//------------------------------//
// Prologue: My Autobiography, Pre-Ponyville 
// Story: My Last Resort 
// by slade8283 
//------------------------------//


So...where to begin? Hmm...there's so much I could say. I mean, my life has just been kind of...everywhere. That makes my life sound depressing though, like there's been no constants at all in my life. That's not entirely true. Yeah, my life has been pretty insane, and really nothing has been same for a long time now, but it's not depressing; not depressing at all. I think I should really explain though....

Ok, so I was born into a moderately wealthy family who lived on the West Side of Manehatten, just like thousands of other young colts at the time. I lived there my whole life, mostly. I went to school there, hung out with my friends there, had my first kiss there...and some other stuff that I'm not entirely proud of. 

But anyway, that all changed on a dark summer night. It was just a normal old night: I had been out with my friends after a long day of work at my dad's retail store (where I proudly worked as a sales clerk). We were out at local pub, drinking a few beers (it was a weekday, so we couldn't go all out like on weekends) when it happened. Something that changed all our lives forever.

It was about nine p.m. when it happened. A stallion walked into the bar, but he didn't look entirely like a normal stallion. He was an earth pony, dressed in what appeared to be a pinstripe suit, sunglasses, and a hat. He was also carrying a briefcase in his mouth. It was suspicious from the beginning. The bartender saw him immediately, nodding upon his arrival, and disappeared quickly behind the bar, a serious look appearing on his face.

The manager of the bar (whose name I cannot reveal, due to legal reasons) emerged a few tense minutes later, also with a stern expression. He gave a curt nod to the strange pony as well, and proceeded to lead him and the bartender to a vacant table in the corner.

Most ponies in the pub paid no attention to the strange meeting that was taking place, but I had to watch. I mean, all my friends were off talking to mares they were trying to take home that night, so I had nothing better to do. 

The three ponies sat talking for twenty minutes and still nothing out of the ordinary happened. I was just beginning to lose interest, thinking it was just some business meeting, when it happened:

The strange pony sprung up and threw his chair down. He ran into the back, quickly followed by the bartender and the manager, who were both clearly flustered by what had happened. The two burst through the door just as a large crash came from the back room, which had clearly sounded like a large number of glasses had been thrown to the ground. 

I took a look around the pub, and I couldn't believe my eyes. No pony, no pony in the entire pub had heard the crash. Everypony was still freely enjoying their evening, as if nothing at all had happened.

I'm not entirely sure what made me do it. Realistically, I should've just sat on my bar stool, finished my beer and walked out. But some crazy voice in my head said: You should go check on that. Not only was I crazy to even think that, but I had to be even crazier to listen to myself.

I slowly rose from seat and took another long look around the room. Everypony was still caught up in their drinks and potential mares/stallions for that night. I sat my drink down and slowly walked towards the edge of the bar. Still, no pony saw me. I walked towards the door leading to the back, knees shaking. I took one last look back, still clear, and plunged through the door.

The sight inside was shocking. Broken glass coated the floor, giving it an eerie shine. The briefcase that the strange pony had been carrying was laying on the floor just inside the door, ajar, but empty. Across the room, stood the strange stallion with a bloody sword in mouth. Below him lay the crumpled bodies of the manager and the bartender, both were very still and coated with blood.

I stood, mouth agape in silent scream as I looked at the horrific scene. I took a slow step forward, and my hoof crunched on the broken glass covering the floor. The strange stallion turned to face me, his eyes gleaming.

He advanced on me, brandishing the sword like a true master. I panicked and ran back out the door. 

I'm not quite sure how many tables I knocked over, drinks I spilled, or how many ponies I pissed off on the way out, but all I know is that I made it out of there alive, which, honestly, is all that matters to me.

Now, I had never run through the streets of Manehatten at night (that I can remember. Like I said, I've done some stuff I'm not proud to admit), but I seemed to find my way to the police station no problem. I burst through the doors of the building and told the mare at the front desk everything that had happened. She sent me through the back and I told the police the exact same story.

What happened the week following the murders, I can't be entirely sure of really. I can't remember anything that happened, so I've been forced to rely on what others have told me happened. I think I'm just repressing the memory of it happening or something like that, because everything I've heard seems like stuff i would do, I just don't remember doing it.

So yeah, as the story goes I went home and slept that night (which I highly doubt I actually slept). I missed work everyday that week, spending day and night at the police station trying to identify the stallion who committed the murders. The cops were...well...less than helpful in the investigation. During our line-up sessions, I'm pretty sure they gave up after the fifth try (it consisted of two children, an elderly stallion, and even my own father), appearing to just pick up the first few ponies they saw on the street.

However, there was one good thing that came from the investigations: they found who the strange stallion was working for. For years, Manehatten had been dealing with mafia problems, and the stallion matched the perfect description of a few of the mafia hitmen.

That didn't make me feel any better. So now, not only had I witnessed a murder, but now the mafia was sure to be after me for witnessing said murder. 

So, naturally, the police did the most rational thing possible: they relocated me.

I started in Las Pegasus. Another big city, where I would feel at home, more or less. Plus, how could I complain about all the casinos and night clubs so close to my house? It was the perfect place: the perfect city to get lost in; the mafia would never find me there.

It took him two months to find me. One day there was a knock on the door to my house (provided by the relocation services), and it turned out to be the hitman who had killed the two stallions at the bar. 

So I ran, again.

Next was Canterlot. Yeah, that was going to be it, for sure. No one would dare attack anypony with Princess Celestia looking over the city.

For a while I thought that theory was correct, but he showed up after four months.

Appleooza was next. Only lasted three weeks there.

And so that trend continued...Vanhoover, Fillydelphia, Baltimare...it really didn't matter where I went, he would always find me in just a couple months at the most.

So, the relocation service did what they called Plan B: they used magic and changed everything about me. My once green coat was now a nice, soft, blue, and my gray mane was changed to white. Needless to say I was happy with the improvements. Of course, I was still an earth pony, but hey, what can you do?

Figuring the hitman would be watching most other cities still, the relocation services dropped me off in the last available place in all of Equestria: Ponyville, somewhere that I could start my wonderful, new life...