The Manehatten Project 10: The Blue Unicorn

Otto couldn't quite believe it when he woke up that morning, when he saw Starlight Glimmer sleeping next to him in bed, snuggled up into his chest, a peaceful look on her face much unlike that he'd seen on her before. He couldn't help but grin at the sight: In the world of innuendo, he'd done it: A home run, and what a run it had been; what Starlight lacked in experience she more than made up for in stamina, and she'd been drunk too! She kept finding new ways to impress him, and just lying there, looking at her as she slept... He felt warm, but a sort of warmth beyond that of the comfortable bedclothes; a profound sense of happy contentedness. All other things bled into irrelevance, if this had been his eternity, there would be worse things to become of him.

Alas, however, reality marches on, and one cannot eternally live in their bed, or in a pleasant sleep. Otto saw Starlights eyes flicker open; they were a bit bloodshot from the heavy drinking, but... Celestia dammit, Otto couldn't pretend he didn't admire their colour.
"Good morning." He greeted her, watching conciousness set in. He could see she was a bit hungover, but she at least remembered just what happened last night. "You, I have to say, are incredibly cute when you're sleeping."
She groaned a bit, rubbing her head with a hoof. "...Erm, how, how long have you bee awake?"
"Not long, my dear." came his reply. "It's just been nice to share this bed with a fine mare like yourself."
"I'd have thought a pony like you would've had many other mares?"
"You'd think so, but no... Really, you're the first serious interest I've ever had. Yeah, sure, some of them were pretty, but I've never met a mare quite like you. The others are empty headed and unappealing by comparison."
"You really think so?" She suddenly asked. "I know I'm not the... Warmest, most romantic or even terribly popular pony out there..."
"I know..." The white unicorn shrugged. "But I don't care. I said it last night, and I meant it: I want you. I love your intellect, your guile and your charm..." He leaned in close to her, nuzzling her mane. "...And, I love you. And that's the truth of it."
She shuddered a bit, her breathing a little faster. After a few seconds, she suddenly retaliated, kissing him, and brushing her head up against his, he could feel her heart racing her chest; this made Otto VERY happy. "...Don't tell anybody I did that." She whispered to him. "I have a reputation to uphold. I'm not quite ready to be so... open, about all this. Promise me."
He nodded, wrapping a foreleg around her. "Don't worry, I promise."
"I'll make you eat your own horn if you do." She quipped, starting to lighten up some as a grin crossed her face. "You'll PRAY for the terrible muffins!"
"Duly noted." He smirked. "But you'd better expect some affection behind closed doors."
"Do I have to be your drinking buddy for that?"
"Oh, but my little pony, that's an added bonus!"
She blushed. "Fine... But don't ever call me that again."
He chuckled, hugging her. "Deal... But, I wanna reserve the right to try seducing you into my bed again."
"Like right now?" He whispered into her ear again.
"Well..." She answered. "It's only right to make this offical..."

He chuckled, kissing her again. Slowly, he climbed atop her...
...And then there was a knock on the front door, followed by repeated ringing of the doorbell.

"Oh, for Celestia's sake!" Otto scowled, the moment ruined. "I swear, I'm going to kill them for that..."
"I call dibs on their cutie mark." Starlight called as Otto climbed out of bed, threw on a dressing gown and headed to the door. "What? Everyone needs a hobby?"
He froze for a moment, holding back a laugh. "I'll pretend you're joking. Either way... It's that or breakfast." He answered "See you in a moment." With that, he made his way downstairs. As he went, he started grumbling: He'd seen his clock when he woke up, they had time to do... that. He usually had a few hours before he had to show up at work, and more than enough time for... that. Well, whatever these intruders had to say, it better be good!
He pulled open the front door, seeing Fleetwood standing on the steps, dressed quite smartly in a cream suit and executive overcoat, completed with a fedora. Otto groaned.
"What do you want, Mac?" The mayor grumbled.
"Mr. Cratic, sir." He beamed, unaware of how annoyed Otto was with him. "We've found her! The blue unicorn! She's with Theo right now."
"Oh..." Otto frowned. "Well, can it wait? I know this is big and all, but..." He winced. "Well, I was busy with something!"
"Oh... Sorry, sir." He apologized. "But, Captain Ashfeather's with her too, and your brother is the only thing stopping her from turning this into an interrogation... You know, how Ashfeather would do interrogations. She still thinks we should go after the zebra."
"Fine, fine!" Otto snorted. "I just have to get ready, give Starlight a call, and get this all sorted out."
"Starlight?" Fleetwood frowned. "The other unicorn?"
Otto contorted his face in disdain. "The other one? Her name is Starlight, Mac. Refer to her as 'the other one' again, and you're done here, no more silk suits, no more fancy dinners, no more nice big flat. It's back to collecting the Party Tax, like where I found you."
The look of horror on his face was all the proof Otto needed that Fleetwood had got the message: NOPONY liked the Party Tax Collector; everypony liked the fact Equestria subsidised parties, but nopony liked having to pay for them. The pistachio pony turned tail and ran off, with Otto slamming the door behind him, and went to make breakfast.

Otto was quick to bring Starlight up to date on the situation over food and coffee; the coffee was key, the coffee helped stop her hangover feeling as though her head was going to split in half, and that in turn made getting back to the job at hoof much easier.

The so-called 'Great and Powerful Trixie', also known as Trixie Lunamoon, had been found in a mare's hostel in Manehatten. It wasn't too bad, but it was a world away from the wagon she'd called home for many years. From what Otto had heard, her story was quite sad: Another victim of Twilight Sparkle's interference, as far as he was concerned. Trixie had used the Alicorn Amulet to help her gain revenge over the cause of her humiliation, but had been tricked into surrendering the amulet, and losing its power. Otto hoped, however, that he could persuade this blue unicorn, now found in hard times, to aid him: Perhaps he could offer her something for information?

"The Great and Powerful Trixie remembers the Alicorn Amulet well." the blue unicorn snorted. "Its power was... Compelling. Like nothing the Great and Powerful Trixie had ever experienced before..."
"For goodness sake." Captain Ashfeather scowled. "Do you ALWAYS speak in the third person. Talk normally, or we'll see which one of us is REALLY great and powerful. You, or my claws."
"That won't be necessary." Otto gave the griffin dagger eyes before returning to Trixie. "Please, carry on. Do you think there's anything you could tell us about the duel in Ponyville? Some clues perhaps as to how we could find that amulet again?"
She froze. "You, YOU want the amulet? Why?"
"That's none of your business, unicorn." Ashfeather hissed.
"Quiet, Ashfeather." Starlight spat. "If you can't shut up and stop threatening her, you can go away and wait outside."
The griffin was silent. "I don't take orders from you." She snarled.
Otto turned, his eyes narrowing. "You take orders from me, and I say that Starlight Glimmer is higher up the pecking order than you. You'll do as she says, or by Luna's Torment, I'll pluck every damn feather from your body, one by one, and use them to line my pillows!" That shut her up. "You're showing me up in front of my friend here. Challenge me again, and I promise you, you shall live to regret it. Now, be quiet!"
"Please accept my humblest apologise for our colleague." Starlight returned to Trixie. "Now, please go ahead and tell us what you know? I'm sure Otto can make it worth your while?"
"How?" Trixie inquired.
"How?" Otto chuckled. "I'm the mayor of Manehatten. I'm quite sure that would be a useful pony to have as your friend, hm? Would you like somewhere nicer to live than this hostel? Indeed, I could perhaps even get that lovely wagon of yours rebuilt? Some training at the local magical academy, and who knows? Your show might be better than ever! Just, tell me what you know about the amulet."
Trixie's eyes glistened, a mixture of amazement, perhaps joy and... Fear? "I..." She stammered. "...I don't know a lot about the Alicorn Amulet... Only that it was made by King Sombra, apparently..." She looked to Glimmer, who nodded in agreement. "...It, its effects on me were almost immediate. I'd never felt so good in all my life. So strong, so quick and healthy, so great and... Powerful. As in, actual power, the kind of power which would've scared me if I hadn't been the one wielding it... But, its corruption is so insidious..." She faltered. "Once you close it around your neck, once you let it seal itself shut around you... It never TRULY lets you go again..."
"What do you mean?" Otto asked.
"...I mean, even now, I can feel its absence around my neck. Like when you've worn something that's a little too tight, and it digs into your skin, leaving marks... It's like those marks have dug into my soul. It was an addiction, and... If that amulet was in my hooves, right now, I don't know if I could resist putting it on again..." She shuddered. "...Mr. Cratic, please... Be careful when dealing with that amulet... I, I wish I could help you more, but I really don't know where it is... I can feel it, tugging at me, like the amulet was a collar, and I'm on a leash... It's in the area of Ponyville, somewhere, that's all I can say... It's why I've never gone back there since."
The other ponies, and Ashfeather, looked to one another.
"So, now what?" Starlight asked. "We knew it was in Ponyville to begin with. We're no better off than we were to start with?"
"I know..." He frowned. "But I'm a colt of my word... Fleetwood, take Miss Lunamoon, and help her make the arrangements to get her wagon rebuilt. I made some promises today. Make them happen."
"Really?" Trixie stammered. "T-thank you. This is amazing!"
Otto nodded. "Everyone else, let's go." He spoke, leaving Fleetwood to his work.

"So, what do we do now?" Starlight asked as they left and returned to Otto's house.
"This neither slows nor speeds up our process, admittedly." Otto answered. "Trixie's premonitions help us to definitely nail down the rough location of the amulet, but we don't have any specifics."
"Of course we don't." Captain Ashfeather snorted. "We need the zebra."
"We are NOT harming Zecora." Otto scowled. "I will not tell you that again... We can further narrow down most of Ponyville itself, and concentrate our efforts in the Everfree Forest, and Zecora's hut as a last resort." His final words were aimed almost entirely at the griffin captain, who snorted and rolled her eyes.
"My boys have done far more dirty jobs than that. It's the fastest way for us to get that amulet. And you've already killed one pony, what difference does it make."
Otto froze, before suddenly turning around and smacking the griffin in the face with his hoof, with more force than you'd expect from the limb of a unicorn; it was enough to send the griffin reeling
"That's exactly why I don't want you to do it. I've already had to kill once to get here, I don't want to have to harm anyone else. The more folk I kill, the harder this becomes to justify."
"You're brining morality into this?" Ashfeather laughed coldly. "You've hired my mercenaries to enforce your rule and intimidate your ponies, you've assassinated the former mayor, you want to use an artifact of dark magic to enhance your power, and then use that power to cause a civil war..."
"I'm doing this for the good of ponykind! I wouldn't expect a mercenary to understand anything more important than wealth and power! They're nothing to me! A tool so I might save a precious few ponies from the next big buck-up on the part of Princess Celestia!"
"You think I don't care?!" Ashfeather barked. "I've already SEEN one home of mine destroyed, and laid low by the follies of fools! A wonderful place, brought low. I SAW its decline, Otto!" She scowled, rubbing a black eye which was forming on her face. "...We want the same thing, sir. I'm just willing to go a bit further to get it than you."
Otto looked about ready to kill Ashfeather, but he snorted. "I'm not having this conversation with you. I am your employer, your boss. I'm paying you, and you'll do as I say. We'll be going to Ponyville as soon as possible, and I shall not speak of Zecora again."
Ashfeather's eyes were like slits as she faced off with Otto, towering over him, but he stood his ground as if he were a griffin himself. "I'll arrange a private car on a train for you, and I'll head along first with some of the pony mercs to make sure things are safe. No armour, all undercover. Nobody will even bat an eyelid at you." Her tone was calm, but dripping with anger as she left.

Soon, only Otto and Starlight remained. He'd been sitting on the sofa for a long time now, quietly seething.
"Okay, Otto, you're worrying me now." Starlight spoke, coming and sitting next to him. "You've barely spoken since the nonsense with Ashfeather." She sighed. "I'll have to bring out Nice Glimmer if you keep being miserable. Don't make me be nice, Otto. We both know I'm not very good at it."
Otto breathed in, and out, very methodically. "I'm NOT a bad pony." He suddenly said. "I'm not."
"I never said you were." She replied, brushing up against him. "Where has this all come from?"
"You know where." He spoke with a mild growl. "I didn't want to have to kill Paver. She's one of those ponies who, despite her shortcomings, I've never been able to really hate... But, she'd have been mayor for decades, she's one of those likeable ponies who the locals would just eat up... I'm not young anymore, Starlight... I'd have ran out of time if I didn't do something..." He sighed. "I, I regret it though... I should do something, build a memorial to her, or something."
"...This all because of Ashfeather being a bucking bitch." The pink unicorn commented. "It's not a nice thing you did. But let's face it, neither of us are morally clear, are we? But, we both did what we had to do."
"No more, though." He snorted. "I'm not saying I should hug and make friends with every problem I come across, I'm not naive like Twilight... But, if I can avoid hurting more ponies... Or equines, in Zecroa's case, that's what I'm going to do."

She nuzzled his cheek, affectionately tapping his horn with her own. "It's never going to be morally black or white." She spoke. "But... All we can do is try... But, I love you, and whatever happens, it's going to be us doing it, together. Plotting, scheming, fighting, ruling. You're not alone in this." She chuckled. "If I had a pony like you helping me in Ourtown, Twilight and her lot wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Would I have my cuite mark removed, or would I get to have the makeup?"
She smirked. "See? You ask the right questions."
"Well, in the spirit of asking the right questions... Who was Double Diamond?"
Starlight went quiet. "Oh... Yeah, that..." She frowned. "I liked Double Diamond. He was a simple pony, very loyal. Perhaps, if I'd have been a little younger, or he a little older, it could've been a nice pair. I won't like, he was cute. His head was totally empty even before I equalized him though. Not like you, I mean, you managed to seduce ME, in less than a week. Do you think I would let myself be caught off guard and swept up so easily normally?"
"Heh..." Otto chuckled. "Let's call it beginner's luck." He leaned over and returned the nuzzle. "Thanks, Starlight... I hope I can show you how much I appreciate you doing all this... Opening up to me. You don't strike me as the type who's content to have equals."
She scoffed. "You'd be the first one, and the only one, I'd happily call an equal, in the sense of the word you're using. "Cut Twilight Sparkle down to size" is as good a rallying cry as any to get me on board. But hey, if you want to give me a fancy title, cook me breakfast every morning and show me a good time, I won't say no." Again, in thought she rubbed her chin with a hoof. "...Speaking of which. We're dragging our hooves here. Aren't we supposed to be going to Ponyville?"
"I am, yes. I genuinely believe that amulet is the key to all my plans. I need it for this."
"I wouldn't disagree." Starlight replied, suddenly getting up and jumping from the sofa. "Think about it. The history books claim the amulet is of Sombrian descent? King Sombra, a unicorn with abnormal levels of magical power? He makes an amulet to make himself even more powerful, but is defeated before he gets the chance to use it..." She winced. "Oh, Otto... How could I not see this? He called himself king, but was a mere unicorn, a mortal... Celestia damn it all, I'm so stupid!!" She paced up and down, burying her face in her hoof. "He was going to do exactly what you are doing. He wanted to become an alicorn too!"
"...And then he'd have been unstoppable." Otto finished.
"Exactly! ...Otto, if you pull this off..." She trailed off. "What, what if you could turn other ponies into alicorns, not just yourself?"
"I know, I know! It's exciting, isn't it?." Otto nodded. "But we should be careful, we still need to figure out the proper spell to make it work... But, the solution might well be only a train ride away. We ought to try to get to Ponyville by nightfall so we don't stirr up trouble, especially with the princess."
"Ha. You underestimate how unobservant Twilight Sparkle can be when I've got my eye on her..." She grinned, heading to the door to the hallway, waiting for the mayor to keep pace. "Now, we really ought to be going. Maybe we could even figure out that spell while we're in Ponyville? Imagine Twilight Sparkle's face if we both showed up in her place, you with the amulet, BOTH OF US as full alicorns? I'd kill to see that look..."