• Published 20th May 2015
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Shifting Melodies - Thadius0



He's a unicorn accountant in service to a smuggling ring. She's a high-ranking Thestral in the Day Guard. Together, they fight crime. Too bad one of them's lying.

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Chapter 47 - End of an Era, start of Another

The first thing Ledger did when he woke up the next morning was realize that he wasn’t in his own home. The revelation came right after realizing he needed a shower, and finding he didn’t know where one was.

This led to the next, very awkward situation of having Fredrick walk in on him in the shower.

He felt that if his mares ever knew about that, they would never let him live it down...

Thank the Hives he remembered to disguise himself.

Apple Cider had prepared a veritable feast for breakfast, and was sure to compensate Fredrick for the ingredients she used. She had also baked a few Apple Family treats he could sell during the day for a little extra profit.

“No breakfast can compare to one of Cider’s,” Midnight hummed happily as she stuffed her face with pancakes drowned in syrup.

“Agreed,” Ledger said as he practically inhaled his own breakfast.

“I can’t believe you guys eat like this all of the time,” Narrow remarked as she piled food on her own plate. “Though mind you, I’m in no position to remark further.”

“No you aren’t,” Fredrick nodded. “And at least this is better than that ghastly substance you even dare to call food at your own place. I still cannot believe you have even survived up until this point, let alone succeeded in your job as you have.”

“Don’t be such a drama queen,” Narrow huffed as she shovelled in her food.

“The expiration dates on that food is set for a hundred years from now,” the avian deadpanned. “Anything that can last that long has no purpose in being consumed by a pony.”

“It works,” Narrow defended herself. “Tell him Midnight.”

“Huh?” she looked up with a syrup-coated muzzle. “That nasty ration crap? I dunno, I always snuck my own food when I could.”

Narrow gave her a stare that could turn a cockatrice to stone. Fredrick and Ledger shared a laugh before the stallion of the pair expertly cleaned his plate.

“And I think I have about two dozen things to put in order today,” Ledger said before giving his mares a quick peck. “Would love to stay and chat, but there’s so much to do, so little time.”

“Yup, go and actually run your company for a change,” Midnight grinned.

“You’re one to talk,” Scope replied as she came downstairs, still half-asleep. “Aren’t you supposed to be meeting Sugar about now?”

“Oh fu-” Midnight wiped her muzzle, gave everyone a quick kiss, Fred and Narrow included in her haste, before she shot from the building.

“Dare I ask what you intend to be up to while the rest of us are busy?” the unicorn inquired with a raised eyebrow. “Between me at Pegasus Air, Midnight with Sugar, and Cider working on the farm…”

Scope tapped her chin, “Hmm, hadn’t really thought about it.” (Yes she had). “Maybe do a little sightseeing, see what’s happened around here over the last couple of days?”

“If you say so,” Ledger said before giving her another peck and heading for the door. “I am off, take care.”

“I’ll have something to eat, and help wash up,” Scope said as she sat at the table, taking her own generous portion of food. Narrow finished up a moment later and sighed. She had stuff to help out with for the mayor, and all that paperwork...

So. Much. Paperwork...

She gave Fredrick a goodbye kiss and made her own way out after getting her little wagon-thing. She was going to take great enjoyment in destroying this thing once she was well again.

After breakfast, Cider and Scope helped Fredrick clean up and get ready to open the restaurant before leaving. And once Scope saw Cider back home, she narrowed her eyes and flew towards the city.

‘I’m going to find you, and I am going to kill you,’ she promised herself. Toll Taker would not live to see the next sunrise.


Ledger’s company seemed to be running fine. Only a small amount of his employees were present, all of them Changelings. After asking, it was mentioned that his pony workers had quit, when word got out about there being some of the bugs present.

“Sorry boss,” one had apologised.

“It’s not your fault,” Ledger returned with a sigh. Though, anyone who knew what to look for would see gears turning behind his eyes. The drone was planning something already...

He reached his office...and noticed that the door was unlocked, but he couldn’t sense anypony inside...Still, since Narrow had mentioned that Toll was out and about, his paranoia regarding her kicked in. Subconsciously he created a small barrier around himself before opening the door wider with one hoof.

The office appeared empty...at least until he was yanked inside by telekinesis and the door slammed shut behind him as his chair swivelled around, the mare he feared sitting in it as she looked over some paperwork.

“I have to say Ledger,” Toll Taker sighed. “You’re not doing half bad at this whole ‘Boss’ thing... you could be making so much more though. Did I teach you nothing about running a business?”

“Forgive me if I have such things as morals and lines I refuse to cross,” Ledger fired back. “Besides which, it’s not easy getting a monopoly on something. Far easier to introduce new goods which you control.”

“I noticed, this ‘Crystal Wine’ venture of yours is really something. You stand to make quite the sizable profit on it.” She placed the papers down and looked at him, and that was when he noticed the ring around the base of her horn. Her eyes followed his and she smiled.

“Oh, you like this? Nifty little thing really. It blocks that nasty magic of yours, the one that feels and drains my emotions.”

“You probably planned something like that ever since you found out about me,” the disguised drone replied. This was bad. He’d always been able to feel her before. Now he’d not know about how she was feeling during this conversation. Worse, his workers wouldn’t think that there was anything wrong...

“Ah, as astute as always,” Toll clapped her hooves. “Yes, I found that I may have panicked a bit before, and forgot all about this. Luckily, you and the Guard didn’t search my office too thoroughly.” She sighed again and folded her arms. “Well, enough catching up. Time to get down to business.” She leaned forward, her vicious grin was wide. “You’re going to start working for me again, okay?”

“...No,” Ledger replied, not moving an inch. “I am not.”

“Oh, you’ll find that that was not a request,” Toll remarked. “While your little secret is all but worthless to me now, I have a whole new deck of cards to play with...after all,” she crossed the room until she was only an inch away from him. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to those cute little mares of yours hmm?”

“WRONG BUTTON!” Ledger snarled, dredging up what he could of his magic and slamming Toll into her desk. He even shed his disguise so he didn’t have to worry about holding it anymore. “Not only am I certain they can look after themselves, but you do not threaten the ones I love if you want to see the next sunrise!”

Toll Taker coughed, before she...started laughing?

“Oh...hhahahaaa! You really are a feisty one huh? Too bad you’re a bug, or I might take you for myself.” She got to her hooves and winced. That desk was pretty solid. “But, do you honestly think I’d be making empty threats? Killswitch and Bludgeon are just waiting on my order, go ahead Ledger. Give them a reason. Well, more than you already have.”

He reached one hoof up to her horn then and smiled a vicious smile. “Funny thing about a unicorn’s horn. They’re wonderful magic channelling implements. So strong. But with just the right application of force, they can snap off. How easy do you think it’d be to take that ring off then?”

A brief flicker of fear filled her eyes before she regained her composure and pushed him away with her magic. “Fool, they’re waiting on me to report in, if I don’t, then you can kiss your mares goodbye! I wonder, do you think Killswitch might end that little farm mare quickly? Or make her suffer a little. He’s a little unhinged after what you did to him.”

Ledger smiled wider at that and used his magic to drop the massive office chair on her. “Sit down,” he quipped, before firing up his Hivespeak spell. “Scope? Scope, you listening?

“....Yeah, what is it?”

Do me a favor, get Midnight and Cider together and take out Killswitch and Bludgeon, would you? Odds are, the pair of them are watching Cider. At least, that’s what Bitch-taker’s said.

“Bitch-? She’s there!?” Scope almost screamed into his mind. “Well I guess I-”

And just like that, the communication was cut off as a droning buzz filled Ledger’s head. He glared at the pinned unicorn mare before he spoke in a voice cold enough to freeze Tartarus. “If any of them have been hurt, Toll, I will find a way to make sure that you suffer all of their fates at once. And then I will ship little pieces of you to every corner of Equus.”

“Oohh, I’m so scared of the big bad bug,” she replied in a mock tone as she got back up and dusted herself off. “Eh, your mare hits harder than that... but, as long as you do as I say, then no harm will come to them. That little insect of yours, she’s just...catching up with some old friends about now I’d say.”

Even though he’d been purged of his dark magic, Ledger felt as though if he still had it, he’d have gone pure black by now. With a wordless cry, he used his knowledge of pony anatomy against a pony for the second time in his life.

Pressure point!” he called out before hitting a point along her spine with a telekinetic blast. The impact would see to it that she wasn’t going to run away for a good half hour. With a sharp cry, she fell to the floor as the ring she wore fell from her horn.

And the terrifying part? She wasn’t scared at all... she was actually enjoying this.

“Go ahead,” she grinned, “Kill me if you want. Take that step. And then have fun trying to be in three places at once to save your mares.”

“Three reasons why I won’t. Number one, I’m not you. I kill you, I become no better than you,” Ledger said as he walked forward and knocked the ring to a far corner of the office. “Number two, you’re still useful to me, mainly because of that reason. And number three...you’d be surprised what you can live through.”

“Heh, I can’t feel my legs,” she chuckled. “You really know how to wear a girl out huh?” She gave him a look, one he couldn’t quite place... until he felt her emotions.

“I tried to make this painless Ledger, but...in the end, I was going to kill them anyway!” Her horn flared as she prepared a teleportation spell…

One he canceled instinctively by stomping on her horn with all his strength. He didn’t think so much as react. She let out a scream of pain as her horn cracked, before she gave him a ragged laugh.

“Better run little stallion,” she croaked through the pain. “Won’t be long now~”

Ledger merely sat down and took a deep breath, confusing Toll.

“W-What are you doing? They’re going to die Ledger!”

The silver changeling smiled. “Oh, are they?” And then he said a name three times.

“Discord, Discord, Discord!”

Toll gave him a confused look, before a lava lamp she hadn’t noticed before spoke up, the cheerful spirit swimming around inside of it.

“Level, what have I said about the genie call? It’s rather demeaning.”

“Apologies, but it’s not like I know of a better way to get your attention, and this is a very important matter,” Ledger said as his instinctive ‘Pink-reaction’ started up. “My old boss has come back from the big house, and her cronies are threatening those I love. There’s no way I could save all three mares at once. Nor could I ever choose.”

“Ooh, that is quite the pickle you have here,” Discord chuckled as he unscrewed the top of the lamp and crawled out, growing to full size and toweling himself off. “So, this concerns me becauusseeee?”

“I can hardly invite you to the wedding if I have to plan a funeral instead,” Ledger pointed out.

“Hmm, that would be quite the pickle,” he said as he pulled a pickle out of...somewhere and munched on it. “So let me guess, you want me to play the big hero and save them?”

“I’d appreciate your assistance, yes,” Ledger said with a nod. “I think I can handle informing the good captain when all is said and done, along with getting to Cider and finding the crony going for her. It’s a half-dozen other changelings and whatever is going after Midnight I don’t think I can stop in time. Nor do I think I have the magic for them all.”

“Hmm, first, a question if you will,” Discord said, wearing a green bowlers hat and carrying a staff with a question mark on it’s head. “What is something you have, you can show, you can feel, but can’t seem to see yourself?”

“Have, show, feel, can’t see,” Ledger mused. “Hmm, that’s a tricky one. Unless you’re a changeling, I would say emotions. You can’t see your own emotions unless you’re looking in a mirror, but everypony else can see them pretty well if they know what to look for.”

“Ohh, close but no cigar,” Discord clapped his hands. Toll teleported away while the two were distracted, and Discord chuckled. “Ohh, what a feisty one she is.” He reached into a ripple in the air and when he drew his hand back out, he was holding the mare by the scruff of the neck. “I recommend you keep a better eye on your pets. Maybe have them neutered?” He dropped her at Ledger’s hooves as he vanished.

‘Have ‘faith’ in your mares Ledger. They’re stronger than you think.’

‘...In that case, then warn Midnight and Cider, and hang around Scope in case she needs it please. I’ll believe in them, but I’d like a safety net.’ He didn’t know if the chaos spirit could hear his thoughts, but considering everything else he did, Ledger didn’t put it past Discord.

Toll taker was trying to back away, though that was kinda hard when she was still paralysed.

“This uh...didn’t go quite as planned.”

Ledger drew closer and lay her back down on the ground, before smiling at her. The smile was...wrong somehow. “You know, Discord made a good point.” The drone shifted into an Earth Pony version of his unicorn form before continuing. “I really should do something about that pesky horn of yours.”

“S-Stay away!’ she yelled at him. With a surge of magic, she used telekinesis on herself, throwing herself through the door and out into the factory. The pressure Ledger had used on her was starting to wear off, but it would be a few minutes before she could walk again. She just needed to buy some time…

Don’t let her get away!” He called out in Changeish. “She’s the bitch that was in charge before me! She’s got a rap sheet longer than Celestia’s tail!

Several Changeling’s moved to block her as she stumbled across the floor. She glared at them, tossing them aside with her magic as more came for her. With a loud yell, she tossed a small shipping container at them…

Fortunately, they buzzed up and around the container, or like one ballsy bug, ducked under it. And then that same bug came up to her in a burst of speed, and bit her damaged horn.

Ledger chuckled. Typical yellows. So quick to jump into danger.

She screamed again, blasting the one that bit her across the room. But Changelings were hardly little things, the yellow drone already getting back up and charging again.

And that was when she regained the use of her limbs. She grabbed the drone in a headlock, her horn next to his head.

“Alright! ANY of you move, and I blow his little buggy brains out!” she yelled.

If she knew what they did about yellows, she would have rethought her choice of hostage. He wasn’t perturbed at all by the situation, and neither were they. They were waiting. He?

He moved and bit her horn again, the earlier stress put on it by Ledger and himself really helping him in his goal to neutralize the mare. There was a cracking noise, followed by a horrendous scream as her horn snapped off with a sickening snap! The surge of magic blew the ‘ling across the room... along with most of his teeth, but the Unicorn was now rolling on the ground, clutching her head.

“Give that bug a promotion,” Ledger said as he pointed at the yellow who had landed on the opposite side of the room. He then drew close to Toll Taker and smiled before holding her still and looking in her eyes.

Hello there, ‘boss’. Would you like to play a game?

“Go...fuck...a cactus!” she spat at him, literally.

“Temper,” Ledger said before he reached out and punched the same pressure point again. Using it too much or using too much force could wear the mare or the reflex out. Either she’d develop a resistance or lose all feeling for longer and longer. Still, for just a few times, it would be safe. “Let’s see what we can do about that before the good captain shows up, hmm?”

“Go ahead, whatever you can do, I’ll have done worse,” she spoke in an eerily calm tone all of a sudden. Ledger laughed. Actually laughed.

“And somebug get that horn, I want it mounted in my office!” he called out as he dragged the mare after him into said office with his magic.


It was pretty hectic at ‘The Love Shack’ with half the ponies in Las Pegasus wanting answers. Sugar was trying her best to keep them at bay, but it was like trying to hold back the tide...

Then a voice called out.

“Hey babe, need a hoof?” Moondancer asked as she walked in.

“Moony!” Sugar called out before all but glomping the mare. “I missed you!”

“So I see,” Moondancer giggled, hugging the enthusiastic mare as Midnight strode in and looked around. She stepped up onto the stage and within a matter of minutes, had already gotten the crowd formed and was taking questions.

“Some things never change,” Moondancer giggled before giving Sugar a little sugar. “Been a good girl since I was gone?”

“Unless I was paid to be naughty,” the mare giggled in return before nuzzling Moondancer. “Mmm, it’s so much better being around you though.”

“Glad to hear it,” Moondancer smiled. She looked back at the stage as Midnight paced around it, pointing at ponies and answering questions. “She’s like the ocean huh? Everypony can’t help but get swept along at her pace.”

“Mm...not...everypony,” the nymph said as she stared at the one pony who didn’t seem to share the crowd or Midnight’s enthusiasm. “Something’s wrong, Moony. I don’t think that guest came for the cocktails.”

Moon followed her gaze to a weedy-looking Unicorn with dark rings under his eyes. And those eyes never left Midnight Song. He also seemed to be wearing a peculiar-looking ring around his horn.

“You think he’s here to cause trouble?” Moondancer asked her marefriend.

“I don’t know,” Sugar said. “I can’t...sense him. I can feel everypony else in this room, but he’s a void I can’t touch. I think he came here knowing there were ‘lings, and wanted to hide whatever he was up to from them…”

Moon looked to Midnight and when the Thestral laid eyes on the stallion, Moondancer caught the look that she got.

Fear.

“That’s all I need,” she replied and with a flash, she’d teleported herself and the stallion outside. She glared at him once they reappeared.

“So, you going to leave quietly?”

“Sorry pretty lady, I got something I need to do,” the stallion said before lighting his horn up to try and teleport back into the club. “I’ll make room in my schedule for you later.”

That was when he noticed that the club seemed to have a barrier around it. While he could just walk in just fine, he couldn’t select it as a teleportation destination.

“If you’re planning one something harmful, I’m afraid I can’t quite allow that,” Moondancer replied. “That cute little bat is quite precious to me, as is the owner of that place. She’d be awfully upset if I messed it up.”

“If you’re gonna stand in my way, I’m gonna remove you from play,” the stallion growled. The glow on his horn seemed a lot more menacing now. Moondancer looked at him, then at his horn.

“Are...you really going to-” That was about as far as she got before she broke down laughing. “Ohhaahahaha, that is just the most...aaahahaa and, you’re-you’re actually serious? Ahahahaha!”

Electrical sparks danced up and down the stallion’s horn, before an arc of the stuff sprouted from it and impacted the pavement near Moondancer’s hooves. “Last chance, pretty mare. Stay out of my way, or I’m going to have to make you take that barrier down.”

Sugar ran outside, and Moondancer looked in her direction. “Ooh, hey there Princess. Perfect timing, I was hoping you could answer a question. Tell me...” She looked at Kill Switch and smiled. “What sound does a Unicorn make when he hits the ground from forty thousand feet?”

He got a second to process that before she teleported him.

“...You’re not actually doing?...” Sugar questioned Moondancer. The Unicorn gave her a sweet smile and a kiss on the cheek, before she teleported him back from his freefall, laying splayed across the ground.

He groaned and twitched as he lay there, still trying to get up despite what Moondancer had done. Moon grinned as she looked at him.

“You seem this is why I prefer mares, stallions are all talk, no substance.” Her horn flared as the ground rumbled and a cracking sound could be heard...before a shadow formed over Kill.

When he looked up, he saw an entire building hovering over him. Mind you, it was just an illusion...

But he didn’t need to know that.

“Ready to give up, or shall I bring the house down?” Moon grinned.

“That was a terrible joke,” Sugar said before returning the earlier kiss. The stallion, on the other hoof, merely whimpered and nodded rapidly. There was no way he could fight a mare that could do that.

...Though the moment her back was turned, he was sticking a knife in it. She was clearly the larger threat here.

And when the illusion faded, he felt something cold press again his back, as Midnight stood over him, the tip of her wingblade pressed against his spine. The temperature also seemed to have dropped a few degrees.

“If you so much as twitch, I will tear out your fucking spine and strangle you with it!”

Kill-switch made the wisest choice he could have that day by holding very, very still. He didn’t even so much as breathe.

This mare scared him more than Toll did, now.

“Good boy,” she whispered, before a hoof to the back of the head knocked him out cold. “And Moondancer? Why would you put yourself in danger like that? This guy is seriously dangerous!”

“He was a joke and I made him realise as such, idiot couldn’t even tell an illusion from the real thing.” Moondancer stopped herself before she slipped into lecture mode. “Well, that was certainly exciting though...” She gave a little twirl and Sugar finally realised that her coat was no longer white, but more of a dull orange colour. She was also wearing a pair of cute, round glasses.

“Oh hey, you stopped dyeing your coat?” Midnight pointed out.

“Mmm,” Sugar said before pulling the mare’s ear down to her level and whispering huskily into it. “That means I need a new photograph~

“Ohh, I suppose I could pose for a few,” Moondancer nodded. She gave the nymph her best bedroom eyes and whispered back “I’ll give you a few to remember hmm?”

That was also when they noticed Midnight standing about two inches away.

“I smell sexytimes!” she said with a wide grin.

“You, as my Guard liaison, get to take mister hornhead to the guard station,” Sugar said, pointing at Kill-Switch. “I’ll entertain our guest while you do. And once you get back. And for the rest of the day.”

Midnight gave a small whine that sound a lot like a puppy. “Figures,” she muttered as she dragged Kill away, making sure to walk past every single raised cobblestone she could find.

“You’re more effective than a bucket of cold water,” Moondancer giggled.

“I wasn’t joking,” Sugar said without missing a beat. Moondancer raised an eyebrow as they walked back inside as the crowd gathered once again. Moon looked around and hummed.

“Sorry everypony, but we’re taking a small break until Miss Midnight returns, please wait patiently until then.” She dropped a bag of bits onto the counter to pay for a round of drinks, before teleporting herself and Sugar to the nymph’s bedroom. The nymph shed both layers of her disguise, taking her noble form and leaning down to look Moondancer in the eyes.

Hello, poppet~

“Hello princess,” the mare giggled as she dragged her closer. Time to work off a little stress~


Cider grunted as she lifted one large barrel onto another. Her farmhands were all gone, having gotten other jobs over the winter period. Still, there was plenty to do and she still had her winter crops to harvest. She grabbed her baskets and placed them on her back before heading out to her fields. The cucumber and cabbage should be about ready now.

That was when she saw a massive Earth pony stallion milling about the place. Had Ledger sent over a worker to help her? It sounds like something he’d do.

“Well howdy,” she greeted him with a chipper tone. “Y’all lookin’ fer somepony?”

He grunted and looked over at her before nodding once, sharply. Her cousin Big Mac was more talkative than him.

“Not a big talker huh? I can understand that.” She set her baskets down and hummed a little as she pulled up a cabbage. “Y’all lookin’ fer me? Or maybe Ledger?”

The stallion pointed a hoof at her before lowering it back to the ground...then actually helping the mare harvest her vegetables. Cider blinked and smiled, guess Ledger did send him to help her out. With the two of them, the work was done quite quickly and she beamed at him.

“Thanks fer all yer help, would ya like a drink or sumthin’?” He seemed to hum in thought before nodding and following the mare to the house. Once inside, she set the bounty of vegetables into the storage box and fetched two bottles of cider from the fridge. He really didn’t talk...like, at all.

“If Ledger sent ya, then I’ll get him to organise yer pay fer helping me out today.” she said as she placed the bottle on the table. “Ah should make a note as well, jus’ in case...now, where did ah put that notepad?” She moved to the living room, searching, even lifting the whole couch to look under it. “Consarn it, where’d it go?”

The stallion cleared his throat, which sounded something like an avalanche starting, as he waved a small notepad around. He’d actually been sitting on it by accident.

“Oh? Thank you kindly,” she smiled as she took the pad and scribbled something in it before placing it on the kitchen counter. “Sorry, ah didn’t catch yer name earlier.”

“Bludgeon,” he supplied, sipping at his cider. She smiled and wrote that down as well. Funny, she thought she had heard that name somewhere before.

Oh well.

“Well, no rest for the wicked I suppose,” Cider said as she headed for the door. “Y’all can head off if you like. Ah have wine barrels to stack.”

The stallion shook his head before talking again. “Still got a job to do,” he supplied as he put the bottle down, but didn’t let it go.

“You wanna help? Well, fair enough,” Cider said as she trotted towards her distillery. “The barrels are mighty heavy though, so lemme know if y’all get tired.”

“That’s not the job,” he said simply, following along, not letting the mare get too far away from him.

“Hmm, y’all say something?” she asked as she opened the door. A wooden barrel about three times her size was sitting there as she hefted it onto her back and moved it to the stack near the others. The stallion replicated the feat, though it was clear he strained to do so.

“That’s perfect, thanks!” Cider beamed, clapping the stallion on the back with a solid thump. “Sure is nice to have somepony dependable ‘round here. Middy and the others are great, but they ain’t got a lick o’ sense when it comes to farmwork.”

Bludgeon staggered a little, but kept his head held high. This mare was crazy strong, but even the strongest fell to a surprise attack. Cider just gave him that sweet smile again as she turned away to pick up another barrel…

Bludgeon grunted as he followed after. If he was lucky, he’d be able to collapse a whole lot of them on her and make it look like an accident.

“Ah reckon this’ll take all day,” Cider sighed as she stacked one barrel on another and lifted both. She moved a little slower, but brought them over the pile with the rest. “Ah reckon ah should look fer an easier way to stack these... Hm, I wonder if Cousin Apple Barrel has a few ideas?”

This...promised to take a while, Bludgeon was slowly realizing. This mare seemed to do almost nothing unsafely, just slow and strong. He wondered if he would be able to outlast her, much less actually kill her.

And the more he helped her with her honest farmwork, the less he was wanting to kill her...

After while, the pair had managed to move all one hundred barrels, even Cider had worked up a sweat now. She looked back at Bludgeon and grinned.

“How y’all holdin’ up?” she smirked. “Ready to get to work on the hard stuff yet?”

The stallion was panting, grunting, sweating, and even shaking a little...but he refused to be bested. After taking a breath to steady himself, he drew back up and nodded at her.

“Well ah’ll be, ah reckon y’all might be one of mah best helper ever,” she beamed. There was a sudden snap, and a barrel at the top of the pile came crashing downwards.

“Look out!” she yelled, pushing him out of the way in the nick of time, as the barrel hit the floor and shattered, spilling wine all over them.

“Whew! That was a close one,” she sighed, wiping her brow. “Ah’m mighty sorry about that. Guess the straps were a tad older than ah thought. Ah really am sorry!”

“You...saved me,” he rumbled out, confusion on his brow. Then he sighed and shook his head. “You shouldn’t have done that…”

Cider blinked as she wrung out her soaked mane. “Now, what would ah do a stupid thing like that? Ah wasn’t gonna let y’all get hurt. If ah’d been payin’ attention more, this wouldn't have even happened.”

“My job wasn’t to help you,” the stallion said. “It was to kill you.”

Cider paused and looked at him. “...Come again?”

“Was supposed to come here, kill you to send a message to the bug about messing with Toll, then go back and wait for more orders,” the stallion said. “You saved me, though. So I’m torn. One part of me wants to kill you still. Other part says I shouldn’t.”

“Sounds like y’all have a terrible boss,” she replied as she frowned at her stained coat. This was going to take forever to clean. “Tell ya what. Let’s call it square fer today. Y’all can come back tomorrow and try again. Either try yer current job, or quit, and ah’ll give you more honest work.”

“...I think I’ll take the second option, miss Cider,” the stallion said before nodding at her again. “Tell you the truth, I always did think the bug was smarter than miss Toll. Just never thought to tell her to her face. Seeing as he ended up beating her in the end, I’d say I was right.”

“Well, that’s good t’hear,” she said with a smile. She would have felt really bad about breaking him if he opted for the first. “Come by again when y’all get yer affairs in order. Ah’ll be here.”

The stallion nodded at her one last time before slowly walking off. He...liked farm work. It was a way for his strength to do some good for the city. And he wanted to do more of it.


Scope Lens looked at the pile of broken and beaten Changeling’s before her. She rolled her eyes as she stepped over them.

“Honestly, did you fucking idiots think that quantity would trump quality? Do you have any idea how much love magic I have? True Love magic? I could blast Chrysalis to the fucking sun if I felt like it!”

The pile of nymphs just groaned as Scope sighed again, her rant far from done.

“I know, I know, you’re Loyal Changeling’s, gotta stick with the program and all that. But hey, at least you tried right? A for effort and all that.” She sat beside the pile as she worked out a kink in her neck. “And besides, do you honestly think Toll Taker of all ponies deserves that loyalty? She’d sell you out in a fucking second, like she did me. Hell, the bitch used me as a meat shield against a pissed off Thestral.”

The pile was oddly quiet.

“Yeah, thought so,” Scope sighed again as her neck gave a satisfying crack. “But hey, if you wanna keep going, by all means. I’ll wait until you’re feeling better and we’ll go for round two. Though, I might not hold back as much next time.”

“She is truly that treacherous?” one of the nymphs asked. “To use you as a shield against one of the bat-winged?”

“I spent two weeks in remission because of her, I had to shed my entire fucking shell since the bat reduced most of it to confetti, hell, she knows how powerful I am, and still sent you lot after me. You’re a distraction, nothing more.”

“...She is undeserving of our loyalty,” one of them finally said. “Even if we had any true loyalty from her to power our magic, for this act, she does not deserve any of our aid.”

“Oh, look who finally added a second digit to their IQ count,” Scope snarked. “Well, I can’t say I wasn’t any better at first. But you’ll learn.” She got back up and with a glow of her horn, each nymph suddenly had a small glowing emblem on their flanks.

“Tracking rune, so I know where you troublemakers are,” she explained. “Now, I have to go and stop Ledger from killing Toll... that’s my job. You lot lay low for a bit until you’re better. Then, we’ll start on helping you actually become something that’s worth being called a nymph.”

Each one shakily got up to their hooves...before bowing their heads to her and muttering the same thing in unison. “Yes mistress.”

Scope’s eyes widened. Oh sweet! She had minions!

“Good min- I mean, good girls. Now, skedaddle!” she ordered as she flew into the air and headed for Ledger’s warehouse.


Ledger sipped at his afternoon coffee as he considered his books as of late. Luna had done what she could to keep him afloat, and he did appreciate it. But now he would need new deals, new ideas. He had a plan around the Hivespeak spell, along with opening branches in different cities.

However, he really didn’t appreciate the Ye Olde writing she did for taking notes. Made them very hard to read.

He used his new paperweight to mark his place before he got up to pour himself another cup of coffee. It seemed to go so quickly for some reason. That was when his door all but exploded as Scope Lens flew in undisguised, her horn blazing.

“Imma skin that bitch alive!” she screamed as she looked around. “Oh? Hey Lev.”

There was a whimpering from the corner behind Ledger’s desk at Scope’s sudden entrance, and a quick examination would reveal a de-horned, chained and bound to the floor mare that could pass for Toll Taker...if you added about two tons of confidence.

“Uh...okay? Wow... and here I thought I was a little hard,” she muttered, significantly subdued now. “Oh, and Bitch? Those little minions of yours? They’re my minions now.”

“Just what I needed in my life,” Ledger moaned. “More crazy nymphs.” He sat back at his desk and moved something that looked vaguely horn-like off of one of his official-looking documents.

Scope looked at the horn, then to Ledger. “Uh, Lev? You sure you’re not still a Black?”

“She’s one of the few I would go that way for, but no, this wasn’t me. One of my workers actually bit it off,” he said, neglecting to mention his own role in weakening the horn in the first place. “Yellows. What’re you gonna do?”

“A Yellow? Yeah, those things are pretty friggen nuts,” Scope sighed as more ponies burst into the room, this time it was Narrow and Midnight. The Thestral launched herself across the room and tackled Level off of his chair, nuzzling him and crying into his coat.

“Shh, I know, I know,” he said, softly stroking her mane. “I was worried about you too.”

Midnight sniffed, then she noticed Toll and Ledger could feel the murderous intent rising in his bat, even before she started unsheathing her blades.

“Love, look again,” he said into her ear. “She’s missing something to be dangerous with.”

Midnight noticed the horn, she also didn’t give a flying buck about that. She was going to end this mare.

“While I do not approve of the method,” Narrow spoke up. “You seem to be alright Ledger. But, we will be talking about this later. Remember what I said about vigilante justice?”

“I swear, I didn’t do that!” Ledger protested. He had wanted to, but he didn’t. “It was an unfortunate accident as she tried to run away past all my workers.” That he may or may not have told to stop her. “Vigilante justice would be standing aside and letting Midnight do her thing.” Which he wasn’t going to do as long as she was in hugging range.

“Midnight Song? Are you capable of doing your job?” Narrow asked, as the armoured Thestral sighed and nodded.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” She released the chains that held Toll to the ground and gave them a yank, pulling the Unicorn to her hooves. “Let’s go.” She barked.

As they walked past Ledger’s desk, Toll suddenly lunged and grabbed her broken horn, holding it against her forehead as she channeled a death hex.

And she aimed at the Thestral. If Ledger was going to take something of hers, she’d at least take something of his! Once again, Ledger didn’t think so much as react, and jumped to push Midnight out of the way. Unfortunately, that left very little in the way between himself and the hex.

But the attack never came, all that Toll did was gurgle a little, as she dropped her horn and looked down...at the wing blade embedded in her chest.

“Midnight?” Ledger softly asked as he looked at the wingblade in Toll’s chest when he was curious as to why he was still alive. Toll swallowed hard before she collapsed, as Midnight panted heavily.

Narrow also sheathed the blade her magic had drawn. Midnight had been just a few seconds faster. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Let the records state that Toll Taker was killed while resisting arrest and attempting fatal harm on another officer and a civilian.”

“What...did I just...?” Midnight looked at her wing, her voice shaky. “I...didn’t mean...” It was around then that Ledger caught on to her reaction...

The reaction of somepony that had never killed before. He pulled her into a hug and tried to soothe her with his voice and his presence. Narrow pulled out a short range communication crystal to signal the waiting squad outside.

“I just...reacted, I didn’t mean to...” Midnight shook as Narrow drew closer and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

“She was about to kill a trained Guard, and a civilian. You reacted based on your training. Try not to worry okay?”

The other guards filed in as Narrow looked at Ledger. “Are you alright to head home? I’ll need you to file a report later, but it can wait.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ledger said. “It’s her I’m worried about.”

“Taking a life is never easy.” Narrow sighed again as she looked down at Toll. “This was not a favourable end to all of this.”

“We should go and check on Cider,” Scope pointed out. “If she sent somepony after me...”

“And me,” Midnight said quietly. “She sent that weedy little Unicorn of hers, the one from that day. But... Moony took care of him.”

“And if she sent her ‘loyal’ friends after you, Scope, then that leaves only one mook for Cider,” Ledger deduced.

“That big Earth pony!” Midnight suddenly exclaimed as she got up, pulling Ledger with her. “Come on! We have to hurry!”

The drone barely had time to put his disguise back on before he was pulled after Midnight…


At the farm, the trio finally arrived to see Cider laying on a picnic blanket in her orchard, sipping some cider and reading a book of some description. She looked up as they approached from the air and waved.

“Hey y’all? What’s up?”

“Did a big Earth Pony stallion by the name of Bludgeon show up here?” Ledger asked bluntly.

“Huh? Ah, yeah actually.” Cider replied, closing her book. “Real big, and real quiet. Barely said a dozen words most of the time. Offered him a job, so ah reckon he’ll be back sometime t’morrow.”

“......what?” Scope blinked. Ledger blinked. Midnight... giggled.

“And Cidey’s Cute Charm was super effective,” she smiled. “But seriously Cider. He was here to kill you.”

“Ah know,” Cider nodded as she patted the blanket. “Ah saved his life, which wouldn’ve happened if ah’d been payin’ more attention. But ah’m gonna make an honest stallion out of him.”

“...Easier said than done,” Ledger replied before taking a breath, the better to start listing Bludgeon’s crimes with.

“He seems fine with it, and y’all don’t have to worry ‘bout me. Ah can take care of mahself.” Truth was, she had been a little shaken up after he left. That was why she was having a little ‘me time’ to calm down. “And what’s up with you Middy? Ya look all frazzled.”

“Well aside from worrying my plot off about the rest of you,” she said, before her voice got quiet. “There was an...incident at Ledger’s warehouse...”

“My old boss made a return showing,” Ledger said before hugging Midnight again. “She...won’t be a problem anymore.”

It took a moment, but Cider put the vague clues together and gasped, before she hugged the Thestral as well. Scope rolled her eyes and joined in on the group hug.

“I love you guys,” Midnight said quietly.

“And we love you too,” Ledger said, nuzzling the mare. “We’re here for you, you know. If you need to talk to somepony, or talk at somepony.”

“It’s just...I’ve, never killed anypony before... I know it’s stupid, but, did she really deserve that? I wonder, if I let my feelings get the better of me...”

“Would you have rather she got that hex off instead?” Ledger asked bluntly. “It could just as easily be you we’d be burying.”

“But, I could have knocked her out, I could have dodged...but no, I turn her into a pony pincushion!”

Scope sniggered at that. Ledger merely kept hugging her before replying.

“It’s just as much my fault as yours. I kept that horn around like a bucking trophy. If you’re going to blame yourself for killing her, I’m going to blame me for putting you in that position.”

“No, it’s not your fault!” Midnight cried at him. She stood up and opened her mouth as she screamed at the skies for about a solid minute before she collapsed onto the blanket. “I think... I feel a little better.”

“Tell me then, whose fault was it that she could perform that hex when her horn was broken off?” Ledger mock-mused as he put a hoof to his chin. “Why, I do believe it was me who said to bring that bit of bone to his office so he could use it as a paperweight!”

“What’s done is done,” Cider said calmly as she pulled them all into a tight hug. “Y’all can’t change what happened, you just gotta deal with it and move on. And know that we’re all right here for ya.”

“No matter what,” Ledger said as he tried vainly to hug all the mares at once. Midnight just nodded as she leaned into the hug. At least she still had these three...

Until Scope spoke up.

“So, can we talk for a minute on how awesome it is that I have actual minions now?”

“Later,” Ledger said. “Scheme and plot later. Hug and comforting ponies now. Might have a plan for them, depending.”

“MY minions, my rules,” Scope nodded.

“So, orgy in the orchards then?” Midnight asked. Scope just groaned as Cider rolled her eyes...then all three mares looked at Ledger.

“...I didn’t take you all for exhibitionists,” Ledger pointed out.

“Middy is a bad influence,” Cider nodded and Scope readily agreed.

“That I am,” Midnight sighed as she lay against Ledger. “That I am.”

Author's Note:

And so one villain passes.

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