, you're not going to think about it.
"How much does it cost?"
>The unicorn looks between you and the gun, gauging you.
>"For you, I'm willing to make an offer of three hundred bits. The Stealth Brace is one hundred. The Power Crystal is... A gift."
>You had six hundred and thirty seven bits in total, along with some things you could sell.
>Lightning was extremely tempting, even if its presence here was unexplained. It was definitely cheaper here than it had been at the gun store.
>You didn't want to think about what the stallion had said about the Power Crystal, or how he knew that you needed such a thing.
>You didn't even know. You still didn't.
>There was also a small basket of Energy Gems, likely compatible with the Stealth Brace, at ten bits for three.
>You didn't have all day, and you had more than enough bits to buy plenty. The issue was keeping some for future purchases.
>However, you could simply work for more money.

a) Finalise 
+ [Stealth Bracer]
+ [Power Crystal] 
- 100 [Bits]

b) Finalise
+ [Stealth Bracer]
+ [Power Crystal]
+ [Lightning] 
- 400 [Bits]

c) Other (specify)

[B]

[B]

>You decide to buy Lightning along with your other purchases, a long rifle like that could come in handy down south.
"I'll take the rifle as well."
>The stallion smiles his wide smile and levitates the gun down to the counter, "Would you like that gift wrapped?"
"N-No."
>He rings up the purchases and holds a hoof out for payment.
>After a moment, you pull out your bit bag and count out the required amount of four hundred bits and give it to him.
>As you're taking your newly purchased gun and bracer the stallion gives you a sympathetic look.
>"A word of advice, Flare. You might want to work on your unarmed skills, you're definitely going to need to be able to do more than hold your own."
>You swallowed, unsure how you should be taking that. The store around you began to shift again as you thought about how strange the stallion was.
>As you began to leave, he called you back, "Flare. Don't forget the Power Crystal."
>He levitates the soft pink crystal towards you and you take it from his magical grasp, shivering as the magic sends a tingle through your body as the field intersects with your hoof.
>"I look forward to doing business with you again, Lieutenant."
"Thanks..."
>Pocketing the crystal, you finally leave the dingy little general store and step back out onto the street, releasing a breath you hadn't realised you'd been holding.
>Looking back, the store was gone, all that was there was a small gap between the two buildings the strange shop had been wedged between.
>Now you just needed to find Blueberry and get out of Manehattan.

Inventory:

+ [Lightning](Enchanted Long Rifle)
+ [Stealth Bracer](Turn invisible for x3 Turns (3 minutes), consumes x1 [Magical Energy Gem], attacking cancels invisibility)
+ [Power Crystal](Crafting Item)
- 400 [Bits]

a) Go find Blueberry
b) Do some more shopping. (Pharmacy/Gun Store)
c) Other (specify)

[C: Skree]

>As you're standing in the street, a pedestrian accidentally bumps into you in his rush down the street.
>The shock of it makes you scree loudly in surprise!
>Suddenly, everyone in the street is looking at you.
>Abashedly, you cover your muzzle with a hoof and blush.
>Soon, they all go back to their business and you figure it's time to go.

a) Find Blueberry
b) Throw some more dosh around (Pharmacy/Gun Store)
c) Other (Specify)

B. Use it up for more supplies

>After that embarrassing little display, you went trotting down the street for one of the other stores.
>You figured you'd hit the gun store for ammunition first, since you didn't have enough room in your bags for potions and medical aid.
>Before heading in, you were careful to wrap and conceal your newly acquired rifle.
>It'd be difficult explaining why you were carrying an exact replica of the stores pride and joy.
>If they even still had theirs.
>The door bell tinkled as you stepped in and the clerk looked up, then looked at how heavily armed you were.
>It wasn't the same clerk from yesterday, which wasn't surprising.
>The mare snuck a hoof under the counter, likely to a gun in case you were thinking of anything.
"Whoa there, I'm not here to rob you. I'm here to buy, maybe."
>To reassure her, you shake your bit bag in a hoof.
>Your effort succeeds and the mare place her hoof back on the counter, releasing a pent up breath.
>"What can I do for you today?"
>What can she do for you today...?
>...
>Hardly the time for that.

---------------------------------------------

Weapons: Ranged

5x [Double Action Revolver]{20x Bits}
5x [Luger Pistol]{35x Bits}
5x [Dart Thrower]{10x Bits}
10x [Bolt Action Rifle]{30x Bits}
10x [Winchester Rifle]{15x Bits}
5x [Crossbow]{25x Bits}
5x [Shotgun]{30x Bits} 
5x [Hoofgun]{50x Bits}

Weapons: Melee

3x [Field Knife]{5x Bits}
3x [Combat Knife]{8x Bits}
3x [Broadsword]{12x Bits}
3x [Longsword]{16x Bits}
3x [Dual Bladed Staff]{22x Bits}
3x [Polearm]{18x Bits}
3x [Quarterstaff]{10x Bits}
3x [Hoof Blades]{20x Bits}
3x [Plated Hoof Guard]{25x Bits}

Munitions:

20x [10.9mm](Revolver)
>Regular {20x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Armor Piercing {40x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Rubber {10x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}(Per Round)

20x [9mm](Hoofgun)
>Regular {20x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Armor Piercing {40x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Rubber {10x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}(Per Round)

20x [7.62mm](Rifle)
>Regular {20x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Armor Piercing {40x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Rubber {10x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}(Per Round)

20x [12.70mm](Long Rifle)
>Regular {20x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Armor Piercing {40x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Rubber {10x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}(Per Round)

20x [12.70mm](Long Rifle)
>Regular {20x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Armor Piercing {40x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Rubber {10x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}(Per Round)

20x [Crossbow Bolt]
>Regular {20x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Armor Piercing {40x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}(Per Bolt)

99x [Dart](10x Darts/Case)
>Regular {20x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Armor Piercing {40x Bits}(Per Stack/20)
>Infusement [Lightning/Fire/Ice/Other]{4/6/8/10x Bits}(Per Bolt)
>Stun {60x Bits}(Per Stack/20)

---------------------------------------------

Damn, it looks complicated, buy some fire crossbow bolts, shit is good on the long and short distance.

>You're not sure where it would come in handy, but these crossbows were much more stealthy than one would think.
>There were an excellent stealth weapon, and as a bonus, its range far exceeded that of your dart gun.
>Even if it was a lethal weapon, you were pretty sure you could find some non lethal uses for it.
>Especially if you grabbed some enchanted bolts with it.
"I'll take the crossbow and two cases of fire bolts."
>The mare complies with a raised eyebrow, "Doing some hunting?"
>You make a face.
"I guess you could say that."
>You were still wearing the armored barding, so the mare likely didn't recognise you as a commissioned officer.
>That could come in handy now that you thought about it.
>The clerk placed a fine looking carbon fiber crossbow on the counter along with your requested cases of bolts.
>The tips of which glowed a light shade of red.
>The enchantment would only take effect upon hitting something.
>Say a barrel of oil.
>It also looked like the crossbow had room for a scope to be attached, though sadly, it lacked a scope currently, and this store didn't seem to sell separate weapon parts.
>You wondered if there was anything else you should buy.

a) Finalise

+ [Crossbow]{25}
+ 20 [Fire Bolts]{26}
- 51 [Bits]

b) Anything else?
c) Other (specify)

Yee, finalise.

>That should be all you need.
>You quickly wrap up the purchase and add your new crossbow to your dangerously large collection of weapons.
>You might need to see someone about your weapon obsession.
>Having left the store, and being somewhat satisfied with your purchases, you figured it was time to get to Blueberry, if she even was at the apartment.
>You took off flying, struggling a little beneath the weight of so many weapons.
>It just wouldn't do to walk through the street looking like a heavily armed mercenary.
>The sun was a little higher in the sky now, and being above the buildings did wonders for you as the sunlight warmed your wings up.
>You allowed yourself to mostly glide, enjoying the heat the morning sun brought to you.
>Eventually, you reached the apartment, and rather than go up through the building, you simply landed on the balcony.
>At least you hoped it was the right balcony.
>Poking your head in, you were met with the site of Anon's mess on the floor and your damaged guard armor off in a corner.
>Blueberry herself was nowhere to be seen, however. Not in the immediate area anyway.
>You were getting pretty hungry, having not really eaten properly in a couple of days and all.
>You had a couple apples still in the fridge.
>Maybe it'd be best to find Blueberry first and say hi, though.

a) Look for Blueberry
b) Acquire apple.
c) Other (specify)

You can grab an apple with you gob and go find Blueberry

Grab and apple first

>Apple first.
>You set off straight for the fridge and nudged the door open, taking the remaining apple in your mouth, teeth sunk into it as you sucked some of the juices from it.
>You proceeded to search the house in this way, it must have seemed a ridiculous sight.
>A heavily armed Bat Pony sucking on and apple while looking for a police pony.
>You found Blueberry sleeping in the bedroom, the one herself and Anon had 'shared'.
>Yup.
>There was definitely something there.
>You munched quietly on your apple and watched the police pony sleep for a while.
>Evidently, she'd been tired out by last nights events.
>This was all way above her paygrade, and yet she'd offered her help anyway. She'd have made a great Ranger.
>You might have to put her in for a promotion, or at least a commendation.
>Still, you were debating on whether or not you should ask her to come along with you.
>She was capable, there was no doubt about that.
>What you worried about was her well being.
>However, you wouldn't even know where you'd be going if it wasn't for her.
>What should you do about the police pony?

a) Wake her up ask her
b) Wake her later
c) Leave her be and head to the Airship Tower
d) Other (specify)

B

b

>You could ask her later.
>Might as well start packing for the trip.
>Heading back out into the main room, you take a look at Anon's mess on the floor.
>The tangible pile of scrap, wires and components from the jamming device had been veritably pulled apart by Anons technical expertise.
>A little tool box sat nearby and you made your way over to it.
>It was a fine thing, and contained a wide array of tools.
>You'd best keep this on you, you doubted Anon would appreciate you leaving it here.
>You gathered all the tools together, placed them back into the box and packed it away in your saddlebags.
>The next thing you needed to consider was your old armor.
>Only the chestplate was damaged, which could be repaired, but it'd take some doing.
>Rough Diamond sure did pack a punch, you were grateful that you'd never need to go up against him again.
>At least, you hoped you didn't.
>Your problem was carting it around with you, as there was little space left in your pack for it.
>It was a dilemma, to be sure.
>You munched slowly on your apple and glared at the offending apparel for daring to make you think so hard.
>How should you proceed?

a) Make Blueberry carry it.
b) Leave it here.
c) Other (specify)

See if Policehorse will carry it

>Maybe police horse could carry it.
>Nudging her door open, you find that the mare is still sound asleep.
>Damn.
>With nothing better to do, you head back out into the main hall and sat on the couch.
>Even your apple was finished, and a quick toss saw it arc through the air and into the trash.
>Looking at the mess of scrap on the floor, you idly wondered if something should be done about Flim Flam Inc for supplying Blue Moon a base of operations.
>Had they known who they were dealing with? Or was Blue Moon really in control of the entire company.
>Celestia had told you that she prefers to work behind the scenes, so it was possible.
>And the presence of such a large amount of deuterium likely meant that Blue Moon had a nuclear generator somewhere.
>Not an easy thing to hide.
>You had to wonder where she got the resources to do all of this and remain out of the public eye.
>You'd never even heard of her before this all started, even your parents had been around back when it was fresh.
>Something didn't add up.
>Now that you thought about it, the mare herself didn't look much older than your mother.
>And if everything you knew was true, that must make Blue Moon almost sixty.
>Yet she looked not a day older than forty.
>Either she kept in shape, or there was something the Princess hadn't told you.
>The inconsistencies ran around and around in your head.
>Probably best just to wait for Blueberry to wake up. Focus on immediate goals, and worry about the bigger picture later.
>You might as well sleep for a while.

>You were groggy when you woke, but you could make out a blue silhouette above you, she said nothing, simply looked at you.
>Blueberry.
>She hadn't yet noticed that you were awake

a) Surprise!
b) Not so surprise.
c) Where were you, you stupid slut?
d) Other (specify)

Surprise

>There's nothing else for it, this was a perfect set-up
>You briefly thought of surprising her with a kiss, but thought better of it since she was involved with Anon.
>Instead, you grabbed her cheeks and closed the distance between your muzzles.
"Boo!"
>Blueberry flailed and squeaked in shock, her cheeks lighting up like a Hearth's Warming tree as she fell back on her rump.
>Mission accomplished.
>You sat up and looked down at her with the best grin you could muster.
>No words needed to be said, she knew what she'd been doing.
>Whatever had been on Blueberry's mind, she was too bashful to speak it now, and quickly left the room.
>Hm.
>You took stock of your surroundings, the light streaming through the window was of the warm midmorning sun.
>Good, you hadn't slept for long.
>Now that you knew where Blueberry was, you had to decide on whether to take her with you or not.
>Or whether to even ask.
>She deserved to come along, didn't she? She was involved with Anon, after all.

a) Go see Blueberry
b) Pack your stuff up
c) Other (specify)

B

>Most of your things were already packed and in your saddlebags, you still had the dilemma that was your scuffed and dented armor.
>Again, Blueberry could carry it. Or you could make like a pack pony and carry it yourself, you'd be over encumbered like a bad Caves and Manticores character, though.
>Still, it was just a trip to the air tower.
>What could go wrong?
>You figured you'd at least put the Mercenary uniform on again, minus gas mask.
>That might freak customs out.
>All that was left now was whether Blueberry should come along.
>She was just a police officer, this all might be way over her head.
>Then again, it was over your head as well, you might have the training but you definitely didn't have the experience.
>You found yourself wishing Night Watch were here, you were much better at following orders than giving them.
>It wasn't to be helped though, your mentor was outside your reach.
>You had to decide.

a) Find Blueberry and force her to come.
b) Find Blueberry and politely ask if she can come.
c) Leave without Blueberry
d) Leave after telling Blueberry that she can't come with you.
e) Other (specify)

Do b, kinda dickish to do otherwise

B

>You had to at least give her the choice, to do otherwise would be wrong of you.
>The little Earth Pony had gone to her room, following her to the door, you knocked cautiously.
"Blueberry?"
>No answer.
>You weren't sure if you should intrude, but then you remembered that she wasn't Anon, she didn't have the privacy taboo that he did.
>You'd been away from other ponies for too long.
"Blueberry? Are you in here?"
>Sticking your head into the room, you found yourself looking at Blueberry.
>And she...
>Was...
>Naked.
>Like almost every other pony on the continent.
>You needed to get out more, seriously.
>"Mmm?"
>How to break it to her.
>"Flare, I've decided that I'm coming with you."
>Wait, what?
"Oh, really? I was actually coming to ask if you wanted to, because of Anon and all..."
>...
"Are you sure? It could be dangerous."
>Blueberry sat on the edge of her bed, kicking her hind legs in the air idly.
>"I thought that I only cared about Manehattan, and doing my job, but seeing what that mare's doing. I can't just walk away, I can't just walk away from Anonymous, either."
>You sat there and let her puzzle things out, she'd need to find something to believe in if she were going to do this.
>"Blue Moon needs a good tazing."
"Does that mean you're coming?"
>Blueberry met your eyes, "If you'll have me."

a) Are you sure you want her? You can say no.
b) Blue Moon needs a tazin'
c) Other (specify)

A, let her come
you were expecting cum weren't you, you aussie bastard? well hah! you didn't get it

B: Taze. Send to gulag. Is cause too many distraction.

>Guess she's coming then.
"Alright, uh..."
>You make a face.
"Okay, I hate to ask you this, but can you carry my armor? Please? <3"
>Wai-
>"Sure, but I don't see why you can't just leave it, it's all scuffed and dented."
>Should you tell her?
>You think she deserves to know if she's going to carry it.
"It's got sentimental value, it used to belong to a very good friend of mine."
>She'd be disappointed that it got as damaged as it did.
>"Like I said, sure thing. I've got little else to carry anyway."
>Smiling and prepared to leave, Blueberry interjected, a sarcastic lilt clear in her voice.
>"I'm gonna get paid for this, right?"
>Of course she would, you'd make sure of that, but you couldn't help but play along with the joke anyway.
"Nope! You've been volunteered."
>Blueberry let off the cutest giggle you'd ever heard and hopped off the bed, following you down the hall.
>You were pretty sure you hadn't missed anything, but it might not hurt to do one last check of the apartment.
>Then again, you'd dallied enough here, and it'd be two weeks travel by airship to Sao Palomino.
>You didn't want to think of it as down time, but that's exactly what you'd be using it for.
>Blueberry would be too.
>You'd at least use the time productively.
>While you'd been stuck in though, Blueberry had neatly packed the armor and wrapped it in cloth, sitting it squarely on her back.
>You were grateful to her for coming with you.

a) Time to go? Time to go!
b) Pilfer the apartment for all its worth, you jew.
c) Other (specify)

B

B, colleckle the shekels

>Guess you better look around a bit more.
>Behind the couch, you found the mess Anon had made with the device you'd brought him, from which you salvaged a few components.
>Blueberry pretty much just watched as you mechanically searched every searchable container.
>You found a few bits!
>Ten of them, but that was pretty cool.
>And a pillow, you were taking the pillow too.
>They can bill you.
>"Quite done?"
>Bashfully, you pocketed the bits and components.
"Y-Yes, let's go."

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You have gained:
+20 [Components](Crafting Materials)
+10 [Bits]
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a) Anything left to do in Manehattan? Be advised, once you leave for the tower, you will not be returning here.
b) Other (Specify)

nah, let's go

>You could feel her judging you, and in an effort to avoid her gaze, you brushed past and left the small apartment.
>There was nothing left in Manehattan that you wanted to do, so it was straight for the tower for you and Blueberry.
>It occurred to you that you didn't know which airship you'd be taking, or who its captain would be.
>Luna had forgotten to mention it and you'd failed to ask.
>It was a fair bet you'd find out when you got there, though.
>The carriage ride was spent in silence, and despite Blueberry tagging along with you, she seemed happy to pay.
>Once there at the tower, you looked up at the airships jockeying for position, only one of them stood out as your potential 'ride'.
>You recognised it as one of the swifter vessels on hoof, a Pegasi built Skycruiser. Luna must have guessed you'd want to move quickly rather than heavily.
>It suited you just fine, anything bigger would be flagged immediately.
>Blueberry, for her part, had her attention focused elsewhere, a flick of your ears discovered why.
>Some stallion was apparently being refused entry to the tower.
>It was almost like looking at a train wreck, it was morbidly fascinating.
>The stallion in question was a bat pony like yourself, who appeared to be wearing the navy colored protective coat used by fireponies, it even had the reflective stripes still on it.
>The pony himself was a light yellow with a rust red mane. You were unable to see his cutie mark from where you were, though.
>Something about him drew your attention, and it certainly wasn't the twang of his accent as he verbally abused the customs officers, either.
>Then again, the same could be said of everypony else in the area, there were few heads that weren't turned his way.
>The customs officer was leaning back, looking nervous.
>You could step in if you wished, but it was your choice.
>Blueberry had a look on her face, as though she were going to taze him.

a) Intervene?
b) Stay out of it.
c) Other (specify)

A for interesting

>This interested you greatly and you had a little time to spare.
>Hopping out of the carriage, you weaved through the crowds to get closer to the disturbance.
>Blueberry followed closely behind, ears folded back with the irritation plain on her face.
>It might be best to settle things before she pulled her taser out.
>Having gotten closer, you were beginning to make out what it was all about.
>"I'm sorry, sir, we can't let you on board due to your record! Step back.
>"And like I keep telling ya, mate, it was a misunderstanding with the authorities! I just want to get down south."
>And it kept going back and forth like that.
>The bat pony in question was definitely wearing the coat of a firepony, being closer now, you made out his cutie mark as a small fire contained within a red triangle much like a warning sign.
>He also appeared to be wearing some kind of... Hat?
>The base of it was ringed with teeth from an animal of some sort, and his accent sounded outlandish, but somewhat familiar to you.
>Blueberry glared at the offending pony and had her hoof on her belt, fondling the holster strap of her taser.
>You'd better act quick.

a) Side with the security guard (What say/do?)
b) Side with the bat pony (What say/do?)
c) Other (specify)

Find out what that bathorse did allegedly

>You figure you should learn more before siding either way. After all, this pony might be a psycho.
>Time to put those charms and good looks to use.
>You step forward from the crowd and put on your best guard voice.
"What's going on here?"
>Damn it, there're those generic guard lines again.
>The security guard turned to you and looked you up and down, "Step back, citizen, we're handling it."
>You look down.
>Right, mercenary uniform.
>The bat pony stallion just eyed you out of the corner of his eye, his wings shifting slightly under his coat before settling again.
>Before you could explain who you were, Blueberry stepped forward up beside you and stole your thunder, so to speak.
>"Sergeant Blueberry, answer the mare's question. Just what's going on here?"
>The guard flopped his ears down and shot an irate glance at the offending bat pony.
>"This stallion here wants to book passage on an airship, but he's on the no fly list due to his criminal record."
>At this, the bat pony spoke up, cutting across the guard, "A misunderstanding! I'm not no psycho, ma'am. Just want to be allowed to go on my way."
>You eye his wings.
"Couldn't you fly yourself?"
>He huffs a little and retorts, eyes narrowed a bit, "Couldn't you?"
>Rude.
>Blueberry looked to you, apparently ceding the situation to you, however, she did not look to be in favour of the bat pony.
>He said it was a misunderstanding, and what reason could he have to lie?

a) Question the bat pony (specify)
b) Question the guard (specify)
c) Other (specify)

Question both starting with bathorse, what he did, circumstances
Ask the same question to the guard

>Might as well learn more.
"Okay, you, rude pony. What'd you do to get on the no fly list?"
>"Nothing!"
>Uh... Huh.
>You gave him a skeptical look.
>The stallion made a face and relented, "I may have been accused of starting a bush fire back home, and there was nothing proving my innocence. I swear it wasn't deliberate, ma'am, I was doing contract work as a fire control pony and the blaze got out of control."
>So he'd been accused and convicted of Arson, it wasn't hard to see why they wouldn't let him on an airship.
>Then again, it was extremely odd for the court system to convict someone with no proof, at least it was that way here in Equestria, this pony didn't sound like he was from around here.
"So where are you from? Why were you convicted without evidence?"
>The stallion flopped his ears down and avoided your gaze, "The controlled burning was meant to preserve a wildlife sanctuary, and when it spiraled out of control, a large portion of it went up. About twenty hectares. I don't know why they convicted me, I think they just needed someone to be accountable."
>After a moment, he met your gaze again after a moment, "And I'm from down in Hosstralia, didn't find myself welcome there anymore so I worked my way up here. Doing some sightseeing, you know?"
"Down south, right?"
>"Yeah, as far as the airship lines'll take me. Which isn't a bloody meter right now."
>It was plausible, justice wasn't as fairly applied outside Equestria's borders, blame was tossed about all too easily.
>That's if it were true.

>You turned to the guard.
"Is that accurate?"
>The guard cast a glance at the bat pony and nodded.
>"More or less, it just says here that mister 'Jack' is responsible for two counts of Arson, one of which was perpetrated against a protected sanctuary resulting in damage to over twenty hectares of land."
>Two counts?
"What was the other count of Arson?"
>"Starting a fire in a woodland area."
>The bat pony cut across him, "That was a camp fire and it was cold. Hardly Arson. I was a foal at the time."
>Right, so. Here you had a pony who was likely wrongly accused of setting a protected sanctuary alight because of his prior record.
>A terrible thing happened and he was just unlucky enough to be assigned the blame.
"Sight seeing down south, right? Any place in particular?"
>"I'll go wherever the winds take me, don't particularly care."
>Most of the crowd that had gathered up to this point had dispersed, and the guard looked visibly relieved that he may not have a fight on his hooves.
>Then again, that might just be because Blueberry was still fondling her taser.
>The solution here was pretty simple, you could give him a ride to wherever he wanted to go, so long as it wasn't out of your way.
>Then again, he might actually pose a risk if he was guilty of his crimes.
>Blueberry would certainly disagree with bringing him along, but he'd be off the airship before long anyway.
>What to do...

a) Hey, do you want to join our club?
b) DO YOU WANT TO JOIN OUR CLUB???
c) Leave him, it's not your problem.
d) Other (specify)

Bring him but keep an eye on him.

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Stats, Inventory, Skill Trees: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M6jLEwfBzVzXMPlkQR7BTj-RWVVVjutixhjdqEVIqtI/edit#gid=519785513
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