Zinnia walked down the streets of Canterlot, cloaked pulled tightly around herself as she ignored the sneers from the nobles. Her eyes drifted along the shop signs as she walked, making notes of which shop sold what. Before long she saw a sign advertising ‘High-Quality Clothing” and smiled, pushing past the door with Stryker by her side. She took a moment to admire the displays - ranging all the way from suits to shorts, dresses to denim, and everywhere in-between. She had just made her way to a selection of winter jackets when she heard a woman shouting in the back room. Zinnia couldn’t make out what was being said, but soon after a cream-coated mare with a powder-blue mane and tail stumbled out, catching herself on a counter before she fell. She straightened out her lilac polo shirt, re-tied the crimson cravat around her neck, brushed off her black skirt, sighed, and smiled. The whole time, Zinnia merely watched, a nagging concern at the back of her mind. The mare looked around before noticing her, walking over with an air of practiced professionalism.

“Hello,” she greeted, curtseying slightly. “My name is Coco, and welcome to Polomare Apparel, for all of your fashion needs! We make all of our clothes in-shop, and each item is made with the customer in mind. How may I help you?”

“I’m looking for a few outfits.” Zinnia started, looking around. “I’m gonna need everything from shirts to underwear.”

“Of course, ma’am. Do you have any preference as to style?” Coco asked, gesturing around the store. “As you can see, we pride ourselves with a wide variety of clothing.”

“Casual, but resilient.” Zinnia began walking as she talked, grabbing herself a black leather jacket with a fur collar. “Maybe something a bit sexy, too.” she added.

“Well I would be happy to help you out in any way I can, ma’am.” Coco offered. Without missing a beat, Zinnia handed her the jacket and turned towards the lingerie displays. Coco hurried to keep up, blushing as Zinnia removed her cloak, revealing her shirtless chest.

“I’d recommend turning the sign to ‘closed’ while I’m here,” the woman said absently, picking up a red and black bra. “I wouldn’t want you to lose any business from what they might see.” Coco blushed as Zinnia reached behind herself, fumbling with the hooks to the bra she was currently wearing. She hurried to the door, locking it and flipping the sign to closed. She then proceeded to move to each of the windows, pulling down the blinds and preventing any random shoppers from seeing anything. When she turned around, her blushed increased tenfold when she saw Zinnia stood in nothing but her underwear, holding a bra over her chest.

“What do you think of this one?” Zinnia asked, staring down at the bra. When she didn’t receive an answer, she looked up at Coco to see the mare blushing profusely, legs pressed tightly together. Zinnia smirked slightly before throwing the bra to the mare, putting her own back on. She grabbed a few more sets of bras and panties, passing each and every one to Coco, before moving to another display - this one showing women’s casual wear. She continued the cycle of trying on outfits and passing the ones she liked to Coco as the two moved around the store, even having Stryker try on some of the clothes designed for children.

After many, many hours, Zinnia had gathered pile of clothes as tall as herself, now sporting a pair of white jeans, a deep purple crop top with no sleeves, black pumps, and the first jacket she had picked up. Stryker stood next to her dressed in a pair of black jeans, a white muscle shirt, and a black leather duster with red interior, looking quite happy with his new outfit. Coco stood behind the counter, sweat pooling on her forehead as she noted down the price of each item, adding them up as she went. Zinnia picked up her cloak from the pile of already-scanned clothes, pulling a slip of paper that Whiplash had given her that morning from a hidden pocket she had discovered within. Opening the paper, she read through the words for what felt like the millionth time that day, still not entirely believing them.

Dear Zinnia,

Due to the heroic feat you displayed on the day that we met you, my sister and I have decided to appoint you as a Knight of the Realm, allowing you all of the benefits of such a title. One such boon of your title includes the ability to charge any purchases to the throne. Included is a badge to act as proof of your status.

However, we regret to inform you that as a Knight, you will be called upon to defend the realm against any threats that the Royal Guard are incapable of defeating. Note that you are not the only Knight of the Realm, the closest others being six mares in a town known as Ponyville not far to the south west of Canterlot. Should you wish to meet these mares, please let us know and we will arrange for them to make the journey.

You should also know that you have the power to appoint another as a temporary Knight of the Realm. However, if you wish for their position to remain permanent, you will both have to present your case to both my sister and I in front of a court.

Yours sincerely,

Princess Luna

Zinnia pulled the badge out of the cloak’s pocket, looking it over. It was a simple, circular shaped badge, with a black back and three raised golden segments. The two outer segments were semicircles with a smaller semicircle taken from the inside, both wrapped around a smaller, complete circle.

’What were the chances?’ Zinnia though with a chuckle, hooking the Pokeball badge to the inside of her cloak before fastening it around her neck once more. She then tucked the letter into her pocket before looking up to see Coco packing the last of the clothes in one of many small paper bags.

“That’ll be three thousand, two hundred and seventy nine bits, please sign here.” the mare said with a tired smile, sliding her notes to the woman. Zinnia showed the mare her badge as she signed, causing her to groan and collapse onto the counter. Zinnia couldn’t help but smile at that. Her smile turned to a grimace as she looked over the many bags she now had, sighing at her stupidity.

“Stryker,” Zinnia said, turning to the drake. He stopped spinning around, looking to his mother and smiling, causing her to giggle. “Could you do mommy a big favour and go ask Sonar to come help me with these bags? I think there may be too many for just the two of us.”

“Yes mama!” Stryker shouted before running for the door, zigzagging as he went, making ‘whoosh’ noises with his arms outstretched. Coco rushed past Zinnia, unlocking the door and making the woman blink in surprise at her speed. She watched as the mare moved about, re-opening the blinds and turning the sign on the door to ‘open’ once more.

“So,” Zinnia began, leaning back on the counter. “Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I’m sure I heard shouting when I first came in.” She raised a brow as the mare flinched. “Is something going on?”

“N-no, it’s just…” Coco began before sighing, walking over to stand by Zinnia. She then cupped her mouth and leaned in. “My boss likes to drink,” she whispered.

“Oh, okay.” Zinnia said, nodding with a frown. She had noticed a slight smear in on Coco’s face when the mare had leaned in, a slight blueish-purple mark being revealed underneath. Without warning, she reached out, grabbing Coco’s head and rubbing away the make-up that concealed her black eye. “I take it she’s a violent drunk?” she asked, inspecting the wound as tears formed in Coco’s eyes. A small cut situated just beside her eye had also been covered, recent if the small amount of blood still surrounding it was anything to go by.

“P-please,” Coco sobbed, flinching at Zinnia’s gentle touch. “Don’t tell anyone. S-Suri would kill me!” Zinnia sighed, pulling the mare into a hug as she cried.

“You made these clothes, didn’t you?” she asked, gently rubbing the mare’s back. She felt the mare nod against her and frowned - on every single article, she had seen a tag claiming that someone named Suri Polomare - clearly Coco’s boss - had made them, meaning that she had been taking credit for Coco’s work for an untold amount of time. She pushed Coco back and held her by the shoulders.

“Listen to me, Coco. In three days, the guards are going to receive an anonymous tip. They will come here to investigate a report of fraud and abuse.” She paused to make sure the mare was listening before continuing. “I want you to tell them everything. Show them this,” she brushed a stray strand of Coco’s mane from in front of her wound, tucking it behind her ear. “And anything else Suri’s done to you. Tell them that all of these designs are yours, and that Suri’s been profiting off of your work.”

“B-but…” Coco began, only for Zinnia to shush her with two finger on her lips.

“No buts. When it’s all over, I want you to go to the park down the street. On the far side, by the wall of the mountain, there’s a cave. Go in and follow the tunnel up, and you’ll find my house. If you see a Pegasus mare or a small purple bat, just tell them you’re looking for Zinnia.”

Before Coco could reply, the ground shook and Stryker ran back in.

“I got Uncle Sonar!” he shouted, and Zinnia smiled at him before starting to carry her bags out. She ignored all of Coco’s attempts to talk her out of the her plan, even as she followed her outside and screamed at the sight of the Noivern, watching with horror as Zinnia calmly placed her bags into his waiting claws When the last of the bags had been loaded, Sonar took off for home as Zinnia and Stryker walked wordlessly away, heading to the next store on Zinnia’s list. Coco stared after them for a moment before turning and walking back into the store and straight to the phone. She picked it up and dialled, waiting until someone picked up.

“Hello, castle finance department? Three thousand, two hundred and seventy nine bits have been charged to the throne by a Knight of the Realm.” She paused as the stallion on the other end spoke. “Yes, I have proof of the purchase right here. The business is Polomare Apparel.” Another pause. “Thank you.”

After hanging up, Coco retreated into the back room, where a very drunk Suri Polomare was chugging a bottle of wine. She sighed, moving into a room filled with materials and sat at a desk, pulling open a notebook with her cutie mark on the cover.

Three days later, a small group of Royal Guards walked into Polomare Apparel. The sight they came upon was shocking, to say the least. Suri Polomare stood over the unconscious body of Coco Pommel, the arm of a mannequin in her hands and a half-full bottle of wine on the counter. The mare was promptly arrested - though not without attempting to assault the guards, too - and Coco was taken to the hospital. When she awoke, she told the guards everything, even going so far as to direct them to the evidence of Suri’s theft of her designs. A trial date was set for when Coco could leave the hospital, and the cream mare was surprised to see Zinnia in the audience. When asked if anyone else knew of the events, Coco pointed to Zinnia, who strode proudly to the witness stand and proclaimed herself to be the one who tipped off the guards. Suri was found guilty of seven counts of abuse on an employee, one count of assault on the authorities, and over three thousand counts of fraud in the first degree. The light pink mare was sentenced to a total of fifty years in prison, vowing revenge on both Coco and Zinnia as she was dragged away in chains. Zinnia’s last comment before she left with Coco was how orange was the new black, much to the confusion of the ponies in attendance.

Next Chapter: On the Wings of Lightning Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 50 Minutes