> The Midnight Mares : Tall Tale Trouble!
>  by ThatOneVolcarona
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



A quaint little cafe, nestled on the main street of Tall Tale, a distant coastal town located on the western shores of Equestria. It was small, isolated and that was perfect for the mare sitting at the table, sipping her coffee.

She’d grown a little exhausted of the hustle and bustle of Canterlot, and her boss had all but tossed her out on her rump, ordering her to take a vacation. She’d been tempted to go back home for a while, but changed her plans at the last minute.
 
A waiter approached, the mare was wearing a wide-brimmed sunhat, obscuring most of her face and her dress hid more of her features, including her Cutie Mark. 

But her voice alone kept the serving colts coming back for more. She sounded so refined and lady-like, something they didn’t often see in this part of town.

“W-Would you like some more coffee?” he asked.

“Hmm, don’t be so nervous,” the mare said, her voice was like woven silk. “Show some confidence. Mares like that sort of thing.”

“Y-Yes Ma’am,” he said, his volume increasing slightly as she turned and looked at him. He caught a glimpse of her eyes and his breath hitched in his throat. Her eyes shone like the richest emerald… and had a draconian slit instead of a normal iris. He couldn’t look away, like he was in a trance.

But a sudden ruckus caused her to look away. Somepony was being chased. The mare’s ear flicked under her hat. Three? No, four ponies. Three of which were doing the pursuing. 

Still, she was on vacation. Not her problem. She leaned back in her chair and sipped her drink again.

That is until she felt a strong breeze pass by her, even blowing some coffee drops away. She caught a glimpse of a strange navy-blue blur dashing right past her with a purse that was oddly similar to her own, and a couple of bags, and a pearl necklace, and a golden watch, and three ponies rushing after her while screaming and hollering. Time seemed to slow down as the one that was being pursued shot a wink at her, waving the purse around with a soft chuckle.

The mare blinked, that was… strange. Well, she was still on vacation, so again, not her problem. She drained her cup and set it down on the saucer, before fishing out her purse to pay for the drink…

...Where was her purse?

Oh you have got to be kidding!? The mare’s eyes narrowed as the waiter approached. 

“Uh, will there be anything else ma’am?’ he asked. She turned and smiled as him, a smile that made him a little warm under the collar.

“I seem to have left my purse behind. Perhaps I could… settle my bill another way~?”

The serving colt gulped as she took out a card and wrote something on it.

“My hotel and room number, I'll be waiting,” she winked and slid it into his vest before getting up. 

She had a thief to skin alive first.

Meanwhile not far away from the little cafe, more and more ponies joined in on the chase. Yet no matter who joined in or what they did, none could even come close to putting a hoof on the nimble rascal. Those who had lived long enough in the small coastal town knew that going after this thief was of no use, there were even some who underhandedly aided the thief by either dropping something on top of the pursuers’ head, or even leaving a banana peel on the streets because who doesn’t love some cheap slapstick comedy?

This was with a good reason though, as this was no mere thief. Quick, agile, said to be uncatchable, and with a golden heart, if you were a rich noble coming to visit you were most likely going to leave with nothing but your underwear and a frown. And there was nothing anyone could do, no one could put a hoof on the infamous Midnight Thief. 

You wouldn’t even know you’ve been robbed until it was too late. And according to the townsfolk, this would never, ever change.

Or so she thought. That noblemare at the coffee house had been an easy target, too easy in fact...

Then a horrible sound filled the air, a screech that sounded like something from the depths of Tartarus itself. The thief afforded a look behind her…

She really wished she hadn't. 

Coming up fast was a demon. A demon in pony form. She had rage filled crimson eyes, a mouthful of fangs and dragon-like wings. 

And she was flying straight for her!

With an eep, the Midnight Thief ducked, her horn glowing as she prepared to teleport the heck away from there. It hadn’t been the first time someone had tried to get her from above, but the screeching was definitely new, and she did not like it one bit. The further away she could get from whatever the heck was after her, the better. 

“Get back here you little thief!!” the demonic mare yelled, even the stallions had backed off. “If you beg, maybe I'll let you see the sunset!!”

“Nope!” The thief’s eyes widened up in shock as this looked like something right out of a horror movie. With a flash of her horn she teleported out of the way, dodging the incoming mare by a mere second and then appearing on an old rooftop in the blink of an eye. With a sigh that was followed by a smirk, she winked at the spectators and turned around before getting the heck out of there, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, her steps expertly calculated to make sure that the sloped rooftops were more of an aid than a hindrance.  

And already, the batpony was hot on her hooves, smiling an unsettling smile.

“Fe Fi Fo Fun, I see a pony whose life is nearly done!” She was so close, the thief could feel the hairs to on her neck stand on end.

Surprised she had managed to catch up so fast, the thief took a good look at her surroundings. She was right in the middle of town so disappearing into the woods was not an option, and the beach was the other way… then, an idea came to the unicorn thief’s mind. Shooting a cocky smirk in response to the demonic mare’s threats, she began picking up speed while her eyes locked on the roof ahead, she prepared to jump, and she knew that her pursuer would follow. That’s exactly why she didn’t actually jump. Instead, she hopped into the wide wap separating the buildings at the last possible second, letting out a loud, mocking “SYKE!” as she fell into the darkened alley.

The bat screamed in rage and circled around to dive down. But by the time she reached the alley, the unicorn was nowhere to be seen.

“I'll bucking skin you alive!!!” she yelled at the sky.

The only thing she got in response, was a faint mocking raspberry, courtesy of the nimble thief, too faint and quick to be able to pinpoint the darn rascal.

And as quick as she disappeared, came the local police force. Two young Pegasi in uniform landed next to the angered mare, a look of worry on their faces.

“Miss, are you alright!?” Came the mauve, young Pegasi’s worried voice, a small golden-painted plaque reading his name, ‘ Officer Summer Breeze.’.

“That little thief stole my purse,” the bat sighed and turned to face them. “So, congrats on doing a fine job there gentlestallions.”

The two pegasi awkwardly rubbed the back of their heads, “Yeah… sorry miss. But you see, we can’t really stop the Midnight Thief, it’s… kind of impossib-”

The pegasi was stopped by a strong nudge from his partner, a taller yet slimmer light blue pegasi who seemed to be the most experienced of the duo, his plaque reading Diamond Cloud, “What he’s trying to say is, no one has been able to catch her. We try but…. Most officers just ignore the calls of help at this point so…” He shrugged, a rather bored, dry tone on his voice.

“Yeah… that’s actually worse than what your buddy was about to say,” the thestral deadpanned. “Well, do you think you can manage to escort a mare to the station? I need to file a stolen possessions form.”

The officers nodded and signaled her to follow them, “Sure thing, Miss…” The older guard quirked an eyebrow in curiosity.
        
“Midnight Song,” the mare replies and her eyes twinkled. “Specialist Midnight Song. Of the Canterlot Solar Guard.”

The two guards’ jaws dropped open, silently blaming each other with their eyes for saying too much. After a couple of really awkward seconds, the oldest one cleared his throat and saluted her, the youngest one clumsily imitating him, “Ma’am, our apologies ma’am!”

“Forget it, I’m on vacation anyway,” Midnight sighed and rolled her eyes. “Now, I believe you were escorting me to the station?”

The two officers looked at each other in slight panic, before the youngest one nodded and took the lead, “This way, ma’am!” Flapping his wings, he took off, followed by his partner and Midnight herself. Yet Midnight couldn’t help but feel like she was being watched… 

And unknown to her, she was. The Midnight Thief panted heavily before sighing in relief and tossing herself to the ground with a small chuckle. She had to thank Diamond Cloud and Summer Breeze for getting rid of the mare. Truth be told, the little thief had been running for a good hour now and was just too tired to keep going. With a smug grin, she began opening her recently acquired loot, starting with the darn purse that belonged to that terrifying mare. It was more of a pouch than a purse, and it was full of so many goodies she could easily sell to her fencers. Quite a few bits, easily a couple of hundred after a quick count. There was also necklace, a simple silver pendant with a picture of two smiling mares in it.

One was that demon mare from before, but this picture made her look quite pretty. The other was a tan-coated unicorn with thick glasses and a two-tone red and purple mane. 

The thief whistled and chuckled as she eyed the first picture again, “Well would you look at that, she ain’t half bad when she isn’t trying to kill you, I’d tap that, and…” she hummed, looking at the second one, “Hm… who might you be? A friend?” She kept staring at the pictures, yet gave up with her random guesses and shrugged, tossing the necklace back in the purse, not like she cared much for whoever that was as for the thief she was just another snobby noble, like any other Canterlonian dumb enough to visit her town.

She checked the final item in the purse and narrowed her eyes in confusion, it was some kind of… ID card?





‘Midnight Song’

‘Rank - Specialist’

‘ID Number - CRG10025’





“CRG…?” Her eyes were shot open. That stood for ‘Celestial Royal Guard’! The members that acted at Princess Celestia’s right hoof. You had to be amazingly skilled to even be considered as a member, “And I just stole from a royal guard… well damn me!” She let out a groan, “I can’t believe this! ‘Oh it’s just another noble mare, probably rotting in money’ well good job judging a book by its cover, Pockets. Now I gotta find her and give her stuff back! That means…” She closed her eyes and groaned, “Gosh darnit… I gotta get to the station!” Needless to say, she didn’t like going to the police department, although it had nothing to do with the officers, nah, they were all buddies. It had to do with the one in charge… that buffy idiot.

“You... Let. Her. ESCAPE!?” 

Summer Breeze shivered as Commander Green Lead’s shout caused the building to tremble, “S-sorry!”

“YOU INCOMPETENT FOOLS! You two, get out of my BLOODY SIGHT!” The two pegasi saluted and in the blink of an eye, they were gone. Green Lead muttered under his breath.and shook his head, “My apologies Specialist Midnight, ma’am, but you know how new recruits are.”

“I do, and they’re only as good as the one training them,” she replied with a biting tone. She disliked commanders yelling at a recruit. It was useless if they didn’t learn anything from it. “She’s clearly a competent mage. Do you not have anti-magic abilities?”

Green Lead huffed with an annoyed frown, feeling rather insulted yet keeping it to himself. He searched a few drawers and took out a small metallic collar with a single gem encrusted on it, tossing it on the table, “This is all we need. These babies keep any unicorn from casting any sort of spell, and as an added bonus, it shocks them if they try to break free of it. We ordered them with that darn Midnight Thief in mind.” Having a quick look at it, one thing was obvious, if they somehow managed to put one of those things on your neck, it would hurt, a lot.

“So, you’re resorting to old torture devices?” Midnight was far from amused. One thing was for certain, Princess Celestia would be hearing about this. “Well, good luck even getting one on her.” She finished filling out a form. One was to requisition some emergency funds from her bank account in Canterlot. The other was a theft form for her pendant and Guard ID. With that ID and a decent illusion spell, a lot of trouble could be caused. “I’ll be speaking to the mayor about this little problem as well. I trust you don’t have a problem with that? Well, not like I care one way or the other.”

The buffy earth pony narrowed his eyes, before shaking his head no, “It’s… no problem, Specialist Midnight. And just so you know… I know what I’m doing. I’ve been on this business for decades so… watch out with what you say or do.”  The last part was most definitely threatening, almost a hiss, his eyes fixed on Midnight.

Midnight didn’t flinch. Her eyes narrowed and she returned with a gaze that was colder than the frozen north. 

“I don’t take insults to your superiors lightly, Rookie. You may have years, but experience is everything.” She left the forms on his desk and left the room before he could retort, exiting back out into the lobby of the station. “What a bucking blowhard,” she muttered.

“Pssst. Hey, you!” 

Midnight’s ear flicked and she looked around to see who was calling her. 

She then spotted the source, the same pegasus as before, the oldest one of the duo, was signaling her to come closer, making sure that no one who mattered was seeing them. “Hey, hurry up!”

She frowned and walked closer. If he was going to hit on her, at least make it a little more subtle. She stepped closer and gave an annoyed click of her tongue. “Look colt. I already have a bed partner for tonight. Try again tomorrow hmm? Unless you don’t mind sharing~”

Diamond Cloud deadpanned, quirking an eyebrow, “First of all, I’m not into mares. Second of all, that is most definitely not the reason I called you.” Taking yet another look around, he leaned closer to her, not bothering to whisper seeing as no one could really hear them talk, “So, what lies did that huge idiot tell you?”

“Oh, you act like I haven’t turned some coltcuddlers before,” Midnight smiled. “Besides that, he didn’t say much. I don’t think he likes me much. Or he’s scared of me. Most are.”        

He rolled his eyes, “Yup, you’re screwed. You seem to have gotten on Lead’s bad list. I give you... a week at MOST before you either end up in a coma, or in jail for something you didn’t do, or if everything else fails just plain dead.” He raised a picture from his desk, showing a cute mauve young earth pony mare with thick glasses, “This is True Story, a young reporter who got tired of how things worked around here. Has been missing for a month now.”

Midnight looked at the picture, then back to Green’s office. “You think he was involved? Why have you not contacted a superior?”

The officer raised another picture, this time a strong, buffy orange unicorn with a police uniform and a valiant grin on his face, “This is Shimmering Shield, one of the best officers this town has ever seen. He tried contacting an outsider about what was going on. Currently, he’s unconscious on a hospital bed, hit on the head so hard his brain almost stopped working completely.”

Midnight frowned. “So, give me one reason why I shouldn’t go and slap irons on him right now. How in Tartarus could these sorts of things happen without anypony knowing?”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” The pegasus sighed, “Everypony knows, it’s not a secret to us townsfolk. But no one can do a single thing against it because it’s not just Green Lead. There is a massive circle of corruption that has been going around since the mayor first got elected. Cut a head, and another one will take its place. Simple as that. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you trying anything stupid like telling Princess Celestia or something. Try to do that, and you can kiss your flank goodbye.”

Midnight narrowed her eyes. This vacation was supposed to be calming, peaceful and quiet. She'd suffered a lot after that Changeling invasion…

“And if I choose not to leave this alone?”

Diamond Cloud chuckled, before pointing behind her with his muzzle, “Then you better get some help.” 

Standing there was a small, hooded figure, almost the entirety of her body covered by the hood, with the exception of her hooves and navy-blue muzzle, whistling carelessly as she leaned on a wall.

“You!?” Midnight shot forward and in a flash, pinned her against the wall. “Give me one reason why I shouldn't toss you in a cell?”

“Wow easy there hot-stuff,” Came the thief’s slightly tomboyish voice, “If ya wanna get kinky, let’s do it somewhere else, we’re in public ya know?” She chuckled, “Sup?”

“My things. return them now!” Midnight said and bared her fangs. “Or maybe I should just call for Green in there? He’d love to meet you I hear.”

“Geez, no thanks.” The unicorn grimaced before using her magic to make the purse appear out of thin air, “Here ya go, a nice pretty gift for a nice pretty mare. I’m sure it’ll chill ya out.”

“Many thanks,” Midnight snared the purse with a wing and tucked it underneath it. “Though you stole it in the first place, I’m still going to toss your flank in a cell whether you like it or not you little thief.”

“Yeah about that…” She chuckled, before teleporting away, “Didn’t Diamond tell you? None can catch me, and I ain’t planning to change that.” She said from behind Midnight. And a second later, Midnight had her pinned again, this time on the floor as she stood over her, one hoof against her horn. Surprisingly enough, not many officers seemed to care. They recognized the hooded figure and simply shrugged, things like that happened all the time around her.

“Correction, you can’t be caught by a bunch of backwater hicks,” the bat said with a sly smile. “I, on the other hoof, have actual skill.”

“Eh… yeah, nah. That changes nothing. When it comes down to catching me, skill means nothing, you gotta have a damn ton of luck to even get close, heck, a miracle even.” She smirked, “Just give up batty, makes my life way easier. My talent is being a sneaky thief, I got flank-magic on my side.”

“Butt marks don’t mean squat,” Midnight said and removed the hoof pressing against the mare’s horn. “Still, you returned my things, so I’ll give you a head start. Come tomorrow… I’ll not be so generous.”

“Eh… that doesn't sound like fun ya know? I saw you talking with Diamond, and that gay doofus pointed at me so, that means something. You're either important, or he's just screwing with me again.” She grinned, obviously not caring about Midnight’s threats.

“One, I don’t appreciate your tone. Coltcuddlers know how to treat a mare if they choose~ Second, he pointed me at you, for reasons I’m still trying to figure out.” She snorted and let the unicorn up. “I’m still waiting for a reason why I shouldn’t leave this town and come back with an alicorn entourage. Green’s threats are foalish at best.”

The thief actually laughed at that, “Oh geez, are all high-ranks this rock-headed? Look, from what I can tell you're now in Lead's bad side, mainly because you’re one of the few that can take him and all his little friends down. This means that you'd be lucky if you manage to even reach the train station. My suggestion? Let it cool down, leave in a week or so, and forget everything you heard from Diamond. We don't need more heroes trying to face off against Mayor Grumble.”

“The Mayor is in on this?” Midnight groaned and looked back at the office. “For flipping feathers sake!”

The thief facehooved inwardly, “Me and my huge horse-mouth. Look, I like you kinda, you seem cool and might actually be useful. So let's make a deal. If you manage to survive ‘till tomorrow, go to the plaza at dawn. If you don't wanna that's fine by me, you're already in too much trouble as it is.” She gave the office door a look and sighed, “I can't stay here much longer so yeah, watch your flank batty, don't wanna see such a fine piece of booty in a body-bag.”

“Many have tried, none have succeeded,” Midnight smiled and looked her over. What she felt under that cloak seemed like a cute little form. “So, you got a name? My adorable little thief.”

“D’aww ya seriously mean it or are just trying to get in my non-existing pants?.” She snickered, “Name’s Pickett Midnight, but you can call me Pockets. And sorry but my memory's as bad as an old donkey's, what was your name again?”

Midnight opened her mouth, then closed it and smirked. “I’ll tell you tomorrow sweet flanks.” She trotted past as a wingtip ran down Pocket’s back. “Now, I’m going back to my hotel. Thanks for my bits back.” And with that, she flew off, holding her bag, as well as a second pouch. That little unicorn wasn’t the only one with deft hooves~

“Ya think she's gonna be mad to find out half her bits are missing?” Pockets asked Diamond Cloud.

“No Pockets, ponies never get mad at those who rob them.” The pegasus deadpanned without paying much attention to the thief, “Now get your flank out of here, I'm working.” 

The unicorn shrugged before staring at the door from where the thestral had flight off to, “Damn that's an explosive mare. Let's hope Lead doesn't make it literal.” And with a flash of her horn, she was gone.

It wasn’t until she wanted to get some groceries to take back home that she discovered her own bag was missing...

With a deep sigh that was followed by a laugh, she shook her head. “Robbed by a royal guard… irony at its finest.”





Later that night, Midnight had just gotten out of the bath when somepony knocked on her door. She frowned, but tucked a knife under her wing… just in case. But when she peered through the peephole, she saw a vaguely familiar stallion.

She opened the door to reveal the serving colt from the cafe. 

“Hmm, guess I still have that debt don’t I?” She said and licked her lips. “You know, I’m in the need to blow off a little steam. Want to come inside little colt?”

“I… yes?” He asked and Midnight smiled wickedly, pulling him into the room. 

“Good, you’ll be doing that a lot tonight~”





As the night fell upon Tall Tale, and everypony was finally going home after a long day of work, three figures carefully throttled around the suburban streets of the town. Unlike many other places, the suburbs of Tall Tale were everything but calm and pretty, they were home to some of the poorest folks in town, and of course, of some of the dirtiest, shadiest characters around. 

This was the exact reason why the white Pegasus who unfortunately had a meeting on this part of town, had hired two bodyguards just to make sure none would put a hoof on his recently brushed coat. After what to him seemed like an eternity walking, he finally reached his destination. An abandoned warehouse which to a normal eye wouldn’t seem like anything special, but he knew better.

“Knock the door, make them know that we’re here.”

One of the bodyguards nodded and did as said, while his boss anxiously tapped the floor, to him this was nothing but an unnecessary waste of his precious time. After a few minutes the door opened for them, and the old stallion took the lead. The warehouse was old, dusty, and filled to the brim with weaponry and strange machineries, a bunch of brutish-looking thugs doing stuff the stallion did not care about one bit, he only cared about the strange looking earth pony that was calmly resting on his chair, a cigar in his mouth and an old dusty cowboy hat on his messy head. 

“Well do mah eyes deceive me? ” Came the raspy voice of the strange shadowy figure, “Eff'n it ain't th' fine ol-”

“Shush you.” The stallion commanded, “Are you perhaps an imbecile? Screaming who I am like that.” 

“First, ah wasn’t screamin' nothin', second, yer implyin' mah pones don’t knows how t'keep a secret.” The strange stallion tilted his head to shoot a glare at the snobby pegasus, “These men are top notch pardner, I trust each ‘n ev'ryone of ‘em wif mah life.”

“Whatever, let’s just get down to business.” The young pegasus signaled his bodyguards, and the duo each tossed a sizeable bag of bits on the table which called the attention of most stallions and mares on the wearhouse. 

With a cold chuckle, the earth pony kicked the bags off the table, “So, pardner, who’ll it be?”

“Her name is Midnight Song. A… friend of mine needs her erased off the map. You have around three days or else you will not receive the rest of your payment.” The Pegasus nodded as he slided a picture he had managed to get from his contacts in Canterlot.

“Midnight Song, huh?” He hummed, “We’ll take care of her by tomorrow. Or mah name ain’t Dead Drop.” With a clap of his hooves, his grunts stopped whatever they were doing and looked at the stallion, “Fellas an' gals, we haf a bat t'hunt!”

The grunts cheered in excitement, it had been a while since they last had anything to do. Dead Drop chuckled coldly and gave the picture another look, before planting his cigar on the picture, watching it burn with a bloodthirsty look on his eyes, “It’s been a while… specialist Midnight. Hope yer ready, cus ah’m comin’ for ya.”





Meanwhile, not too far away from there, yet another hooded figure walked around the empty streets of the suburbs. Humming a happy tune and wiggling her rump from side to side to the beat of the music in her head, Pockets had decided to go visit a good old friend of hers, someone who she knew could help her out with anything she needed.

Like in any big town or city, there were a few gangs here and there doing their own shady business without worrying too much about the local law force. As long as you didn’t bother the higher ups, you were free to do whatever the heck you wanted, and the gangsters loved it.

Of course, there’s always the exception. 

One gang in particular was less focused on typical crimes like trafficking and thieving, and more focused on doing what every other gang avoided, messing with the Mayor and his group of friends. That was the only reason The Chivalry of the Broken was created, to make the corrupt politicians’ lives one miserable hell. It was easy to guess why Pockets saw each and every member like a brother or sister, they were all fighting for the same cause. 

And this is why she couldn’t help but smile as the Hip-hop music became louder and louder, the voices of her brothers and sisters becoming audible as they chilled out in the same place as always, a small abandoned park on the city borders that they had carefully fixed up and turned into one heck of a hang-out place. 

“Yooo Pockets’ here!” 

Every single pony stopped what they were doing, even the music went silent.

“Hey guys.” Pockets raised her head high with a quirky smile adorning her muzzle. “Missed me?”

From the multitude, a tall, buffy, taupe earth pony made himself known, eyes narrowed and an unamused look on his face, “Six weeks, six motherbucking weeks since you last flossed yo’ face ‘round here.”

Pockets gave her best apologetic look, she knew it had been a while since she last visited what she considered to be her family, and she knew that their leader, who was more like the parental figure of the gangsters, did not like what he called ‘ungrateful childs’ that didn’t visit often. He worried about every single member, and whenever they went missing he couldn’t help but worry about their safety.

“Look, Spirit. I’m sorry. It’s been some crazy weeks lately and I have been meaning to come back here since a while now, but... “ 

“You be a terrible child, Pockets. Goin everywhere without leaving a letter n’ shit. Do you have a damn idea how th’buckin’ heck worried I was?” The stallion, Urban Spirit, interrupted her, Pockets’ ears and gaze down as she felt like a child being scolded by her father, “But by Celestia’s sunny ass am I glad to see yo face again.”

A smile formed on  Pockets’ muzzle, before tackling the earth pony with a hug, “Oh you bastard, I missed you!”

“I missed ya too, ma lil’ thief.” He said softly, hugging her tight. His ear flicked and he half-broke the hug to look at the gang, “Did I say that you can stop the motherbucking music?”

The Chivalry howled in excitement for the return of their sister in arms, the music playing to full blast as everypony began dancing around them. Urban Spirit placed his arm on Pockets’ neck and signaled her to follow, taking a good stroll around the park.

“So what th’buck brings you back round these parts, ma child?” He asked with a slight concerned tone, he knew that whenever she came to visit, it was most likely because she had a problem she needed help with.

Pockets sighed, “Where to start, Papa Spirit?”

“What bout startin on why you ain’t been comin round here lately?” He shrugged.

“Eh, Grumble and his group are stepping up their game. They’re being particularly annoying lately, getting more and more people on the streets.” She answered with an annoyed huff.

“Oh yeah. That motherbucker has been messing with our pones left ‘n right, gettin’ dem on jail fo’ the stupidest reasons.” Spirit grunted, “Don’t worry mah child, as long as our crazy asses have the spirit tha fight, we have the chance to win. But ah know you, you wouldn’t come all da way here just to tell me dat. So speak, child, what be the problem?”

Pockets chuckled, he knew her too well, “Eh, it’s just this mare-”

“WHAT!?” Urban Spirit exclaimed in shock, “A MARE!? Oh don’t you dare tell me you foolin’ with somepony again.”

“No, no, no. It’s not like that.” Pockets said rapidly, calming Spirit down with her words, “We ain’t nothing, she’s just somepony I know. A mare from Canterlot she… may or may not be a royal guard?”        

“A ROYAL GUA-”

Pockets quickly closed Spirit’s mouth before he could start ranting, “Ok, chill, chill Spirit, come on. Calm down…breathe iiiin… and oooout. There we go.” Pockets sighed in relief and she let go of him.

Spirit took a deep breath, and smiled, “Sorry child, you know how ah get sometimes.” 

“Yeah I know.” She chuckled with a roll of her eyes, “Ok, well… this royal guard, call me crazy but I think she might be able to help us, ya know? She seems like the trustworthy type, aaaand she probably has contacts in Canterlot that can easily take Grumble and his friends out of business.”

Spirit took a few moments, and shook his head, “Ah don’t know, child. I don’t straight up trust no Canterlot noble, they give me the chills, the bad kind of chills.” He rubbed his head and stopped walking, “Child, you know I love you, you’re like the daughter ah never wanted, but dat I’m still happy to have. And that’s why I’m gonna be sincere here. Don’t trust no motherbucking guard, no matter what they may say or do, they only have da law in dem little minds. Got dat?”

“But Spirit-”

“But Spirit nothin’, we can get rid of motherbucking Grumble ourselves.” He grunted, “And why is dis guard so special anyways?”

“Well…” Pockets chuckled, “She ain’t like the few guards I’ve met before. She’s actually kinda chilled and cool… and sexy?”

“WHAT!?” Pockets simply gave up, the two first times she could stop his ranting, but once he reached the third one… there was no going back, “SEXY!? Oh no, oh no! No motherbucking way! Child, don’t tell me you-”

“I just met her yesterday!” Pockets interrupted him, “Relax, I know  I’m a bit too emotional and… a bit too prone to falling for ponies with ease... but I’m not that desperate!” She groaned, “So what? She’s hot, I can admire a hot mare without falling for her.  Even though the fact that she likes to tease the heck out of others doesn’t really help, ya know?”

“So she a who-”

Pockets’ death stare shushed him up completely, “No, she’s not. You know I don’t like you speaking of… well I guess she’s my friend now. You know I don’t like you speaking of my friends like that.”

“Friend? Child, you know the only playaz you need are right here, rite?” He shook his head, “Don’t be foolin’ around with dem motherbucking Canterlot snobbies, you hear? They be bad, bad stuff!”

“Whatever,” She sighed, “I just.. .need your help, okay?”

“And here it comes, what is it ma child?” He asked, signaling everyone to get a few feet away so they wouldn’t hear, just for good measure.

The unicorn bit her lip before giving him her best attempt at a cute smile, “I… do you mind keeping an eye on her? Grumble may or may not be trying to go after her, and I just want to make sure she’s safe.”

“Of motherbucking course you would.” He groaned, “Fine, just ‘cuz you mah child, n’Urban Spirit does every last muthabucking thing fo’ his children.” With a pat on her head, he grinned, “Besides, if what you sayin is true, dat means dat keepin her kickin is goin to annoy tha heck outta Grumble, n' believe me child, enough is enough! I have had it with these motherbucking politicians in this motherbucking town! So damn right I’m gonna do anything ta go against him!”

Pockets kissed his cheek and hugged him, “Thanks Papa Spirit, it means a lot to me.” 

“Anything fo’ you, ma child.” He smiled, before stomping on the ground to call for everyone’s attention, “Now let’s continue partyin all night long, muthabuckas! And bring me some drinks fo' Celestia’s sake!”





The next morning, midnight woke up and stretched her limbs until they gave a satisfying crack. She rolled over and saw the utterly exhausted colt. It was adorable how he tried to keep up, A for effort and all. 

Still, she had a busy day. So once she was up and dressed, she left a note and made an order for room service to bring him breakfast and plenty of fluids, before leaving and heading out into town.

Tall Tale was a peaceful looking city at first glance. And yet, the things that Midnight heard last night unsettled her. She hadn’t decided if they were telling the truth or not. It was a tall order to believe that such a high level of corruption went completely unnoticed by the rest of Equestria. Still, she could meet the little thief and hear her side, then have a few words with the mayor.

As she approached the fountain, she saw a dark-coated unicorn mare and Midnight Song smiled as she recognised her target. She folded her wings and dropped silently from the sky, closer… closer…





Pickett Midnight had been waiting about ten minutes or so by now. While she hated standing out in the open like this, for a pony that may or may not show up, possibly armed, or with hoofcuffs and a magic suppressor… Okay, why was she doing this again? This was a terrible idea!

Then a pair of chocolate-coloured hooves snaked their way around her neck in an embrace and something wet licked at her horn.

“Hello gorgeous~” a husky, feminine tone whispered into her ear.

The resulting eep was both cute and amusing, shivers running down every nerve of her body. She quickly teleported out of Midnight’s embrace and shaking her head to get all that saliva off her horn, she let out an annoyed groan, “Can you not!? Those things are sensitive as heck!” She always loved/hated it when others messed with her horn, albeit she would never admit the loving part.

“That’s the idea,” Midnight smiled and licked her lips. “You’re quite tasty little thief.”

“Geez, why don’t you just put me on a platter already?” The unicorn smirked playfully, “So, ya really came. I’ll be honest with you, didn’t expect you’d actually trust me.”

“Oh, I don’t. But I don’t have enough information to formulate a conclusion yet,” Midnight said and tucked her wings against her side. “So, let’s start with why you wanted to meet me. You’re risking a lot little thief. So I won’t arrest you, seeing as how you have bigger balls than most stallions I know.”

Pockets’ eyes narrowed, looking around suspiciously as if to check none was watching, once she confirmed that the coast was clear, she leaned closer and gave her best serious expression, “Ok, the reason I brought you here is super important, top secret. I can only tell you this incredibly important reason if you promise to not tell anyone, deal?”

“Rather dramatic don’t you think?” Midnight sighed and put on her sunhat. She moved next to Pockets and put one wing around her. “Walk with me.”

“Yup, that’s it.” Pockets grinned with a halt, a quirky grin on her muzzle “That’s actually the reason I called you here, to have a nice walk around the plaza.”

“I’m sure it was,” Midnight said. “There are easier and less dramatic ways to ask me out on a date you know?” She leaned over and kissed Pocket’s cheek for extra effect. “Now, tell me what’s up little tasty thief.”

The unicorn snorted to try and ignore the teasing, yet her red-tinted cheeks betrayed her, “If ya wanna call this a date that’s fine by me. But if that’s the case it’ll probably be the weirdest date you’ve ever been.” With a flash of her horn, a small bag full of bits appeared next to her, idly hovering near the unicorn, “I’m here to do my job, my other job, and in order for you to get a better idea of the kind of pony I am, I decided to bring your flank with me. Also, do you flirt with every single living creature you see? Or is that just me and the guy from the cafe?”

“If I see something I like, I go for it,” Midnight said with a small nod. “Life’s too short to have any hesitations or regrets. And as a guard…” She frowned slightly and cut herself off. “So, you’re going to show me how you steal? I already had a front row seat to that remember?”

The unicorn rolled her eyes with a chuckle, “Do you think I’m dumb enough to steal in front of a freaking guard?... well, twice? Nah. I’m not just a simple ‘dirty thief’ you see, there’s more to my little business than that, ” The duo crossed the street and turned a few corners, before Pockets signaled her to stop. She raised her hoof and pointed at a darkened alley blocked by an old rusty metallic gate, “Now let’s see how much you really trust me.” With a flash of her horn she teleported to the other side of the gate, signaling Midnight to follow her.

Midnight brow furrowed further, but she followed the shorter unicorn none the less. If this was a trap, she could at least expect something to jump out at her. The first thing she noticed was that the mood of the town had drastically changed. Instead of the relaxing cool beach-town look, this part of Tall Tale looked more like if it came out of a post-apocalyptic movie. Buildings that could fall apart at any minute now, filthy-looking fillies playing with what seemed to be toys made out of some garbage and tape, a few mares who shocked by the unusual looks of Midnight locked themselves inside their houses, and overall an ambience that could get anyone’s mood down.

“Quite the sight, huh?” Pockets sighed lamentably.

Midnight, for one of the first times in her life, had no words. How… how could this happen? How could, there be ponies that lived like this? When a perfectly good city was just a few metres away?

“What… is this place?’ Midnight asked slowly. “Why is nopony helping them?”

Pockets didn’t answer, she simply kept walking with a soft, yet obviously pained grin on her muzzle. After a few more minutes, she finally spoke, “All these ponies, they used to have lives you know? Lawyers, doctors, teachers, cops… now look at them. This is what happens when the corrupt take over. They don’t like you? You’re out of a job. Try to do anything against them? You get threatened with death. As long as you stay quiet and don’t complain, you’ll be fine. Else..” She pointed at an ocher mare with an eyepatch, “Yup. Things ain’t as pretty and nice as you tourists see it.” She stopped in front of a building and smiled, knocking the door before winking at Midnight, “But they are getting better.” 

The door opened, revealing a small maroon pegasus filly with a pair of square glasses taped together to keep them together. Even if she was a bit dusty and unkempt, there was this air of innocence that could melt any heart that made her, simply put, extremely adorable.

“Hello!” She smiled chipperly, despite the destitution that lay around her. “Who are you?”

Midnight felt her chest tighten. She’d always had a soft spot for foals, as long as they weren’t her own. She leaned now and smiled, but in a way that didn’t show her fangs. “My name is Middy. And I’m here with my… friend.”

Pockets chuckled at that, giving Midnight a sly, amused grin, before turning back to the filly and giggling, “Look at you! Haven’t seen you since like at least yesterday. How cha doing, Zephyr Seashell?”

“I’m okay,’ she smiled and nodded, before leaning in to whisper in her ear. “No offense Miss Pockets. But your friend looks funny.”

Pockets giggled and nodded, “Yup, and if ya don’t behave and be a good little filly, she will suck the blood out of y-!”

Then she received a smack across the back of the head via a leathery wing as Midnight… well, she looked pissed.

“One more ‘vampony’ joke and you’re in a cell, little thief.”

Pockets stuck her tongue out playfully as she rubbed her now sore head, “Damn you hit hard.” She grunted, before once again returning to little Seashell, “Are your mom or pops home?”

“Yahuh, they’re inside, talkin’ about grown up stuff,” she said and looked at Midnight. The Thestral poked out her tongue, only it was much longer than Pocket’s. It flickered out like a snakes and licked the tip of the filly’s nose, making her squeak in surprise.

“You’re not very good with fillies, are ya?” Pockets quipped, nudging her. “Can ya call your parents? Tell them I’m here ‘n stuff.”

The filly ran inside as Midnight stood back silently. Yeah, she liked kids… but she wasn’t all that great with them. Seashell returned a moment later with two older ponies, presumably her parents.

“Well what a pleasant surprise,” Came the male’s soft, relaxed tone, he was a pegasus of salmon coat, an average build, and even though he was a bit too slim (proof of his poor economical situation) he still managed to sport a soft yet bright smile, “Pockets, what a pleasant surprise! What brings you around here?”

The unicorn mare just shrugged, “Passing around ‘n stuff, also bringing a gift from an old friend of yours.” She pulled up the bag of bits and dropped it right in front of them with a wink, “A gift from Silver Rails.”

The two older ponies’ eyes widened up to the size of platters as they saw the bag of shining golden coins resting on the floor in front of them. It was more than what either of them had managed to win in three entire years.

“Two hundred ponies fired from Silver Rails Co. three years ago, you two were between that group. A train conductor and a service mare. Fun fact, Silver Rails himself arrived to the city two days ago and luckily for me, yesterday he was having tea and biscuits with a few of his friends not too far from another pretty nice cafe, and an equally pretty mare.” She winked at Midnight. 

“Oh, so you finally scored yourself a cute marefriend hmm?” The older light-pink unicorn mare smiled warmly and pulled Pockets into a hug. “About time dear.”

Pockets rolled her eyes and giggled, “For now at least, she’s just a friend who wants to put my flank in jail,” She smirked to Midnight, “Ain’t that right, batty?”

“Pretty much,” Midnight smiled back. “So, wanna explain why me, a Royal Guard, is seeing you, a wanted thief, hoof over what I’m guessing a sack full of stolen bits? I could arrest them for aiding and abetting.”

“Because if you do, you’d be no different than those who caused this.” The stallion said rather aggressively, stepping in front of his wife and child and extending his wings to full length.

“Chill, Full Steam, no need to get aggressive.” Pockets sighed, “Because even if the law says otherwise, I honestly believe that what I’m doing is the right thing to do. We have dozens rotting in money, while thousands can’t even feed themselves on a regular basis. According to my sources, Full Steam has not been able to find a new job ever since he was fired, he has passed days without eating just so his wife and child can get a bite of bread. Why was he fired? Because less workers means more money for the company. And what a surprise, Silver Rails Co. is a company that was born here in Tall Tale, and Silver Rails himself is a really good friend of good ol’ Grumble. So, can you blame me for giving them back what was taken from them? I’m not robbing regular ponies, I’m robbing thieves who are disguised as business-colts.” She walked towards little Seashell, and messed her already messy hair, “If to help these ponies you gotta break the law, so be it.”

Midnight sighed. “You’re asking me to ignore my vows and training, because of what you say is right. No matter the reason, you’re still breaking the law and these ponies are still assisting you in doing so.” She looked at the family and then snorted. “But, I’m also not stupid enough to act on half a story. I fully intend to find out what is happening in this city. Once i have the full story, then and only then, will i take action.”

“Then let’s make a deal, batty.” Pockets raised her hoof and extended it to her, “You help me put an end to this nonsense, and if after that you still want to arrest me, I won’t resist. Heck, I’ll convince everypony who are involved to give themselves in as well.” 

“But Pock-”

“Don’t worry Full Steam, I know what I’m doing. ‘Sides, maybe good ol’ Princess Sunbutt herself will go soft on us.” Pockets snorted, “So, deal?”

Midnight looked at the outstretched hoof. Why was a common thief going to such... extremes, just to prove a point?

“Either you are the most insane pony I have ever met,” Midnight said and then took her hoof with her own. “Or the most confident. Very well Miss Pickett Midnight. You have yourself a deal.”

Pockets giggled, “Eh, a bit of both. Also, does that mean that I’m working with the law now, or that you’re working with a criminal?” 

“Let’s just say this is an operation neither of us will fully admit to,” Midnight replied back and looked at the family there. “I’m sorry for what’s happened to you and the rest of these ponies. I… I hope I can do right by you okay?”

Full Steam relaxed a bit, and nodded, “It’s alright. If Pockets trusts you, we trust you.” 

“Yup, even if you are a scary vampony!” Seashell smiled brightly. Midnight’s eye twitched and she looked down at the filly.

“So… I’m a scary vampony huh?”

“She’s a pretty, scary vampony Seashell,” Pockets chuckled, “And you shouldn’t go around telling ponies they look scary ya know? That’s kinda rude. So say you’re sorry cus this mare here’s gonna be a hero soon.”

Midnight stepped forward, looming over the filly… before as quick as lightning, scooped her up and started making nomming noises on her belly. The desolate alley was filled with the filly’s peals of laughter as Midnight tickled her.

“Nevermind, she’s not a scary vampony, she’s a scary ticklemonster!” Pockets laughed.

“Ahahahahaha!!” Seashell laughed as their parents didn’t quite know what to do. Midnight eventually relented and put the giggling filly on her mother’s back. 

“Take care of her okay?” Midnight said and the mare nodded.

“And you take care of Pockets. That mare is incredibly foolish sometimes. I’d sleep easier knowing she has a cute marefriend looking out for her.”

“I’ll stick close,” Midnight said and pulled Pocket’s next to her with a wing and smiled a fanged grin. “Very. Close~”

“Halp!” Pockets mouthed dramatically, before smiling, “Well batty, ya ready to kick some corrupt flank?”

“Actually, we’re gonna go and pay the endearing mayor a visit,” Midnight said. “I want to have a few… words with him.”





Later that day, the two mares stood outside Town Hall. Midnight looked up at the opulent building and seeing the state of the lower town, if caused her frown to return again. She had more than a few words to say to the mayor now.

“So Little Thief, I take it you won’t be joining me inside?” Midnight asked as she walked closer to the building.

“Oh yeah sure, let me go meet the guy I’ve been stealing from since forever.” She deadpanned, “Nah, I’m fine. I’ll keep watch to make sure you’re fine though, I know this place like I know the back of my hoof.” And to emphasize, she raised her hoof and waved it around, “Oh wait,” She flicked a little rock that was stuck on it, “Since when is that in there?”

“And they say I’m a silly pony,” Midnight chuckled and shook her head. “Well, wait here then. I doubt this will take very long.”

“If ya need help, just scream... Or make him scream, either one works.” Pockets waved her off, before teleporting away.

Town Hall was, to say the least, impressive. Tall marble pillars, shining floors, fancy looking furniture, and to top it off a giant statue of what seemed to be a breezy holding a golden cane with a diamond on the cane’s claw. Everything just screamed fancy, and when you considered that a good portion of the city looked like a natural disaster had passed by it, it just angered Midnight even more.

She walked up to the desk, where a secretary was looking rather bored. Well, time to make her day. Her hooves moved across the tiles, not making a sound as she approached the desk. And once she was but a few inches from the spaced out mare…

“Good morning!” She chirped loudly.

The secretary eeped and jumped in place, holding a folder up to protect herself, or rather, hide her from whatever the heck had scared her. She lowered the folder and shakingly tried her best to do her job, “Y-yes? What can I-I-I do for you?”

“Hello there,” Midnight smiled widely, showing off her sharp fangs. “I am Specialist Midnight Song, of the Canterlot Royal Guard. And I’d like to see your mayor.”

The shaky mare quickly opened the folder and gave it a look while at the same time using it to cover most of her face, “Uh-hm Do you have an a-appointment, miss?”

“Well, how about I send a letter to Princess Celestia real quick and get one?” She said and pulled out a piece of paper.

“Uh, uhm… EEP!”  Panicked, the mare hid behind her desk as she had no idea what to do.

And just then came a soft, low, sensual chuckle from behind Midnight, “Oh poor dear, she has always been a little shaky. Need some help, Miss?”

Midnight turned to see the source of the voice, and much to her surprise, it was no pony. A slim white griffon with a long summer dress and a floral hat gave her a warm smile, jewelry adorning her neck and her light brown tinted wings. She had subtle yet still eye-catching curves, showcasing the definition of classy with pride.

“Oooh, this town is full of sexy ladies~” Midnight whistled as she looked the female griffon over. While mature, she seemed to sit on that ‘not young, but experienced’ line. “I’m liking my vacation more and more now. So yeah, you can help. My hotel is only a few blocks from here. Maybe this little sweetheart can play too~” She winked at the secretary.

The secretary eeped again and seemingly tried to dig a hole in which to hide, while the griffon simply giggled softly, “Flattering, but I am afraid I shall pass. My name is Sphinx, I am in charge of this place while the mayor does his own thing. So if you need help in anything that is not related to carnal matters, I shall assist you.”

“A pity, but I need to see the Mayor,” Midnight nodded. She tilted her head towards his office. “I know he’s in there. I can hear him from here.”

“Well he’s currently screaming his lungs out, ranting about unimportant matters like he always does.” Sphinx sighed, before turning towards the stairs that lead to the office door and signaling her to come along with her wing, “Follow me, dear.” 

Midnight gladly followed. Ohh, she’d tap that flank alright. Now, time to see why everypony was so scared of this mayor.

Sphinx knocked on the door softly, “Grumble dear, you have visitors.” 

“WHO THE HECK IS IT!?” Came an old, raspy, extremely angry shout.

“A member of the royal guard, dear. She says it is of the utmost importance.” Sphinx rolled her eyes. A few minutes of silence passed before Sphinx decided to open the door without wishing to wait for his answer a second longer, “Go in dear. Unlike me, he won’t bite.” She winked, before turning and making her way down the stairs. Yet she stopped as her beak was close enough to Midnight’s ear, her tone changing to a more serious level, “Be careful with what you say to him, dear. I don’t want to lose such a stunning piece of art like yourself.” And without waiting for a reply, she continued her way. But of course, not before Midnight’s tail smacked that shapely griffon rump as the thestral strode into the mayor’s office.

“Good morning Mr. Mayor Fumble,” Midnight said chipperly. “I do hope I am not interrupting you~”

The mayor’s office couldn’t be flashier.  Pictures of himself hanging around in different art styles and poses decorated the walls, shining marble floor with golden details that could blind any normal being, a tall white rooftop that was turned into a massive portrait of the mayor himself, and classic music which gave the room a style that would make many nobles at Canterlot proud. And in the middle of it all, a giant hoof-carved wooden desk with an unamused brown earth pony sitting on a tall leather chair.

“It’s Grumble. And I assume you must be Specialist Midnight Song, am I correct?” He asked in a dry, despiseful tone with an obviously forced Canterlot accent.

“Indeed I am Mayor Bumble,” the Thestral nodded as she looked around the room. It was so bright it hurt her eyes. “I must say, this is quite the city I decided to vacation in. So many things to see and do…”

“Grumble,” He grunted, before grinning proudly, “Why thank you Miss Midnight, we have worked hard to turn this old, dusty town into the touristic paradise it is today. Did you know, in a few more years we’ll be able to officially call ourselves a city!”

“Is that so?” Midnight said as she took a seat. “You know Mayor Gumball. I saw the most interesting place today. A little alley that… seemed rather, out of place.”

Grumble’s ear twitched, “Is that so? I don’t recall ever seeing anything out of place. We have worked really hard to turn every single inch of this town into an eye catching wonder.”

“Is that so?” Midnight said and looked up at the ceiling. “Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me. Such a… diligent mayor like yourself Mr. Mumble, wouldn’t have allowed such destitution like that. Imagine the scandal? What if the Princesses saw that? Well, lucky I’m mistaken eh?”

The brown earth pony narrowed his eyes, “Quite the scandal yes… almost as big of a scandal as a royal guard, a mare of such high rank, being involved in criminal activities don’t you think?” With a cold chuckle he shook his head, “But that would never happen, would it? No, no, no. But if it did…”

“Of course not,” Midnight replied. Hmm, he was pretty good. “Let me guess, the article would be published by True Story?”

Grumble’s ear twitched, yet he kept the same relaxed expression, “Apologies, but I do not recognize the name. A friend of yours, perhaps?”

“No, but I liked her articles,” Midnight said as she admired her reflection in the polished surface of the desk. “Still, i heard you have a thief problem here in town. She robbed me too you know? I’m… displeased about that. One would think that a stallion of Green’s experience could show at least a little competence. Perhaps I should get some guard here to clean up for you?”

The mayor tensed and clenched his teeth, not happy with that idea, “Oh you are too kind, Miss Song. But we are capable enough to deal with someone like the Midnight Thief. Although I have to admit that the fact that such a careless, foolish rascal like her managed to rob from someone as experienced as you… I guess Green Lead’s forces are not the only… incompetent law enforcers around.”

“I am on vacation, and happened to be enjoying some coffee at a cafe at the time,” Midnight retorted, a little annoyed that she hadn’t caught Pockets that day. “And yet, I hear she makes a fool of you on a regular basis. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me a hundred times… that’s just plain sad.”

Mayor Grumble shot her a cold, unamused glare. “Why yes,  the Midnight Thief has proven to be a nuisance to us… yet you don’t need to worry. You see, we already have a plan to take her out of business once and for all.”

“You don’t say?” Midnight replied, her ear flicking once. Surely he didn’t mean…? “And I trust that she will be punished in a court of law? After all, execution has been illegal for three centuries now.”

“What are you trying to imply? Miss Midnight please we may be a small town in comparison to Canterlot, but we are not primitive.” He stood up calmly, walking around his office with a grin in his face, “I must say Miss Midnight, you caught me in my own lies… I was too ashamed to admit it but it is true, there are such places like the one you described in this town. Alleys, blocks, entire districts… they are not the best example of a prospering town. Yet sadly we can’t do much to help them because every single pony living in those districts is involved with crime in one way or another, most of them because of that filthy Midnight Thief.”

“I trust you have proof?” Midnight said. “To accuse so many ponies of of illegal activities. It makes me wonder how a single mare is capable of so much.” She leaned forward and made sure he could see her sharp fangs. “I’m afraid I lied too, Mayor Butthole. I happened to speak with a few of those ponies. They had the most… interesting stories.”

Grumble grunted once more, “Miss, my name is Grumble, I am sure it is not too hard to say. And whatever those filthy liars told you, I assure you it is not true. Not like it will matter soon. In a week they will all find themselves behind bars, and yes we do have enough proof to do so. We will demolish their homes, and take what that filthy thief has illegally given them. And of course, she will come and try to stop us, she will do everything in her power to defend those filthy rascals that tint this city with crime and poverty… and that’s when we catch her. Believe me,  Miss Midnight, she will be behind bars for the rest of her life. And hopefully the rest of the trash who help her will be as well.”

“Hmm, you know, I couldn’t help but notice a lot of foals there… what about them?” Midnight stared into his eyes, her emerald orbs staring into his very soul. He could have sworn they flashed a dangerous crimson for a scant second.

“Well…” Grumble trembled a bit, before taking a deep breath and going back to his usual self, “Well they will be sent to one of our wonderful orphanages, where they will be cleansed of that filthy lifestyle their parents have planted on their brains. We will make them respectful ladies and gentlecolts, members of this growing society of respectable individuals that  I have built in this wonderful town.”

“How wonderful, I’m sure they’d get over the trauma of being torn away from their parents in no time,’ Midnight smiled a little too happily. “And it’s not like they’d blame you right? You would save them after all.”

“Oh please, once they are adopted by a respectable family and are all grown up, they will be thanking me for teaching them the true ways of society.” He chuckled, “We can’t allow this town to continue being a rathole, Miss Midnight, we must go forwards and become the next Canterlot!”

“Oh yes, just like Canterlot…” Midnight was going to be sick. Every fibre of her being wanted to tear out his throat… She shook her head to clear the thoughts. She couldn’t Rage here, not without permission. “Well, I think I’ve heard enough. I will be in touch Mr. Butterball. Have a good day.’ She stood up and left the room without a further word, though she slammed the door hard enough that a nearby vase gave a very satisfying sound as it shattered against the floor.

“Oops, my bad,” Midnight giggled as she strode out.

As soon as she reached the outside of the hall, a blinding navy blue flash appeared in front of her, revealing Pockets who was calmly eating a popsicle, “Sup? How did it go.”

Midnight replaced her popsicle with a crystal she’d hidden in her tail, a recording gem.

“Listen for yourself,” she said as she licked at the icy treat in a way that had several nearby stallions blush and cross their hind legs.

Pockets grinned ear to ear as she heard the recording, “Darn girl,”  She whistled, “You’re good.”

“I tried… not sure if I really pissed him off… or made him piss himself,” Midnight giggled. “He yelled pretty loudly when I broke that vase though. Little blue and gold thing. I wonder if it was expensive?”

“Everything in that office is expensive, with the sole exception of himself.” Pockets laughed, turning off the recorder and placing it on her bag for the meantime, “This is enough to get Grumble into trouble, but not enough to take him down. Good start though.” She swiftly took the popsicle right out of Midnight’s mouth, and placed it in her own, before she started walking towards seemingly a random direction, “But we have more to do. So let’s go batty.”

“Hey! I was enjoying that,” Midnight pouted and then smirked, licking some of the treat from the mare’s cheek. “Mmm, sweet and delicious~”

A bright blush took over Pockets’ cheeks, “And we’re back with the teasing.” She sighed, chuckling as she bumped Midnight’s butt with her own to get some space between them, “Ponies are watching ya know? And like a bunch of them know me, so don’t blame me if we get some fresh rumors out of the oven batty.” 

“You act like this bothers me,” Midnight said and shrugged. “Well, after that little encounter, I’m a little more inclined to believe you and that skittish officer friend of yours. Something big is going on in town… and I know exactly who can tell us what.” 

“Awesome. We can go with whatever you’re planning later. Right now though…” She hummed, before turning left through a street and humming a happy song, “So, do I have to call you batty all day long, or are you finally gonna tell me a bit more about yourself like ya know, your name?” 

“I never told you?” Midnight tilted her head and shrugged. “Ah, well my name is Midnight Song. Top Bat, Sexiest guard in Equestria and it’s nice to meet you Little Thief.”

Pockets giggled, “Oh I knew your name already, just that it was kinda weird calling you by it if you didn’t tell me yourself. ‘Sides, Batty is far shorter and cuter, so Imma stick with that. First time coming here to our ‘wonderful’ town, I suppose?”

“That it is,” Midnight replied. Those that called her bat usually found themselves a few teeth short and face first in the pavement. But, Pocket’s seemed fun, so Midnight would let her get away with it. “Why’s that?”

“‘Cus that means you haven’t gotten a taste of our rocking beaches.” She turned a corner and stopped, before dramatically pointing at quite possibly one of the most stunning views in Tall Tale. A bright, clear blue sky and a radiating sun, accompanied by a strong yet refreshing breeze that danced around as it carried the salty yet pleasant aroma of the sea, the sound of the waves clashing with the coast joined by the giggles and shouts of fillies playing, Tall Tale’s beach was truly something simple, yet somehow special. “Ta dah!”

“Huh…” Midnight stared out at the beach. Truth be told, she’d never been to one before. A lot of sand, a lot of water… “It’s… nice?”

Pockets snorted, extending her hoof to Midnight with a wink, “Eh it may not look like much, but it’s more about the experience. You’ll love it soon enough, come on, it’ll be fun!”

“But… it’s just sand and water, what’s so fun about that?” Midnight asked as she followed her. “The view is nice… and I’m not going swimming.”

The unicorn simply rolled her eyes, “Just trust me Batty. There’s a reason why we’re so popular this time of the year.” They approached a rather small looking cabin filled to the brim with young ponies chatting and having a good time, drinks of all colors on their hooves. This was Pockets’ favorite place to hang out at when she had nothing else to do, a little tropical bar owned by one of her closest friends, “Good Time!” Pockets greeted happily as she spotted the cream-colored unicorn.

“Aaay, P! Been a while. Wuddup?” He replied with a laid-back, relaxed tone, “And dayum, who might you be~?” He lowered his sunglasses to have a better look at Midnight. 

“Midnight Song,” the thestral replied with a half-lidded, seductive gaze. “I wonder, are you as much of a ‘good time’ as your name implies~?”

“Gurl, you have no idea.” He replied as he showcased his bulky muscles.

“He’s married.” Pockets smirked, earning a groan from Good Time.

“P, come on! Can’t a married bro have his fair share of flirting once in a while?”

“Not if he wants to keep his balls,” Pockets replied as she stuck her tongue out mockingly, “Just do your damn work and get us some drinks, will you?”

“Fine.” He groaned, “What will it be?”

“Ya know what I like, what ‘bout you, Batty?” Pockets asked Midnight.

Midnight looked at the menu and then froze, her ears wiggling cutely and her tail wagged. “Is… is that… a mango drink?” She asked with a hopeful tone.

“Damn right,” Good Time nodded, “Oh, but that menu’s outdated, should probably have it updated or somethin’, here ya go”

Mango Breeze, Green Tea and Mango Splash, Absolut Mango Verde, between several other tropical drinks involving all sorts of fruits.

“Hey, you seem like a mango gal, so why don’t you try our specialty?” Good Time quirked an eyebrow.

“Wait… don’t you mean… nah, I don’t think she’s ready for that” Pockets snickered, “She’s a city gal, and that’s a 100% beach drink.”

“One, buck you,” Midnight said and looked at the surfer stallion. “What speciality?”

“Good Time’s Tropical Delight.” The stallion grinned, “Believe me dudette, it’s totally worth it. Get’s anyone in a tropical mood. I’d tell you what it has and all, but it’s a family secret. But dudette, believe me, if ya love mangoes, that’s totally the drink to go.” 

“It’s literally a Tangaroa on steroids.” Pockets snorted.

“Oohh~ Bring it on beach horse!” Midnight said and thumped the table. “City mare my butt. You’re gonna eat those words smol thief!”

“Ayyy that’s the spirit!” Good Time laughed, “One Tropical Delight coming up!”

Pockets chuckled and shook her head, “Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.” 

A few moments passed as Good Time expertly mixed and matched the different ingredients, before he happily slided them their drinks, “One Manehattan, and one Tropical Delight!” He announced.

Pockets was the first one to take a good sip of her drink, sighing in ecstasy as she closed her eyes, “Just like the ones back home, you’re the flipping best.” She placed her drink down and patiently stared at Midnight, waiting to see her reaction. 

She looked at the glass and took a sip, her ears wiggling again as the mango taste hit her tongue. “Ooohh~ This is good.’

“Right?” Good Time grinned proudly, “Well, gotta keep working, but make sure you have a good time.” And with a wink, he left.

“So,” Pockets grinned, “You’re a thestral who’s also a royal guard for Celestia, that flirts with pretty much everyone, and loves mangoes. That’s one hell of a package right there if I have to say so myself.” 

“Yup, I’m pretty special alright,” Midnight nodded as she sipped her drink. “And you are a cute little petite thief, considers herself a modern day Robin Hoof and lives in what must be the most corrupt town in Equestria.”

“About sums it up, yeah.” She chuckled as she also took a sip of her own drink, “But that’s not the whole story ya know? I’m not from around here, heck, I didn’t even know this place existed until like five years ago.” 

“Oh, so where are you from then?” Midnight asked. “Or should i just look for a town whose crime rate decreased dramatically five years ago?”

The unicorn laughed as she shook her head, nudging Midnight’s rib as she took another sip, “I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if that worked. I’m from Manehattan, ya know, the big bustling city at the other side of Equestria.”

“I know the place, don’t care for it much though,” Midnight admitted as she held up her glass and stared at it. “Most ponies there are kinda rude… though I did meet the most adorable little earth Pony. Coco was such a sweetheart.”

“Can’t deny that. Rudeness is a part of most Manehattians' systems.” Pockets chuckled, “Say, can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” Midnight replied with a cheek smirk, then knocked back her whole drink with a single gulp.

“What’s up with that buttmark?” She quirked an eyebrow, “And yes, before you ask, I have been constantly looking at your flank. Anyways, I’m no expert, but that looks nothing like a buttmark a guard would have.”

“Well first, of course you have. My flank is awesome.” Midnight said and wiggled her rump for good measure. “And second, i guess it doesn’t huh? But, just because my Cutie Mark doesn’t say I’d be a guard. Doesn’t mean I can’t become one right? I trained myself stupid to get where I am.”

“Nah, of course not. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the ponies that need my help, I would rather be doing something else.” Pockets sighed, “As fun as it is, a thief’s life ain’t an easy one, ya know? Ponies see my cutie mark and immediately think of calling the cops on me.” True to her word, Pockets’ cutie mark was most definitely one of a thief, a black thief mask surrounded by a white heart, simple yet straightforward, “Doesn’t help when you wanna meet cute guys or gals like you.”

“I can’t imagine so,” Midnight nodded. “It’s no walk in the park for me either. If the guard armour doesn’t intimidate them, then it’s my fangs, my wings… or that bucking vampony crap!!” She looked at her glass and frowned. This drink was making her talk too much. “Forget it. I’m still awesome and hot.”

“Really?” Pockets chuckled, “I honestly have a hard time believing that. I mean, I did run away that time we met, but it was because ya were about to slice my freaking throat and well, I had just robbed you. But ‘sides that, I don’t think you look intimidating at all, heck, I think you look kinda cute.” She giggled, “And sorry for that vampony joke I did before, didn’t know it was a sensitive topic. But to be honest, if you were really a vampony, I would let you suck mah blood any day.” She joked with a wink. 

“Ergh, blood tastes gross,” Midnight said with a wave of her hoof. “And before you ask, I licked a wound once… and have been punched in the jaw more times than I care to count. Still, i know i’m cute. But thanks for saying so.” She placed the empty glass on the table. “Well, apparently i just can’t shut up now. So if you have questions, i’d ask them before I sober up.”

Pockets grinned, “That’s the magic of the Tropical Delight. And to be honest, it’s actually kinda nice to just sit down and talk with someone like you for a chance. I’m always busy these days, and even though I know pretty much everyone here, I… don’t really have many friends. Good Time there is one of the few I fully trust and whatnot. So it’s nice.” She slipped the last of her drink, and placed it down, “I do have one final question though, something I’ve been meaning to ask since a while ago.“

“Well ask away, but i might not answer if it’s too personal,” Midnight said and licked her lips.

“Who’s that gal on the necklace?” She asked as she turned to look at her.

Midnight froze for a moment, her tail stopped wagging and she swallowed.

“A past I can never get back,” she said quietly, cursing that she’d left her locket in her purse. “Leave it at that alright.”

“We all have stories we don’t wanna share.” Pockets said a bit coldly, “That’s fine. We’re here to relax and have a good time! So let me change that question for something more… light hearted kay?” 

“Sounds good,” Midnight replied and stared into her empty glass. She sighed and rubbed her head. “Look, I didn’t mean to snap. But, it’s painful to talk about. It was the single biggest mistake of my life. Something I’m not proud of.”

“It’s fine.” The unicorn gave her a warm smile, before whistling at Good Time, who nodded and slid yet another pair of drinks for them, “And my question is, how many drinks does it take to knock a hot-ass batty out?”

“Cute, but I’d drink your scrawny butt under the table,” Midnight said. “Besides… you’re not ready to take me on yet little filly.”

“Wanna bet?” Pockets smirked, before taking her entire drink with one gulp and slamming the glass on the table “I’m from Manehattan darnit! Nobody can outdrink… us.” Suddenly, her tone changed, the world spinning around her and her eyes slowly closing, “Oh heck… I think I… better lay…” 

Thud

And just like that, she had blacked out completely. Her face now rested motionless on the cold counter, before her entire body fell down to the ground. To anyone this would look like yet another mare that had too much to drink, but Midnight knew better, blacking out after just two drinks was straight up impossible, there was only one explanation for this…

“Pfft, freaking lightweight,” Midnight snorted and poked the mare. “What was that Little Miss Manehattenite! ‘Ohh, I can outdrink you~’ Riiiiight…” Midnight’s ear suddenly flicked and her tail twitched. 

Somepony was watching her. She suddenly grabbed Pockets and dove behind the counter.

“Ay, dudette, whatchu doing here?” Came Good Time’s voice from behind her, looking at her with an extremely confused expression.

Midnight looked at Pockets, ignoring him for now. She opened one of the mares eyes… yeah, glazed over. She wasn’t drunk, she’d been sedated.

And, only one pony had been near their drinks. She turned and looked at Good Time. 

“You’d better have a good reason. That’s the only reason you’re still drawing breath right now.”

Good Time simply sighed, “Dudette, you should have drank your drink… that way this would be way easier for me.”  

And then, pain, a lot of pain. Midnight’s eyes closed as she felt her mind slowly abandoning her body, Good Time’s relaxed grin being the last thing she saw, before blacking out entirely.

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Midnight groaned, rubbing her head with a hoof. What had happened? She remembered, getting a drink with Pockets, and then…
 
“That bastard!!” Midnight yelled, immediately regretting it as she let out a sharp cry of pain as her head throbbed. “Ahh, owowow…” She winced and slowly opened one eye. She was… on a bed? 

Okay, so far this wasn’t unusual. Not the first time she’d woken up in a strange bedroom. Oh hey, Pockets was here too…

Hmm, did they?

She’d find out later. Midnight decided to first take a good look around the room. This was definitely a nice place, not the place you would imagine waking up in after being drugged or hit on the head. It was spacious and fancy, yet not overwhelmingly so. There were no pictures of any kind that could hint at who owned the place, although the luxurious decorations told her whoever did had a lot of bits in his or her pockets. 

Then her ear flickered. She managed to catch quite a strange noise. Not far from there, the faint sound of a shower could be heard, and focusing a bit more, she could even make out a rather melodic humming coming from the same direction.

Oh, they had a guest over? Argh, what the hell was going on? Midnight checked to see if Pockets was okay before getting up. She had no weapons, but… she didn’t need them really. She left the room to find an even bigger living room, the same decorative style as the bedroom from where she came from, and yet once again not a single picture on the walls. That didn’t matter right now. She walked towards what seemed to be the bathroom door from where she could hear the singing.

She remembered passing out because of that Good bastard. And… woke up here. Did he kidnap them? But, that was a decidedly female voice coming from in there…

She took a breath and then acted.

She bust the door in and raced inside, grabbing whoever was in the shower and pinning them to the wall with her hooves, the barb on her wing pressed to the being’s neck.

“Talk! Now!!!” Midnight demanded, baring her fangs and hissing.

The only thing she got in return was a soft, sensual chuckle, “Peeking on a lady while she showers is a bit rude, don't you think?” And much to Midnight’s surprise, she soon saw herself pinned on the ground, looking directly at the blood-red eyes of the griffon she had met at Town Hall, Sphinx.

Midnight blinked. How in the hell had she been flipped like that? Who was the griffon? “You!?” The thestral exclaimed. She wanted to try and turn things around again, yet she decided to wait and see where this was going. Besides, the griffon was even prettier wet~ “Why did you kidnap us? Why did that son of a Diamond Dog try and poison us?”

Sphinx giggled, running a claw across Midnight’s cheek, “Dear, if I really had wanted to kidnap you, do you seriously believe I would let you rest on my personal ? I’m not your enemy, so if you promise to trust me and listen to my explanation, I will let you go. Do we have an agreement?”

“Tch! I don’t have much of a choice do I?” Midnight replied and smiled. “But, if you wanted to be on top, all you had to do was ask~”

The griffon replied with a sly grin before letting go of her, extending her claw to help Midnight up, “That is not really my style, dear.. And I’m glad to see that you still have plenty of energy to fight. Good, you are going to need that attitude for what’s coming. Now be a dear and pass me the soap.” She pointed at the rather luxurious-looking bar that lay on a marble stand on the shower wall behind Midnight.

She frowned and turned around to reach for the soap… and then, the sound of a vivid slap was heard as Midnight yipped in surprise as her buttcheeks suddenly stung, a malicious grin adorning Sphinx’s beak.

“Sweet, sweet revenge~” Hummed Sphinx, turning the shower faucet to end her bath, “Now if you would please follow me, dear.” Picking up a towel, she carefully got herself dry, even shaking her rump rather sensually from time to time to tease the royal guard.

“Mmm, now that I am glad to do,” Midnight said and wolf whistled. 

“Enjoying the show I see,” Sphinx giggled. She turned to her closet and opened it, revealing the extensive collection of designer clothing she had accumulated over the years, “Dear, could you please close your eyes for a minute?”

“Now, why would I do something like that?” Midnight teased. 

“Because I can’t let you see what I’m about to do. Simple as that dear, every lady has her secrets.” 

“I swear… if this is a trick…” Midnight closed her eyes, but if she tried to attack, she’d hear it coming.

Yet what she heard was not an attack, but… a zipper? 

“You can open them now.”

Midnight did as said and saw the griffon clad in a form-fitting black catsuit that was most definitely not in the closet before. She raised an eyebrow at first, but soon began appreciating the way it hugged all her curves.

“Mmm, well, my safeword is ‘mangoes~’” Midnight purred and licked her lips.

Sphinx tittered, shaking her head no while also looking herself in the mirror to make sure she was looking as sexy as always, “Sorry dear, but this is not that type of suit. Those I keep somewhere else. You see, I belong to a… special group of individuals who are set on taking down those criminals the world leaders can’t take down themselves for one reason or another. As you can see, I am preparing to get some work done. I need to gather information related to a certain pony that has been very, very naughty.” She extended her wings to reveal small, odd-looking knives that were attached to the tips. Once she made sure they were all in place she turned to Midnight, “And the only reason I am telling you this, is because I need your help, dear.”

Midnight fought the urge to follow up on that ‘naughty pony’ comment and narrowed her eyes. “Well, drugging Pockets and knocking me out wasn’t exactly the best way to go about it. Miss Sphinx.”

“Oh, I wasn’t the one that drugged you. Au contraire my dear, I rescued you.” Sphinx said matter-of-factly like if that detail wasn’t important at all, “You should be thankful I was following you all day long, or else you would have awoken in a very different room.” 

Midnight shuddered to think of how this could have turned out. It would have been a lot messier, that’s for sure.

“I knew somepony was tailing me. Well, somegriffon in this case…” She looked her over and shrugged. “Alright, so who do you work for? It can’t be Celestia, or I’d at least know of you.”

“That is none of your business, dear. The only thing you should know about him or her is that they are your ally.” She replied cryptically while stretching her hind legs, letting a few cracks be heard followed by a relieved sigh and revealing her amazing flexibility, “Stressful days are the worst. Anyways, as I said before, the reason I brought you here my dear is because I need your help.”

“I figured there’d be a catch,” Midnight said, eyeing those knives carefully. While she wasn’t in danger now, she knew that could change in the blink of an eye. Whoever Sphinx was, she was extremely skilled in combat. “Alright then,” she said, realising she was stalling. “Let’s hear it Miss Sphinx. What exactly is it that you require my help with in particular.”

Sphinx took a deep sigh, thinking on what she was going to say carefully, “I need you to fulfill my mission… I came here with the objective of getting rid of Mayor Grumble yet sadly, I failed due to several reasons. Now when I heard a royal guard was causing Green Lead some trouble, I knew this was my chance.” She eyed the bedroom and smiled, “I cannot lie, I did some background research on you and I strongly believe you are perfect for my plan. And now that Miss Pickett is also involved, I think this might actually work.”

“You need me?” Midnight said with a hint of disbelief. “An assassin like you? You couldn’t, I don’t know. Poison his tea? Loosen a hoof railing? Stick one of those shiny knives in his neck?”

“I wish.” Sphinx huffed, “But you see, even though assassination is my speciality, he’s too well protected and has too many contacts. His network of corruption is so extensive that even if I manage to take him out, someone else will take his place. This is why the only possible way to solve this is by revealing his crimes to the public eye. Celestia finds out what happened, his circles are thoroughly investigated, and every one of them is sent to jail and replaced by hopefully better leaders.” She walked towards the corner of the room and grabbed what seemed to be a golden scabbard, presumably with a sword of some kind in it. 

“Well, while more of a pain in the flank, that’s something I can help with.” Midnight rubbed the back of her neck, wincing at the sore spot on her head. “After all, this is personal now. I owe him a lump of his own. Or the downfall of his empire… whichever comes first.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Albeit… I am afraid I must give you the bad news. While I was quick enough to save you from being kidnapped, I wasn’t able to stop them from raiding your hotel room.” Sphinx walked towards a shelf and opened a drawer, before tossing Midnight her beloved silver locket, “This is the only thing I managed to save from the ruckus.”

Midnight clutched the silver, book-shaped locket. She opened it, relieved to see that the photo inside was unharmed. If… if they had taken this…

Well, she hoped Tall Tale had fire insurance.

“Thank you,” Midnight whispered. “This means the world to me.”

“I supposed so. And do not worry, I didn’t open it.” Sphinx nodded solemnly, before checking up some strange looking totems that seemed extremely out of place, “Good, the security spells seem to be working. Anyways, Grumble has power over pretty much everything. Transportation, communication, police force, media, everything. You have nothing but a locket, your skills, and a street thief whose magic and abilities should complement your own. We have little time before the ‘Cleansing’, as he decided to call it, takes place. Preventing that from happening,” She pointed at Midnight, “Is your main priority. We have no clear idea what he’s planning to do with all that free space, but it can’t be good. So dear, I guess the only thing left to clarify is, are you willing to help me and this town? You can hide here for a few weeks until the ‘Cleansing’ is over, you’ll be safe, I assure you that. But I see a bit of me in you, and I know that mares like us are not the type to stay idly while others need our help.”  

Midnight turned to her and a wide smile crossed her muzzle. “Those are some odds,” she said. She… didn’t look worried? Not at all? “But, I’ve seen worse. And Grumble has made a very fatal mistake.”

“Mess with someone like you.” Sphinx chuckled as she opened one of the impressively wide windows, “Stay here for the night, you need some rest. I may be back tomorrow morning to brief the details, but if I'm not you’re free to leave whenever you want and gather information through any method you wish. In any case, good luck dear, you will need it.” Extending her wings, she jumped off the window, flapping them in order to remain at a somewhat similar level to Midnight, the moon shining calmly behind her. “Oh and… if you two decide to get a little steamy, please make sure you keep it in the room. The sheets are easier for my maid to clean, the floor… not so much. I speak from personal experience. Au revoir!” She waved as she flew towards the night sky, her knives glimmering with the moonlight.

Midnight took a moment to process that. She still didn’t trust her fully, but she knew the situation could have been worse.

A lot worse.

And steamy? What was that all about? Pockets was cute and all. But… well Midnight wasn’t quite in the mood after that little chat and revelation. She moved back into the bedroom and saw Pockets still laying on the bed. “Just… what have I gotten involved with here?” She muttered as she climbed back onto the bed. She reached over and nudged the mare. “Hey! You alive Little Thief?”

She heard a muffled groan in response, she was clearly conscious, and she was also clearly heavily asleep.

“Wake up little Pockets,” Midnight said gently and smiled. She was feeling… mischievous. “Or I’ll… do things~” She wiggled her forehooves for good measure.

“Just five more minutes,” Came Pockets’ sleepy voice.

“Hmm, that’s no good. We need to talk,” Midnight said and smiled. She leaned closer and her upper lip drew back, revealing her fangs…

Then bit her on the flank.

The resulting eep was high-pitched, and extremely cute. Pockets nearly jumped out of her bed because of the surprise butt-bite, her heart pumping out like crazy and sweating bullets as she gasped for air, until she spotted the mischievous little thestral that looked at her like if she had done absolutely nothing, “Oh you son of a…” With a growl, she tackled Midnight and decided to take revenge by tickle-attacking the bat-mare, “You little rascal! How dare you bite my butt!”

“Well, how else was I to wake you?” Midnight giggled, though she wasn’t that ticklish. She got an idea and smiled with a sultry gaze. “You were wonderful last night~”

Pockets’ eyes widened up, her face turning a bright red as she tried her best to put two plus two together… drinks with a hot mare, blacking out, waking up in a strange bedroom there was only one explanatio to this, “Oh sweet Celestia...” 

Midnight smirked and kissed her cheek. “Oh yes, you screamed that a lot~”

“B-bucking… I mean!  Yeah!  Heh… of course I was wonderful, I'm awesome!” She tried her best to give a confident smirk, but it was more of a ‘Gosh I need to stop drinking so much’-smirk combined with a ‘We actually did it and I can’t remember a thing’-smirk.

“Oh gosh, you are just the cutest thing,” Midnight giggled. “Don’t worry, i didn’t take that little treasure from you. You were drugged and I was knocked out… by that bastard Good Times!”

Pockets’ expression changed to a deadpan, “Hah… good one. Ok yeah I fell for it the first time, but now you’re just speaking nonsense.”

Midnight was wearing her serious face. “I wish I was…”

Pockets chuckled, “Nah, that can’t be. I’ve known that guy since I first came here! I go to his bar at least three times a week and I even help him take care of his children!” She looked at Midnight to try and find the slightest hint of untruth, yet found none. “Please, just… just stop the joke! It ain't funny,” Memories flooded back to her. Two Manehattans, that's all she drank, and she didn't feel hungover at all, “You… you are serious? Are you telling me he... “ She went silent, feeling the world crumble beneath her hooves, a mixture of anger, sadness, disappointment, horror, shock, and foolishness took over her head, fighting for dominance. The result, a single tear falling from her eye, “Please… please for Celestia’s sake tell me you’re kidding.”

Midnight just responded by pulling her close and hugging her.

Pockets remained immobile for a few seconds, before realizing the truth… and it hurt, it hurt a lot. Her strength and confidence broke, releasing a waterfall of tears as she dug her face on Midnight’s shoulder, soon sobbing quietly as she cursed her former friend, “That… that bastard… of course he would sell me out, of bucking course.... This is all his fault, Grumble…  that… that….” Words failed to come out of her mouth. She could only hug Midnight tighter, feeling her warmth helped her relax, at least a little bit. They remained like this for quite some time, Pockets quietly crying on her shoulders as she comforted her, “Th-thanks…” She whispered.

“I… know how you feel,” Midnight said. “Only because, I’ve done a similar thing myself. Betrayed the one I held dearest to me…”

Pockets remained silent, her sobs stopping completely… one would have expected her to break the hug and simply look at Midnight horrified, yet the complete opposite happened. She hugged her even tighter and a small smile formed on the unicorn’s muzzle, “So that’s your story, huh? Well… at least I can tell you’re sorry for that. And I can also tell you’re a good mare. Truth be told, I should be used to this by now. Even back in Manehattan, I couldn’t trust anyone… but for some reason, a reason I just can’t understand, I feel like I can trust you.” 

“Yeah, I’m pretty awesome like that,” Midnight chuckled weakly. “Don’t worry Pickett, I won’t leave you. And… I’ve decided that this town needs to be fixed. And I’m not going anywhere until it’s done. Grumble will pay for what he has done. I will see that he rots in a cell for a thousand years!”

Pockets chuckled as she broke the hug, her face inches away from Midnight’s, “And they say I’m the drama queen.” Cleaning the tears that decided to stay on her muzzle, she titled her head cutely and smiled, “Thanks, I… honestly didn't think you’d actually help.” She remained silent for a while, her smile becoming brighter and brighter, her eyes locked on Midnight’s hypnotizing emerald eyes. 

“Well, course I am,” Midnight nodded, wondering what was up with that look she was getting. “I’m a guard, it’s kinda what we do… aside from the fact that it’s the right thing to do.”

Pockets’ expression changed as she realized just how dumb she was probably looking, shaking her head and chuckling faintly, “Oh right, right. Sorry, just that… ponies with a kind heart are kinda hard to find these days ya know? Of course you being a guard you have to protect and serve and whatnot and… I probably sound like a babbling idiot don’t I?”

“Pfft, such a silly filly,” Midnight giggled and booped her nose. “Careful there little thief, I might think you’re starting to fall for me.”

Pockets eyes widened up and her entire face went red, “What!?  Nah, you’re just giving yourself too much credit.” She chuckled awkwardly, “I’m just a bit dizzy from the whole drugging thing, that’s all there is! Yup, just the drugs! Heh… heh…” 

“Oh, and you just keep getting cuter!” Midnight giggled and nuzzled her. “It’s okay, I’m irresistable. I know.”

“Pffft, hah!” Pockets snorted, “Please, you're cute and all, but not irresistible. Maybe you’re just saying that because you’re the one falling for me and you don’t wanna admit it. You’ve been wanting some of this booty since we talked at the station, after all.  But I wouldn’t be surprised, my booty is one of a kind.” She smirked defiantly, trying to turn the tables to her favor.

Midnight smirked. “Well, you have a point there,” the thestral smiled and pressed her lips against hers.

Pockets’ eyes widened up as shock took over her body, shock that soon was overtaken by a strange feeling she hadn’t felt in such a long time, a feeling that lead her to close her eyes, and eagerly return the kiss, humming in delight while at the same time not being able to believe this was happening.

Once the two broke the kiss, Pockets was left dumbfounded, a simple “Wow…” leaving her muzzle. 

“Mm, not bad,” Midnight said and licked her lips. “You could use work, but your inexperience just adds to your cuteness.” The thestral put a wing around her and smiled. “Feeling a little better now?”

“Yeah…” She managed to say. Yet her brain soon began working again, and the old usual Pockets once again took life, a sly grin taking over her muzzle,“Actually… no, not yet…”

“Oh?” Midnight asked. Well, she was betrayed pretty bad, so she could understand. 

Then, out of nowhere, Midnight saw herself pinned to the bed, a purring Pockets keeping her in place and not having any intention on letting her go, “Now I’m feeling better.” She purred with half-lid eyes, “And something tells me soon I’m going to be feeling better than ever before.”

“Hmm, you wanna tussle with the bat?” Midnight said and flipped her over, pinning her instead. “Little filly, you’re light years from matching me. But… I will have… So-” she nipped her neck. “Much-” and kissed her horn. “Fun teaching~” Another chaste kiss, before pulling back and smiling.

Pockets squirmed under the contact, humming from delight, “Then why don’t we start the lesson, batty~?” 

“Well, I wonder if you’d mind messing up Sphinx’s sheets,” Midnight said, hinting at where they were.

Pockets quirked an eyebrow, “Sphinx? Wait… so this isn’t your room? Huh... well this is kinda awkward now.”

“Well, she did say I had the night to do as I pleased,’ Midnight said with a wicked smile.

“Good enough for me.” The unicorn chuckled, before pulling Midnight closer, “Now where were we?”





Pockets was a heavy sleeper. 

Legends say that once she slept through what was supposed to be the biggest storm to ever hit Tall Tale, thunders and lightings screaming throughout the city, and yet she remained unmoved. Some say that once she was staying over some friend’s house just as a giant monster decided to attack the town, the roof of the building being obliterated while she simply snored.

Of course, this was just exaggeration, but she was still a pretty heavy sleeper. 

And this is why a young vanilla pegasus was having a hard time poking the heck out of the unicorn. “Wake them up, sure, that should be easy.” She grunted, before letting out a loud sigh of defeat and deciding to fly over the bed and try with the second mare.

Not caring for formalities, she simply raised her broomstick and poked the thestral. She found her broomstick removed, bitten off as Midnight opened her eyes, her bloody red irises staring back with righteous fury.

“What… time… is it?” She growled, baring her fangs.

“Seven in the morning,” The maid said unfazed, she had seen a lot throughout her life, this was a bit freaky yes, but far from terrifying. “My mistress Miss… what name was she going by as of late? Oh yes, Miss Sphinx requested me to wake you up at the time I considered prudent.” She looked at the clock and shrugged, “The laundry opens at seven thirty and I would really appreciate it if you let me take care of the sheets. The smell is intoxicating me.”

“Oh, is that so?” Midnight’s eyes turned back to their normal green as she lowered them into a half-lidded gaze. The maid was pretty cute and she did have a thing for a mare in uniform. “So, if that’s the case. You’re more then welcome to join us~” She used her wing to lift the sheets.

The mare was unamused. With a quick flick of her wing and what seemed more like a magic trick than anything, Midnight was sheetless, and Pockets was amusingly enough now sleeping on the floor. She was quick, extremely so. “You are just like my mistress…” She sighed, folding the sheets carefully and placing them in the basket. “My mistress says she won’t be able to speak with you today, as she has important business in Las Pegasus and will be back at night. Seeing as you don’t have anywhere to stay and Miss Pickett lives pretty much everywhere, she told me, much to my dismay, that you are welcome to stay here as long as you want.” And with no bucks given, she turned and left. And holy heck, she had one hell of a toned flank that swinged around with every step she made.

“I don’t know how yet, but I will get dat booty!” Midnight nodded to herself as she watched her leave. Once she had, she looked at her sleeping partner and smiled. “And of course, there’s you.” She leaned down and nuzzled her… before administering her newfound, surefire wake up method.

*nom*

“EEP! I SWEAR IT WASN’-” Pockets cut her own words as she came back to reality. She blinked and looked at Midnight while trying to put the storm of thoughts in order, before groaning and dropping herself on the cold floor, “Was last night not freaking enough? Why do you gotta punish my booty like that!”

“Mmm, it’s too bouncy not to punish,” Midnight said and drew the mare in for a light kiss. “Last night was fun. But today, we gotta go to work.”

“Do we really?” She groaned lazily, “I don’t wanna!” She whined with a cute pout.

“We do, or we might upset our host… hmm, speaking of. Say hello to our new home for the time being. Fancy huh?” Midnight made a sweeping motion with her wing. “We get to stay here while we deal with Fumble.”

“Huh…” She quirked an eyebrow, “Ain’t half bad, way better than my own kinda-house. But remind me why a, Sphinx is giving us this place, and b, we are trusting her.”

“Aaaaparently Sphinx is some super secret assassin working for Celestia-knows who. she‘s skilled enough to kick my flank and employs some seriously sexy maids.” What? That information was completely relevant. “And she wants our help in taking down Dumbbell. The reason we trust her is…” Midnight paused and lowered her gaze along with her voice. “She saved us from Good Times.”

Pockets’ expression turned a bit grim, her gaze shifting to the wall in attempts to hold in any sort of negative emotion, “Good enough,” She sighed before forcing a grin, “Well, that’s something you don’t hear everyday. Well batty, I’m up and running and ready to kick some butt, what’s the plan?”

“Well, I need to send a message, but it means going back to my hotel room… which has been ransacked. But I can almost guarantee that they wouldn’t have found the item I’m after.”

“Someone dared to steal from you? Blasphemy! Only I can rob the sexy bat-mare darnit!” Pockets exclaimed dramatically, before quirking an eyebrow, “Ya do realize that whoever’s after us probably has eyes on that place, right?”

Midnight nodded and ran her hoof through Pocket’s mane. “Probably, which is why I’ll go alone. I can be in and out in a few seconds. You stay here and be safe alright?”

Pockets rolled her eyes and smirked, “Nah.”

“So you’ll… waitwat?”

“Listen batty. I’m the sneakiest mare around. Ya need to get something out of a room guarded by probably hired killers? I’m the mare for the job. And if that fails, I know a thing or two about self defense.” Her smirk turned into a warm, loving smile, “ ‘Sides, how can I possibly stay here while you are out there risking your life. No way I’m letting anypony put a hoof on this booty, at least not without my permission.” With a soft kiss and a butt-squeeze, her smirk returned, “So nah, I ain’t staying here. I’m coming with you and there’s nothing you can do ‘bout it, batty. We’re in this together.”

“Well, I can see arguing with you is going to be impossible. You’d likely follow me even if I left you behind huh?” She sighed and rubbed Pocket’s head. “Alright, let’s take a shower and start our raid. Hmm, I wonder if that maid’s showered yet~?”

“What’s up with you and that maid? She can’t possibly be sexier than me.” She snorted.

“I’ve returned. Do you perhaps need anything from me?” Came a strange voice to Pockets. Moving her head to have a better look, her eyes widened up and a whistle left her mouth.

“Holy butts… Nevermind she’s most definitely sexy and I need that booty in a shower with me.” 

“I know right?” Midnight said and pulled the maid inside. “So cutie, wanna come with us in the shower? Multiples times. In many positions~”

The mare deadpanned, “I take that as a no, you do not need my help.” In the blink of an eye, she was out of Midnight’s grasp, much to both mare’s disappointment, “The shower’s at your disposal and so is everything else in this house. I am sure you can figure out how it works.” And with that, she left, her butt shaking from side to side as she walked. Or she would have, if a thestral hadn’t snared her tail.

“Everything in the house hmmm~” She looked at the maid. “So I guess you come in that package deal as well~”

For the first time since they met her, the mare’s deadpan turned into shock, “Oh no…”

“Oh yes~” Pockets purred as she levitated the now helpless maid and placed her right in the middle of the two devilish mares, “So batty, I don’t know about you but I feel really dirty right now. Maybe a good scrubbing from a pretty maid is required, don’t you think?”

“Ooh, I knew I liked you,” Midnight nodded as they started heading towards the bathroom. “Don’t worry Miss Maid. With enough time, everypony becomes Songsexual.”

The maid’s eyes remained wide open, mostly because she had just been outplayed and hard. Yet finally she accepted defeat and sighed, “You are just as bad as my mistress.”

“You know,” Midnight said and bumped her rump with hers. “I’m not the kind that forces herself on a mare. If you don’t want to. A simple’ no’ will save you.”

The maid opened her mouth, remained silent for a couple of seconds, then closed it as a blush betrayed her frown.        

“Well?” Midnight verbally prodded her. “I'm waiting Miss Maid.”

“Quick Step.” The mare said softly.

Pockets quirked an eyebrow at this, “Quick what?” 

“My name’s Quick Step, not Maid.” She huffed, “I guess if we’re doing this then you might as well know that.”

“Aww, that’s a cute name,” Midnight smiled. “Now, let’s have a shower already. I have things to do, and two mares are on that list~”





After their shower… and finding out that Quick Step was deliciously submissive, Midnight and Pickett headed for the thestral’s hotel room.

“Maaan, I wonder if I can get my deposit back?” Midnight idly wondered. “I dunno if I had, ‘suddenly wanted’ insurance.”

“Oh my, I didn’t know you spoke ‘adult’, that really turns me on.” The unicorn chortled tauntingly, before shrugging, “Eh, chances are we can probably get all your stuff back, or at least your bits. We just gotta beat them out of whoever robbed ya, which means we gotta find out who did it, thing that with the ammount of thieves and gangs in this city is almost impossible.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I have a Little thief of my own isn’t it?” Midnight smiled and nudged Pockets. The hotel was coming into view and Midnight’s gaze narrowed. She hoped that item was still there. Yet her train of thought was suddenly interrupted when Pockets half-tackled her out of the street and into a bush.

“Wait!” She whispered, taking a look at the road ahead, “What the heck? Those two… why do I feel like I know them?”

“Pockets,’ Midnight said dryly as leaves and twigs clung to her mane and tail. “While I’m all for impromptu cuddling. You’d best pray you had a reason for that.”

She didn’t answer, instead, she tried her hardest to remember where the heck she had seen those two buffy stallions ahead, hating on her terrible memory for being so terrible. That is… until her mind came back to a more… unpleasant part of her life. “Batty… we have a problem. I think I know who’s after us…”

“Pray tell, who is after us. I love knowing the names of my vic- I mean, no wait, victims is what i was going for.”

“I met a lot of terrible ponies back in Manehattan,” She began, taking a deep breath to keep her nerves in check, “I’ve seen tons of gangs come and go, criminal masterminds rise and die… the street life was one crazy hell. But of all criminals that I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting there is none deadlier and more effective than Drop Dead and his gang. A bunch of sadistic mercenaries that are more interested in the killing part than in the money, and those two ahead? They’re most definitely part of his gang. Wonderful ponies as you can imagine.” 

“Dead Drop…” Midnight turned her head and looked at the unicorn. “Did you say, Dead Drop!?”

“Oh boy…” Pockets clenched her teeth, “You know about the bastard too?”

Midnight sighed and lifted her right wing. Underneath, between two of her ribs was a faint, small scar. “Yeah, I know him. Took a crossbow bolt here because of him. I came real close to dying that day.”

Pockets grimaced, “Yup, looks like his work alright. Although… as far as I know, he usually only goes around big cities. What the buck is he doing here then?”

“Well, give whose room his cronies are near, I’ll give you one guess,’ Midnight said as her eyes flashed red again. 

“Luckily, you have a mare that freaking managed to steal ten thousand bits from him~” She hummed with a cocky smile, “Well I did kinda got out with a few broken bones and had to get off the streets for at least three months but it was totally worth it. So! Ready to get some sweet, sweet revenge?”

“Oh yes, very much so,” Midnight smirked, her fangs glinted in the light. “What’s the plan Cutie?”

“Oh, you’ll see... Time for some good ol’ Pockets magic~” The unicorn smirked as well. This, was going to be fun.





“A maid?” Midnight asked as the thief had procured said outfit from… somewhere. She figured that knowing would make her an accessory to theft. “That’s your big plan? I was expecting something… more.”

“Hey, you try and come up with an unbelievable badass plan on the spot!” Pockets booped her, “Sometimes simple is better y’know?” She let out a grunt as she accommodated the skirt. It was awkward for the unicorn to be wearing such a uniform, a strong blush ever present on her face, “Besides, these uniforms are made for ponies, and even if we somehow managed to get one of them on you, a thestral is not particularly hard to miss. So I’m the one that has to wear them and I probably look ridiculous.”

“You’d better go,” Midnight said as her eyes wandered all over the mare. “Or I am going to do all the things to you.”

The unicorn snorted and shook her head as she made her way outside, “You are incorrigible. And that’s not it, we gotta get you on disguise as well.”

“Seriously Pocket’s, you look adorable in that,” Midnight smiled, then her expression fell when she registered that last part. “Waitwhut?”

“As I said before, these uniforms are made for ponies.” She pointed out with a malicious smirk, “So, have you heard about illusion spells?”

“Of course I have,” Midnight nodded. ”Every member of the Guard has a basic illusion spell in their armour. Why do you think they all look the same-”

And before she could keep talking, the room was soon filled with magical blue dust. Pockets’ smirk became a jaw-drop as she realized the mistake she had made. The spell had worked well, too well in fact. Now in front of her stood a off-white pegasus mare with a dark brown mane and tail. Her eyes were still that hypnotising emerald green, but now resembled a pony’s, rather than the draconic slit of a thestral. She had dark freckles around her eartips and under her eyes, but they were much thicker around her forehooves. 

“Well now,” Midnight said, noting her voice was also different, it sounded like hers, but seemed to have an oriental accent to it. “This is… new. I look weird though”

Pockets was immobile, blabbering random words around as drool dropped from her muzzle to the floor. She just couldn’t stop looking at her! It was impossible!

“Yo, Hornhead!” Midnight snapped her tail and it sounded like the crack of a whip. “Snap out of it. Did that spell fry your brain?”

She kept drooling for a bit, before finally coming back to reality. She shook her head and exhaled, cleaning the sweat off her forehead, “Ok I did not expect that. You… uhm, wow. Just… wow…” And once again, her mind began getting lost on Midnight.

Midnight shook her head and then smiled. “You know, I’m beginning to think you like this pegasus better than me.” She turned on a pout for added effect.

A few gears turned on Pockets’ head, and she realized she was in danger. “NO!” She blurted out, blushing like mad, “No, no it’s not that! Just… admiring my work, that’s all!” She smiled awkwardly. “This looks nice and all, but nothing beats the original.”

“Hmhmhm, I figured as much. And I don’t mind the staring, it’s very cute.” She booped Pockets’ nose and smiled. “But we have a job remember? If this spell stays up, we can have fun later mm’kay?”

Pockets nodded slowly, still a bit absent-mindedly, before taking a deep breath and managing to somehow focus on the task ahead, “Ok. Good news is, my buttmagic is going to keep that spell running for quite some time, more than enough really. But if things get heated in there and we gotta brawl it out, don’t expect it to last much. One or two hits and the thing goes away. Now time to get you on that cute maid outfit you love so much.”

“Wait, I gotta wear one too!?” Midnight exclaimed. “Well… this should be interesting.”

Needless to say, Pockets very much enjoyed helping Midnight with her outfit. And after a few minutes of dressing up, and a few added minutes of wandering hooves, they were ready for action. Getting inside the hotel was no problem for the duo. Apparently Pockets knew one of the security guards who seemingly owed her a favor, and with the staff going crazy due to the sheer ammount of visitors the hotel got at this time of the year, no one batted an eye for the two new maids. The hardest part so far, if Pockets had to be honest with herself, was the stair-climbing, which she absolutely hated with a burning passion.

“Oh my gosh…” She groaned, “So many stairs! I’d like to find whoever invented the stairs and push him down these stairs, just to show him how stupid stairs are!”

“It’s not that bad,” Midnight said as she flapped lazily in the air. “You complain a lot huh?”

Pockets shot her an unamused glare, her ears burning red and she simply did not want to climb another step anymore for the rest of her life, “You winged bastards and your freaking wings… lazy butts.” She grumbled under her breath, before just giving up and let her body drop to the ground. 

“Says the mare that can levitate and teleport,” Midnight said and tapped the tip of Pockets’ horn.

“I can’t freaking teleport while keeping the illusion spell going.” She huffed. Then, an idea, a wonderful, wonderful idea. She turned around and gave her best freaking puppy-eyes, an extremely adorable pout on her muzzle as she extended her arms towards Midnight, “Maybe you can carry me? Pretty please?”

“You’re hopeless,” Midnight said and then scooped the mare up, holding her close. “Good thing you’re such a shorty.” And before the unicorn could protest, Midnight gave a powerful flap of her wings and blazed up the rest of the stairs in a matter of seconds.

Pockets eeped as she held on to Midnight for her dear life. And as soon as they landed she couldn’t help but tremble and knee to kiss the ground, “Sweet, sweet floor. Oh gosh that was fast. It was so terrifying and I loved/hated it.”

“So dramatic,” Midnight rolled her eyes as she rubbed the unicorn’s back. “I should take you flying for real sometime. You’ll love it. Being hundreds of miles above the ground, even higher than the clouds… it’s amazing!”

“That sounds like either the best, or the worst idea ever.” Pockets chuckled as she managed to stand up, nuzzling Midnight, “I’d love that. Now, where exactly is your room?”

“Hmm, 302… so, that door down there, second from the left.” The hall was empty, but that didn’t mean somepony could be lying in wait. Midnight stepped down the hall and Pocket’s noticed that the thestral’s hooves made almost no sound at all.

“Wot.” Pockets catched up and kept looking at her hooves, “Uhm… batty. I think I screwed something up with my spell because your hooves are on mute.”

“Huh? Nah, this is thestal sneakiness. I have other neat skills, but that can wait.” She stopped at the door and pressed her ear against it. “Hmm, I can’t hear anypony inside… but then that couple down the hall could keep it down a bit.”

Pockets couldn’t hear anything. “Holy heck you’re like an actual superhero!” She smiled ear to ear, “That’s freaking badass!”

“I can also see in the dark and walk on walls,” Midnight said idly as she pushed the door. It didn’t budge and she no longer had a key. “Think you can pick the lock Little Thief?”

Pockets rolled her neck until it gave a satisfying crack and grinned, “Sure can.” Humming, she took a good look at the handle and chuckled, it looked simple enough- “Looks like a far too simple lock to be honest. No wonder they managed to steal all your stuff.” She tilted her head and gently touched the handle with the tip of her horn with a quick flash, the sound of the now unlocked door giving Pockets a satisfied smile, “Too easy.” 

“Huh? Of course it’d be a spell,” Midnight mused as the door opened. “Here I thought you’d use a lockpick, show some actual skill. Ah well.” The cheeky smirk on her face showed she was only kidding though.

“Please, I’m a professional.” She raised her muzzle snootily, before cracking up at her own silliness, “Well, shall we g-”

“What do you two think you’re doing?” 

Both Pockets and Midnight froze in place, ready to buck the heck out of anyone who was standing behind them.

“I said, what do you two ladies think you’re doing?” The same feminine voice repeated, “Chit-chatting like this during work hours! And where is your equipment!?”

Confused, they decided to take a look at whoever that was, and as soon as they say who it was, they couldn’t know if they were supposed to be relieved, or even more worried. A turquoise old-looking maid was giving them the angriest of stares. 

“So? I am waiting for an answer, ladies!”

“Uhm…” Midnight paused for but a moment before playing the part of a demure maid. “I'm so very sorry Ma’am. We're on our first day today, and we accidentally locked our equipment in this room.” She lowered her gaze and acted submissive. “We had to go all the way downstairs to get a spare key. It'll take but a moment to retrieve them.”

“Oh you foolish beginners… You!” She pointed at Pockets, “Go get it. And you!” She pointed at Midnight, “The baby of the family that’s staying at room 306 just vomited all over the floor and they’ve required cleaning while they’re out to see a doctor! You should know by now that there’s always a room with extra cleaning supplies in each floor. Luckily for you, there’s one right between room 306 and 307, so go!” 

Pockets looked at Midnight with a “What now?” Look, this was most definitely supposed to happen.

Midnight shuddered, she could either knock the old mare out… or…

“I'll get right on that,” Midnight said with a small sigh. She looked at Pockets and whispered under her breath. “You're looking for a small, dark blue ribbon. I left it on the mantle.”

Pockets nodded nervously, a fake smile on her muzzle that tried too hard to play it cool, “S-sure thing ma’am! Right on it.”

The mare narrowed her eyes, “Then do it.” She nodded. “I will make sure that your friend does her job as well. Once you grab your equipment I’d like you to meet me on the Staff Room so I can fully instruct you on the art of cleaning. Now, get to work!”

And with a stomp, she pretty much dragged Midnight away, much to Pockets’ annoyance. 

The unicorn sighed and walked into the room. Oddly enough, it showed no signs of being raided, in fact, she would assume nothing had happened here at all. Of course, these were professional thugs they were dealing with, so it would only be natural that they’d be so thoughtful and detailed with what they messed with and what they took. Either that or the maids of this hotel were extremely good. 

It was a pretty nice room, even if the decor was a little old-timey. A single bed lay against one of the walls, with windows against the north and east walls. There was a fireplace against the north wall as well, but it was clearly fake and used for decoration only. The was a door that led to the ensuite and a suitcase against one wall that had a magical lock on it.

And sitting on the mantle was a nice, midnight blue ribbon with silver trim.

“Here we go. What’s so special about this thing anyways?” She quirked an eyebrow rather skeptically, before shrugging and grabbing it with her muzzle.

“Freeze.” 

Pockets did just that. 

“Turn around, no sudden movements, or I’ll buck you into Tartarus.”

Again, she did just that. Now standing in front of him was a tall, lime green earth pony stallion, accompanied by another stallion, this one a chubby blue pegasi with a scar that went from his right ear to his mouth, keeping his right eye closed. Unfortunately for Pockets, she recognized the latter, she once tricked him in a game of cards years ago back on Manehattan.

“Buck!” She exclaimed with a chuckle, “How’s it going buddy! Good seeing ya, how's the wife?”

“She’s dead.” The pegasus replied coldly.

Pockets gulped, well that was one way to start a conversation, “Oh… uhm, sorry to hear that.” 

“Don’t be. I'm the one that offed her.” He replied as coldly as before.

“Oh… well, good for ya then?” She grimaced, what a wonderful fellow. 

“Well then, now that you two caught up. Drop whatever you just picked up, and leave.” The earth pony ordered, he definitely seemed as charming as his companion.

“Eh, can't do. Ya see, I'm having a dance tonight, something super fancy, and I need this cute lil' ribbon ‘cuz it’s the only accessory that matches my dre-”

“Quiet!” The stallion shouted, “I couldn't care less. Just drop that thing and leave.” The pegasus stepped forwards, extending his wing to reveal a small pocket knife.

Pockets considered her options, “Ok… let's make a deal. You turn around and get your butts out of here, and I won't cut a bitch.” And surprisingly enough, somehow Pockets now held the pocket knife in her magical grasp, a cocky smile on her face. The pegasi's eyes shot wide open as he realized that he had just been robbed of his weapon.

“As annoying as always… Oh I will enjoy this.” He growled with a malicious grin, extending his other wing to reveal yet another pocket knife, which he immediately used to rush towards her and try to slash at her. Pockets took a quick step back to avoid it, before she levitated a barrage of pillows into his face.

Buck growled as he batted at the pillows with a wing, “Little bitch, gonna love carving you up.”

“And it's words like that that keep you from finding a nice colt and settling down,” Pockets smiled as she threw a blanket over the two stallions. As they struggled to throw it off, Pockets turned and gave a powerful buck, a nice solid smack brought a smile to her face as the stallions groaned.

“Now, you boys play nice and I won't have to embarrass you any further,” Pockets chuckled as she picked up the ribbon and the suitcase, the two knives waving in the air surrounded by her magic. “Thanks for the treasure. Tata loves…”

A third stallion had entered the room and was standing in the door.

“You going somewhere poppet?” He grinned with a thick Trottingham accent.  

“No, but the suitcase is.” She grinned before rapidly throwing the suitcase at his face, startling him enough to give her the chance to buck the heck out of his muzzle. “BONK!” She laughed, a laugh that was cut short as she realized the stallion had barely moved, and he still had that obnoxious grin, “Oh boy…”

“Heh, nice try lovey… my turn,” he bucked the suitcase, sending flying into Pockets knocking her onto the bed and winding her.

“You gents are pathetic,” he sighed as Buck freed himself and took back his knife before climbing up onto the bed and standing over Pockets.

“You know,” he said with a sadistic grin as he pressed a blade to her throat. “Maybe I should have some fun with you before I kill you eh?”

“I want to see you try, one-eye,” She smirked, “But I should warn ya, if you dare to touch this pretty face of mine, you’ll get an angry bat-mare and a gang leader with a swearing problem chasing your butt down.”

“You think I'm afraid of them?” he said as he leered at her. “Now, I'd suggest biting the pillow. I'm going in-”

Time seemed to slow down. The door slammed inwards, catching Buck’s partner and knocking him out as Midnight flew into the room. She saw the stallion atop Pockets and her world turned red.

With a screech that froze the blood of all that heard it as Midnight slammed the pegasus and knocked him through a window, the stallion screamed as he fell while Midnight stood protectively over Pockets while glaring at the remaining stallion, her upper lip drawn back to reveal her fangs as she snarled. 

“Go ahead. I fucking dare you!”

“Told ya~” Pockets smiled mischievously.

“Please, you don’t have the guts.” He grunted, yet betraying his own words, his entire body trembled. He was really hoping she didn’t have the guts. He drew his own knife and held it high, his hoof trembling. “Go on, try and get close to me.”

But when he locked eyes with Midnight… his body froze, every fibre of his being screamed at him to run, but he couldn’t move. Pocket’s lay there, watching this big, tough stallion stare with wide fearful eyes, shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Midnight stepped off of the bed and chuckled. A very… unsettling chuckle.

“First your hooves… I'll break those first. Then you legs. Your ribs, one… by… one. I'll make you beg for death you little worm. I'll make you whimper and cry like a little foal. And only once I am satisfied, I'll let you die…”

Suddenly, she felt the touch of a hoof on her shoulder, Pockets’ look of worry as she shook her head no breaking her out of her rage, “Hey, chill, he’s not worth it.” She walked closer to Midnight and hugged her, nuzzling her cheek before whispering, “I’m safe now, thanks to you. Now let’s just get out of here, okay?”

Midnight shuddered and then exhaled. She'd partially Blood Raged without permission… that was going to get her in trouble later. She walked up to the terrified stallion, who was now standing in a puddle.

“Tell your boss. He comes after us… I'll follow up on that threat,” She said and smacked him with the back of her hoof. “Alright Pickett. Let's get outta here. That old maid is pretty mad about being locked in a closet.”

“Sure.” Pockets nodded as the duo made their way outside, but not before bucking the frightened stallion into unconsciousness. Catching up to Midnight, she couldn’t help but sigh, “Hey, you alright?”

“I… yeah,” Midnight said with a soft sigh. “Sorry about that… when I saw that pegasus… I snapped. I shouldn't have lost control like that.” It really looked like it had scared her.

But in reality, even though she had been a bit freaked out by the whole thing, she was more worried than scared, worried about the thestral. She stopped walking and grabbed Midnight’s muzzle with her hoof, keeping their eyes locked, “Hey, hey, don’t start feeling down because of that. I would have probably done something similar if it was the other way around. Heck I would have probably bitchslapped and maybe even buck his balls repeatedly. Same difference.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t want to be around a monster like me anymore,” Midnight sighed as she played with the ribbon. “I should-”

Yet Pockets would not let her finish, she was tired of hearing all that nonsense. And what better way to shush her than by immediately pressing her lips against Midnight’s own in a warm embrace. 

The world silenced around the two, their eyes closed as they enjoyed each other’s lips. Pockets broke the kiss and gave the thestral a loving smile, her hoof cupping Midnight’s cheek,  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, either I’m blind or you’re wrong because I see no monster around here. The only thing I can see is a gorgeous bat-mare who cares about me more than most ponies ever did. If that makes you a monster then I guess I’m a monster as well, ‘cuz I care just as much about you.” 

“Stupid mushy unicorn,” Midnight replied and Pockets was treated to her first sighting of the mare blushing. It was very cute. The moment passed and Midnight shook her head, snorted and wiped her eyes. “Gah! I'm being so uncool. Come on. I have a message to send and I think that Dead Drop’s gonna be pissed we roughed up his boys…” She recalled the pony she'd kicked out of the seventh story window and shrugged. He was a pegasus… he should be fine.

 Pockets giggled and bumped the batmare’s rump with her own, “Sure thing batty. But I gotta ask, how are you pretending to send a message with a ribbon again? What, are you gonna write on it and just toss it on the air and it’ll magically fly to Canterlot or somethin’?”

“Something like that,” Midnight giggled and gave her an enigmatic smile. “Come on, I'm getting hungry.” She flicked Pockets’ nose with her tail and flew off towards Sphinx's place.

She chuckled and followed along, flapping her own win- Oh wait, she didn’t have any. “Yo batty, I know that you’re used to hanging around with princesses n’ stuff, but I ain’t no alicorn. So, mind giving me a ride? You did tell me you would take me out for a flight a few moments ago.” 

Midnight paused and then turned around. The smile on her face made Pockets wonder if she was going to regret those words…





“Are you done?” Midnight deadpanned as they made it back to the manor. “It’s the ground, it wasn't going anywhere. And I had you the whole time. Stop being such a drama queen.”

Pockets cleaned her lips with a sigh as she stood up, “I think I just developed a fear of heights. Let’s not do that again any time soon… geez, I think I can taste my own adrenaline.” She shook her head rapidly and took a deep breath, “Ok, I’m good.”

“Are you sure, Miss Pickett? The floor could use a few more kisses, that way I don’t have to clean that spot.” Quick Step snorted.

“Shush you.” Pockets groaned. Quick Step shot a taunting smirk in return and left towards the kitchen to finish preparing lunch. “So, what exactly is that ribbon for?”

Midnight beckoned for Pockets to follow her. She led her to a living room and spied what she was after, a roaring fireplace. She took some parchment from a desk and wrote something down. Afterwards, she tied the scroll with the ribbon and with a cheeky smirk to the thief… tossed the scroll into the fire.

Pockets blinked. “Did you just… but... wat.” She couldn’t believe it. She watched in shock how the ashes of the scroll and the ribbon that almost costed her flew up the chimney, “Why!?”

Midnight took her to a window as Pockets saw the ashes fly away.

“Dragonfire Mail. It's a skill that Princess Twilight’s dragon assistant has. That ribbon was made by a friend that uses the same enchantment.”

“Wait… so you’re telling me… I thought dragons just burned stuff and kidnapped princesses! Now they can also deliver mail?” She huffed and sat down, looking out into the sky. “Well buck me… next thing you know we’re using manticores as firecolts and Hydras as congressmares.”

“Hmm, the latter would be an improvement,” Midnight chuckled. “Also, that look on you face is adorable and your invitation is accepted. But later though.” She stretched her wings and sighed. “Well, if we didn't have Dead Drop’s attention before, we do now. But, I have a plan to get the drop on him this time!”

Pockets grinned and quirked an eyebrow, “Really now? Ya got my attention, batty. What’s the plan?”

“Simple, we snag one of his goons and pump them for information. And, I know just the stallion that gonna show us that good time!” Midnight’s wicked smile flashed in the lowering light. 





“Alright bro, good seeing ya!” 

“Same bro, great shots as always!”

Good Time chuckled as he saw his last customer ever leave. With all his recently acquired bits, he had no need for working at a bar anymore. Turning around to look at a small mirror that was hanging on the wall, he couldn’t help but think on the wicked vacations he and his family were gonna take. Did he feel bad about what he had to do to get that money? A little yeah, but he would soon forget about all that when he was rocking it in Zebrica’s beaches.

Yet all his excitement vanished in the blink of an eye when in the corner of the mirror, two far too familiar faces he thought he would never see again, walked closer and closer to him. Not even risking turning around, he immediately teleported out of the wooden hut and made a run for it, sweating bullets as he rushed towards the city.

There was a rush of wind… a pain in his head, then darkness…





When the stallion next awoke, his head was pounding, he groaned and went to put a hoof to his head… only he couldn’t. He was tied to a chair, a small wooden table in front of him. A ring on his horn ensured that he also got a painful zap when he tried to cast magic.

That didn’t stop him from trying, several, several times.

“Please! Help! Help me!” He screamed in despair. What a terrible way to retire.

There was a clicking sound, and a pair of emerald eyes shone in the darkness.

“Now why would I do that?” Midnight said in a raspy tone. She and Pockets had agreed to a Good Cop/Bad Cop routine. Middy got the fun role. “In fact, tell my why I shouldn't gut you right here and now?”

“Dudette! Hey, you’re alive and stuff, congrats!” He nervously exclaimed before whimpering, “Please don’t, I have a family please.”

“Relax, Good Time.” Pockets smiled as she appeared out of the darkness, massaging Good Time’s shoulders, albeit with a bit of despise that made it more painful than relaxing, “We just want to talk, buddy. So cooperate with us and everything will be just fine, or else… well let’s just say that batty here has been feeling like breaking some bones all day long.”

“Mhmm,” Midnight hopped up onto the table, sitting upright and folding her hind legs. “You’d be absolutely fascinated by how much pain a pony can live through~”

Good Time  whimpered at this, his entire body trembling, “L-listen, I have no idea what you are talking about. Like… I-I did nothing! I did absolutely not-”

*Thwack* A very large icepick came down, impaling the chair and narrowly missing the object that defined his gender.

“Oops,” Midnight said with a total lack of sincerity. “I missed. Let me try again…”

“NO!” The stallion shouted, shaking like crazy.

“Good, looks like you’re finally coming to your senses.” Pockets nodded with a faked smile, “Now, let’s start with something simple.  Where’s Drop Dead?”

Good Time blinked in what seemed to be a mixture between confusion and fear, “Wh-who?”

Midnight raised the ice pick again. “I can’t see real well in this light… but I think I'll aim for his spleen…” She giggled and put a hoof to her mouth. “Oopsie! Did I say that out loud?”

Pockets shook her head with a grin on her muzzle, lowering MIdnight’s hoof,“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Easy now, batty. Being scared doesn’t help the fact that he’s a little bit slow on the head, we have to be gentle.” She walked next to Good Time and placed one of her forelegs around his neck with a soft smirk, “Come on, Good TIme, buddy, pal. Remember all the good times we used to have? All that fun we had before, ya know, you sold me out? Why don’t you at least try to redeem yourself, just a little bit, and tell us where Drop Dead is.”

“Look, P! I-”

*SMACK* 

Pockets fumed in anger as she waved her now slightly sore hoof, the print of her horseshoe now marked on Good Time’s cheek, “Sorry. I… that was uncalled for.” She tried to play it off by giving him the fakest of smiles, “Please, just don’t call me like that ever again.” She turned to Midnight and shrugged, mouthing an ‘oops’ for getting out of role, but obviously not regretting it.

But Midnight decided that'd work out even better. She leaned over and smiled at Times.

“Wanna know a secret?” she whispered and winked at Pockets. “I'm the Good cop in this little chat~” And… if Midnight was like that as a good cop then…

He didn’t even want to imagine what the bad cop had in store for him. And now that she knew the roles had been reversed, Pockets could finally get that much needed revenge.

“So buddy,”  She smirked, walking back to him with an ear-to-ear smile, before she stomped on his manly parts, earning a loud groan of pain from the unicorn. Her hoof and smile remained in place, she wasn’t showing it but she was definitely enjoying this, “Mind telling us where that bastard is?”

“P-Pickett, please… gah!” He still would not talk, much to his own dismay and Pockets’ enjoyment. She pressed even harder, her grin widening. This was enough to do the trick. “I DON’T KNOW WHO HE IS!” He half-shouted, half-whined, “I NEVER MET HIM. SOMEONE ELSE PAYED ME!”

“Who. Paid. You!?” Midnight said and smacked his horn with a moderate amount of force.

He began trembling, tears running down his cheek, “Please… this is too much!” 

He was then bucked on the stomach by an extremely annoyed unicorn, “You know what’s worse than this? Being betrayed by someone who you considered a brother. Oh, and don’t worry about your wife, I’ll make sure to tell her everything you did, you bastard. Now answer the motherbucking question.” Midnight placed a hoof on her shoulder. He couldn’t talk if he was unconscious. Pockets nodded and decided to take it easy, taking a deep breath before getting her creepy grin back.

Good Time coughed, trying to recover from the massive blow. “I… Pockets… I’m sorry.”

“Too late for that now, Good Time.” She smiled, “Now do you mind answering the question? You don’t want to make me angry again, do you?”

“No…” He coughed again, “I… he… the Prefect of Tourism… Angel W-wings. He’s the one that came that morning and told me what I had to do. I… the sheer amount of bits he offered me. I’m tired of living in poverty, Pickett…”

“So is half the city, yet we stayed together, didn’t we?” Pockets deadpanned, before turning to Midnight, “I know the guy. He’s part of Grumble’s inner circle, and quite possibly even more annoying and high-headed than the old coot himself. I wouldn’t be surprised if Grumble was too chicken to get involved in these shady agreements himself, of course he would send someone else.”

Midnight frowned. Such a high profile pony would be difficult to squeeze for information without drawing attention. She looked at Times and smiled tersely. “Provided he's telling us the truth. If he's lying…” She drew closer and cupped his cheek. “I'd hate to see something happen to that little filly of yours.”

He remained silent, sobbing quietly as he regretted everything.

“Batty, let’s go.” Pockets sighed. She was mad, real mad. Of all the scumbags of this town, Angel Wings was the most annoying one out there. And the fact that someone so close to her would sell her to him… she was furious.

This is why as soon as the two got out of the room, she pinned Midnight to the wall, forcing herself to turn that hate into love as she kissed Midnight. It did the trick, as after a few seconds she managed to calm down, her heart beat slowing down. “Sorry but…” She whispered as she half-broke the kiss, “I really need to blow some steam right now, some serious steam.”

“I can imagine,” Midnight smiled and kissed her cheek. “Still, hold that thought eh?” She ducked back into the room and after a moment, dragged a sobbing, whimpering Good Times towards the door. Once she reached it, she undid his bonds and slammed him against the wall.

“You will do three things,” she said. “One. You are going home and telling your family what you've done. Second. You will stay in your home and talk to no one! If I hear Grumble and his goons have been tipped off…” She drew a hoof across her neck. “And three. You will keep enough of that money to feed your family. The rest is to be given to the ponies in the slums.” She leaned close and bared her fangs. “Follow these rules to the letter! If you don’t.  I will hunt you down… and I. Will. End you!!”

Good Time didn’t need to be told twice. With a flash of his horn, he teleported out, disappearing from Pockets’ sight who was trying her hardest to not add more to the threats. 

“He stabbed us in the back, but he won't betray his family,” Midnight said and sighed. “Now I'm all tense and crap. I think a certain shortycorn needs to give me hugs.”

Pockets chuckled softly, before tackling Midnight into the requested hug, both mares now on the floor while nuzzling her neck lovingly, “Thanks, Batty… and sorry that you had to see me like that. Guess we ain't that different after all, huh?”

“Nah, your feistiness is pretty hot,” Midnight smiled and nipped at her neck. She suddenly blushed lightly when her stomach rumbled. “Hmm, guess we should see what our little maid has cooked up huh? Though, I wonder if it’ll be as delicious as her~”

“Well, if that’s the case we’re up for one hell of a meal don’t ya think?” She giggled with a playful boop that landed on Midnight’s muzzle, “But ya know… I’m feeling extra-hungry today. Maybe after we’re done eating I’ll get my new favorite, mango-flavored dessert~” She purred as she gripped Midnight’s flank.

And then came the loud growl of Pockets’ own tummy, who blushed of embarrassment as well. 





The meal was quite delicious, though Quick Step hoped her Mistress would come back soon, if only to put a stop to Midnight and Pocket’s endless teasing. And when the moon fully rose above Tall Tale, she sighed of relief as Sphinx elegantly landed on the manor’s recently polished floor, albeit with a half-smile that the maid knew far too well, something was not right. 

“Welcome back, Mistress.” Quick Step said with a reverence, “Do you wish for me to get your food ready?”

“Not yet,” She answered rather coldly, “Where are my guests?”

“They are in the bedroom, Mistress. They just finished ‘eating dessert’, as Miss Pickett called it.” 

Sphinx nodded and walked towards the closed door, knocking a couple of times to catch their attention, “Dearies, I have returned. Mind if I come in?”

The door opened a moment, later, Midnight looking as radiant as ever while Pocket’s was busy trying to straighten her disheveled mane and tail.

“Our illustrious hostess returns,” Midnight smiled and saw the look on her face. “But, you don’t look to happy about something.”

Sphinx tried to give her a comforting smile, which wasn’t comforting at all, “If you two wouldn’t mind, I would like to see you on the living room as soon as possible. There is… business to discuss.” 

Hoo boy, this didn’t sound good. Midnight trotted over to the bed and put Pockets on her back. “Let’s go find out how much Minotaur shit we’re in lovey.”

As the duo arrived to the room, they saw Sphinx whispering something on Quick Step’s ear. Noticing the arrival of the two mares, she waved her off and gave them a more natural-looking smile, “Glad to see you’ve been putting my home to good use. I hope my maid hasn’t given you much trouble, she tends to be a little stubborn and cold-minded with strangers, although knowing the type of ponies you are, she has probably warmed up to you by now.” She extended her wing to show a faux leather sofa placed right in front of the one she was currently sitting in, obviously inviting them to take a seat.

“Ohh, I’d say she’s more than warmed up,’ Midnight said with a wink at the maid, causing her to blush slightly and cough into her hoof.

Sphinx chuckled softly, before letting out a long sigh, “Dears… I have terrible news. Turns out the mayor has far grimmer plans that what I anticipated. How should I explain... “ 

Quick Step took her leave while Sphinx considered what to say, before returning with three warm cups of tea, “This should help, Mistress.” She smiled as Sphinx took one of the cups with a nod, Pockets and Midnight taking one as well.

“Thanks dear… now. Miss Song, as a royal guard I would believe you have faced several criminals over the years, am I correct?” She asked before taking a sip of her tea.

“Of course,” Midnight nodded as she sipped her own tea. She was more of a coffee pony really, but the tea was pretty damned good. “And what could be worse than having Dead Drop and Angel Wings plotting our demise?”

“Having half of Equestria’s criminal scums doing the same thing.” She answered coldly, her gaze lowering and her eyes closed, taking a deep breath before finally starting the much needed explanation, “My dears, I am afraid that the ‘Cleansing’ is nothing but the second step of a much larger, and much dangerous plan. Last night I infiltrated Grumble’s home, trying to find more information about what he planned to do once the homes of the poor were demolished. Turns out our money-loving friend already sold these terrains to ponies all over Equestria. At first my plan was to take the list of names and run a search on every individual, this is why I had to travel to Las Pegasus in order to meet with my superiors. And this is when I found out…

Those names were fakes, cover-ups for the real buyers. Every single one of them were wanted criminals that have been escaping the law since who knows when, with crimes ranging from extortion to even mass murder. Turns out, Dead Drop is just the first of many wanted criminals who will make of this place their home, protected from Celestia’s eye by the local government itself. If those ponies get here... “

“They will be free to do whatever they want, without worrying about the consequences…” Pockets said in shock, not wanting to believe any of this.

“You cannot be serious,” Midnight gasped at that thought. “I mean, how can some no-name mayor organise something like this? How do the Princesses not see this?” Midnight really wished she’d known this a few hours ago.

“The only thing Celestia knows about Tall Tale is what the documents Grumble writes tell her. And with the sheer amount of contacts he has, he can convince the Princesses that any ‘rumor’ that may be flying around is just that, a ‘rumor’.” Sphinx groaned, “Miss Song, you sent a message to Canterlot, am I right?”

“Hooowwwww did you know that?” Midnight said and eyed the griffon. She wasn’t even in the city. 

Sphinx didn’t answer. But the fact that Quick Step was looking rather uncomfortable told her everything. 
        
“Well then?” Sphinx quirked an eyebrow, “I need to know what exactly you wrote in that letter.”

“Okay, one…” She looked at Quick Step and gave her a fanged grin. “I’m going to punish you for snitching like that. I was gonna tell her anyway. And two, I requested some help from a friend of mine. Things are getting dangerous here so I’ll need a few items from home. I figured that Bumble might have magical tracking so I made it rather vague.” 

Sphinx smiled and nodded, “Good. And I suppose you took measures to hide these items from the Postal Office? We don’t want your items to fall in the wrong hooves, now do we?”

“I don’t know how she’s going to get them to me,” Midnight shrugged. “But she’s sneaky and i said that the city was… guarded. She’ll think of something.”

“A sneaky she?” Pockets asked herself with a quirked eyebrow. Not much for the ‘she’ part but for the ‘sneaky’ part. “Who the heck might that be? Eh… probably no one important.”

“And how confident are you that she won’t have any problems? Grumble has eyes everywhere, you know?” Sphinx asked before taking another sip of her tea.

“She can take care of herself is worse comes to worse. But I doubt anypony’s gonna bother an astronomer. That little nerd wouldn’t harm a fly.” Well… not right away anyway.

“See? It’s an astronomer! Nothing to worry about.” Pockets chuckled inwardly, yet she couldn’t help but think the worse of it, “Well Sphinx seemed like just another snobby noble a few weeks ago and now it turns out she’s a spy… who’s to say that ‘nerd’ isn’t some crazy-ass ninja or something!”

“In any case, I will keep an eye out for this astronomer of yours. Now… There’s something else I need you to take care of on the meanwhile. Something I am afraid I can’t take care of myself, like usual..” She grunted, seeming rather annoyed by her own ‘incompetence’.

“Hey, this sounds big, so it’s okay to ask for help,” Midnight said, blatantly forgetting that she’d told Pockets only this morning that she’d handle this alone. “So, what do you need help with Sexy Sphinx?”

“What if she doesn’t need my help anymore!?” A loud gasp left Pockets’ mouth, which she quickly covered as everyone else in the room looked at her in confusion. 

“Well..” Sphinx slowly turned back to Midnight, “Turns out that the final negotiations haven’t taken place yet. The criminals interested in buying lands here have sent representatives to sign the papers in a small reunion that will take place tomorrow morning on Grumble’s mansion in midtown. I am going to be there but only as a guests I’m afraid, yet… something tells me that with a big enough ruckus, we can at least prolong the negotiations. Think you can do that?” 

“A ruckus?” Midnight’s smile was… unsettling. “You want me to create a distraction?”

“No…” Sphinx’s own smile was equally as disturbing, “I want you to create a mess.”

“A mess huh?” Midnight had a lot of ideas on how to do that. “Any requests?”

“Only one,” Sphinx nodded, “Make it something I will never forget.”

Midnight’s laugh could be considered outright villainous…

“See?” Sphinx chuckled as she looked at Quick Step, “I told you she was perfect for the job!”

“I’ll… go clean something up.” Quick Step sighed, she was even worse than her Mistress.

Meanwhile Pockets was still trapped in her world full of worries and ridiculous scenarios. “I need to step up my game! I gotta show her that I’m as good as a ninja-astronomer from the future!” How had she arrived to the conclusion that the mare was from the future, nobody would ever know.

Quick Step found her tail snagged by Midnight again. “Apapap, I said I’d punish you remember~ And I bet Sphinx here has a few ideas on how I’d do that~”

“Oh no, please don’t…” Quick Step lowered her ears in fear… and slight excitement.

“Well… it has been a while since I’ve had some fun with my little maid…” Sphinx purred as she got closer to the duo, “And today has been a rather stressful day.”

“This is not good, not good at all…” She tried to break free, albeit she didn’t try hard at all.

“Ooh, the pretty birdy want’s to play too?” Midnight hummed and looked at Pockets, who seemed a little out of it. She walked over to the unicorn and stared into her eyes, and after not getting a response, she did her thing. 

She took one of the mare’s ears and stuck her tongue inside of it, flickering it like a snake’s.

“EEP! I SWEAR I DIDN’T EAT THE-” Pockets blinked as her mind came back to reality. Her eyes spotted Sphinx getting a bit more friendly than usual with a blushing Quick Step, oh and there was the fact that she her ear had just been licked, “Uh… what’s going on?” She whispered to Midnight, “And why the heck did you do that?”

“Cause you looked like you were vacationing on the moon,” Midnight replied and booped her nose. “What’s up Little Thief? You tired?”

“No! No, no no.” She half-chuckled, “I’m just… thinking ‘bout silly stuff. That’s all. But for real what’s going on in here, and why are those two… holy heck that looks hot….” And that fully brought her back to the real world.

“Yeaahh, turns out that there’s a reason our Lil’ Maid calls her ‘Mistress’,” Midnight chuckled and rubbed Pocket’s shoulders. “You sure you’re okay? Cause, I think they wanna play. But if you’re tired or not feeling well…” Give on who they had to interrogate and the emotions the little unicorn went through, Midnight hardly blamed her for being spaced out.

Pockets took a few seconds to think, before smiling and pecking Midnight’s cheek, “Yeah, don’t worry.” She lied, “I’m okay. ‘Sides, I know you’ve been dying to see that spy in action since a while now, and I’m not talking about her butt-kicking abilities. So yeah, let’s have some fun.”

“You are the most delicious mare,” Midnight smiled and kissed her on the lips. “You know, I think you’re right about something you said before.”

 Pockets quirked an eyebrow, humming from the contact, “Oh yeah, about what?”

“About the fact that I might be falling for you,” she whispered and nibbled her ear before trotting after Quick and Sphinx.

A warm feeling took over Pockets’ cheeks and heart, a smile slowly crawling up her muzzle. She decided that she could worry about other sneaky mares later, this night, she would only focus on one mare… or well, three. Things sure seemed to get far sexier than usual around the batmare, not like Pockets cared. Letting out a soft giggle, she stood up and followed the other two mares and one griffon into the bedroom, worries no longer in her head.





“Open the door.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to knoc-” 

“Open. The. Door.” 

.The hooded stallion nodded, and signaled his partner to follow his lead. Turning around, they both raised their hind legs before bucking with all their might, the wearhouse’s doors slammed open and calling the attention of all the ponies inside who immediately grabbed their weapons. 

Yet this didn’t stop the white pegasus from walking inside with an expression of sheer annoyance on his face.

“Well if it ain’t good ol’-”

“Shush your filthy mouth, you animal!” The pegasus shouted.

“Woah there pardner, ya gonna hurt mah feelings.” Drop Dead chuckled, “What can I do for ya?”

“Well for starts!” The Pegasus stomped on the ground, “You could tell me why on Celestia’s bloody sake the guard is still breathing!” 

“Ya gave me three days, pardner. Take it easy. I told you I’d kill her, and that’s what I’m gonna do.” Dead sighed, turning on a cigar which he waved around, “Ya snobs are impatient, aren’t ya?”

“The terms have changed, ‘pardner’.” He growled, “We need her dead NOW. We have an important meeting tom-”

“Tomorrow that needs protection. Ah know, ah know. Don’t worry.” He huffed.

The pegasus couldn’t believe this stallion, “Don’t worry? This reunion could change everything dammit!” 

“And that’s exactly why I’m expecting mah target to make a grand appearance that day.” Dead nodded, “We can get ‘er where we want ‘er. And if that fails, we have an… insurance, if ya will. Either way she’s goin’ down tomorrow.” 

“So you’re going to use the bucking reunion as a trap!? I can’t believe this… you are insan-” Once again, he was interrupted. Yet this time it wasn’t Dead who interrupted him, but his crossbow that was now charged and aiming for the white pegasus’ head. 

“Now listen here, boy. Ya hired me to get that mare killed, didn’t ya? I’ve been on this darn business for twenty years now, ah know what I’m doin’. So you either let me do mah job, or I’ll cut our contract short. Understood?”

“Tsch…” The pegasus trembled, “Fine! But I don’t know how you’re going to catch her. Your thugs already screwed the chance I gave them! Do you know how much hiring that stallion costed me? They were drugged! They couldn’t fight back and yet oh what a surprise, your thugs were attacked by a mysterious shadow that took them away.”

“We all make mistakes.” Dead shrugged. He took out a small photograph from a bag he kept Is...around, and tossed it at the pegasus, “ An’ this is how I’ll get ‘er.”

Angel Wings lifted the picture and chuckled, “Now you’re speaking nonsense. How on earth will the Midnight Thief get you to that mare? They are working together for crying out loud!”

“Ah can’t believe you haven’t heard th’ rumors of your own town, Mister Prefect of Tourism. Apparently those two are doing more than just workin’ together. I got pending businesses with both those mares, so why not take down two birds with one crossbow bolt? Midnight Song ain’t gonna go down without a fight, but the thief… she ain’t no fighter. She’s a street rascal who believes herself a hero! A murderer who can’t harm no fly! She’s as ridiculous as a two-legged horse on a rodeo!” He laughed, and so did almost every pony else in the room, “We take the unicorn, and the bat will come right into mah hooves.”

“Do what you must then.” Angel Wings sighed, “But if you screw this up, forget about our deal.”

Dead sighed before placing the cigar in his mouth. Some ponies sure didn’t appreciate the art of killing, “Sure thing pardner, sure thing.”





The train hissed loudly as it pulled into Tall Tale station. There were only a few passengers, one being a blue mare with a silver mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a connstellation. 

“So… this is where she’s hiding,” the mare mused to herself. “Alright Miss Moonlight Sonata, what kind of trouble hast thou gotten into this time?”

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



As morning came and the sun rose above Tall Tale, showering the small beach town with Celestia’s embrace, a soft groan left the muzzle of a certain unicorn. 
 
For once, Pockets had woken up early.  

She rubbed her eyes to get rid of all the blurriness, extending her forelegs to get rid of all the sleepiness, she looked to her left to find the rather amusing sight of both Sphinx and Midnight on top of each other, snoring quietly in deep slumber. Carefully removing the thestral’s hooves from her chest, she got off the bed and stretched her back, a satisfying crack sound joining her joyful sigh. “That was one hell of a night.” She said to herself, before deciding it was a good time to check the kitchen. There was no sight of Quick Step on the bed so she was most likely getting their breakfast ready.

“Good morning Quickie…” She yawned, giving her eyes one last rub before smiling at the two mares that were sitting on the dining table.
 
Wait what… two mares?

Along with Quick Step, another mare sat at the table. A blue-coated unicorn with a silver mane and tail. She sat there eating breakfast like she owned the place and Quick Step didn’t seem to mind either.

“Uhm… hello there?” Pockets quirked an eyebrow while slowly walking closer to the table, “Quick… is this your friend or?”

“I am Starry Skies,” the mare responded without looking up before Quick could. “Hello Miss Pickett Midnight.”

“Uh… hello.” This was really freaky, “How do you know my name again? And mind telling me what the heck you’re doing here?”

“Ah, forgive me, I thought you knew.” She looked up and her eyes made Pocket’s heart skip a beat. They were the most beautiful teal eyes she had ever seen. “My name is Starry Skies, and I believe you are well acquainted with a friend of mine? A certain thestral?”

“I- Ah… uhm…” Pockets couldn’t believe it. THIS was the nerdy astronomer? She was a freaking goddess when it came down to looks! Every single worry she had last night came back tenfolded, “You… you must be the astronomer. Yeah she did mention you.” Suddenly, a strange sensation began taking over her heart, something that seemed like a bad mixture of anger and worry. She narrowed her eyes and slowly walked towards the unicorn, “Well… good to meet you! To be honest, Midnight hasn’t really talked about you much. She didn’t really say your name last night, heck, she only referred to you as a ‘nerd’. So sorry if I don’t know much about you.”

“A nerd?” Starry’s eye twitched for a moment before she regained her composure. “Well, perhaps a little. But yes, I am the Royal Astronomer, Starry Skies.” At the completion of her introduction, the unicorn found a bat wrapped around her, giggling happily.

“Heyy, you made it,” she smiled and kissed her cheek. “Sup Starbutt?”

Pockets felt her heart stop, a burning sensation climbing up to her cheeks while she tried her best to not roar and jump at the unicorn to fight for Midnight. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was jealous, oh boy she was so jealous. Grunting under her breath she angrily walked towards Quick Step, her eyes fixed on Starry Skies, “Freakin… royal astronomer my flank.”

“Someone sounds jelly.” Quick giggled as she served Pockets some milk and cereal.

“What!? Nah! Me, jealous? Pff…” She tried to play it cool, yet the anger that was building inside her made that an impossible task, “Why would I be jealous? We freaking shared the bed last night, I’m not the jealous kind of gal.”

“That’s true,” Quick half-nodded with a small blush, “But you know this is different. Who knows how long they’ve known each other.”

Pockets snorted, “Please. You’re just talking nonsense.” Yet those words began bouncing all over her head. She was right, Pockets had just met Midnight a few days ago. Who knew how long she and Starry Skies had known each other? “Just give me my cereal.”

Quick quirked an eyebrow and pointed at the already served dish, “Get your head in the game, Miss Pickett, or else you will get an actual reason to get worried.”

Pockets lowered her gaze with a quiet groan, her ears perked up to try and hear the conversation between the two mares.

“You brought them!?’ Midnight exclaimed happily. “Oooh, I could just kiss you~”

“Like that’s stopped you in the past,” Starry sighed. 

*CLASH*

Both mares immediately turned to the origin of the sound to find a tomato-red Pockets with… was that smoke coming out of her ears? Below her, the remainings of a broken plate together with milk and cereal caused Quick Step to sigh, the mop already on her hooves. 

“S-sorry… still a bit sleepy. Silly me!” Pockets giggled, before cursing herself and Starry Skies under her breath. But mainly Starry Skies.

“Uh… okay?” Midnight raised an eyebrow. “Well, we did have a lot of fun last night. Who knew Quickie looked so cute in that collar? Such an adorable little pet~”

Quick Step fake-coughed loudly, a vibrant blush on her face, “I am afraid you must have been dreaming. Because that definitely did not happen.” She growled with a deathstare directed right at Midnight while she kept mopping the floor.

“You haven’t changed a bit,” Starry sighed and put her hoof to her forehead. She looked up at Pockets and smiled. “Well, aside from a name, I don’t know much about you. What do you do for a living dear?”

“I steal from snobby rich ponies who I hate with a burning passion so I can give that money to those who really need it.” She smiled innocently, “Oh, and as of late I’ve dedicated myself to repeatedly bucking a pretty thestral mare.”

The sound of Quick’s facehoof was far too loud.

Midnight’s followed suit as Starry stared at her, before turning to Midnight.

“Moonlight, you make the strangest friends. Have I told you this?”

“Moonlight!?” Pockets gasped inwardly. “Is that some sort of pet name or something? Oh buck me, and here I am calling her the most creative nickname ever, ‘batty’, geez good job with that creativity Pickett.” It then hit her. A faint memory came back to her. The locket… it had the picture of an unicorn that most definitely looked nerdy…  one would normally just try to think harder and realize that the two unicorns looked like completely different ponies. But Pockets wasn’t being the most rational of ponies at that moment. “Oh my freaking gosh! Of course they have something going on. I… I…” She couldn’t help it, the rage inside her mind was too much, she just had to do it, “GAH!” She stomped the ground. Looking at everyone’s faces, she realized she was probably looking like a complete idiot right now, not like she cared. “I… I need some air.” And with a flash of her horn, she was gone.

Midnight blinked in confusion as Quick facehooved again. That mare was as transparent as the windows she cleaned.





“GAH!” 

Pockets ran throughout the city as fast as she could, not caring for the ponies that greeted her, or the tourists she crashed into. She just wanted to run, she just wanted to hide from that mansion, from Midnight and Starry Skies, from herself and overall, from her own emotions. She even failed to notice the trail of tears coming from her eyes, she didn’t care, she just wanted to run away towards the only pony that would hopefully never leave her side.

“Ayyy, Po- WOAH!” 

Pockets wanted to say sorry to the Chivarly member who she had just shoved away, yet the storm of emotions inside her didn’t allow it. She just wanted to get to Urban Spirit and fast.

“Child?” The stallion narrowed his eyes as soon as he saw her coming closer and closer, “What’s goin’ o- WOAH!”

Soon, he saw himself on the ground, hug-tackled by a sobbing unicorn. After realizing something was terribly wrong, he hugged her back and petted her mane, shushing her sobs lovingly and waiting for her to calm down, at least enough to have a talk.

When she did, he lifted her head and gave her an extremely concerned look, a look Pockets understood all too well. She nodded, and he nodded back, before telling everyone to clear the area and go home for the meantime, they needed the park for themselves. 

Urban tried standing up, yet he was stopped by Pockets who would rather just lay on his torso. He sighed and lay down next to her, petting her head as she cuddled closer to him. 

“Papa Spirit… you were right.” Pockets sighed, closing her eyes as she tried her best to not break into tears again.

“About what, ma child?”

Pockets took a few minutes to answer, finally coming to terms with reality, “Remember the thestral I told you about? I… I think I’m actually in love with her.”

Spirit remained silent. He knew this would happen sooner or later. “Listen, child… when I said that I didn’t want you hangin’ with that mare… I was just bustin’ random nonsense crap. I didn’t really mean it. I’m hella sure there are good ponies up dere in Canterlot.”

“Well that’s just it, Papa Spirit… she may be too good for me.” She grumbled softly.

“Oh hell naw!” Spirit grabbed her muzzle and locked eyes with her, “Now listen to me, child! You are on hell of a mare, y’hear? N’ any lady would be lucky to have you.”

“Oh just stop, will you!?” She shook her head away, “I’m a street thief, she’s a royal guard. I have the looks of an angsty teen, she has the most amazing body ever… and then there’s her friend.”

“Oh boy…” This was not looking good, and  Urban knew that.

“That friend of hers looks refined, smart, and just stunning… and the two just looked so friendly, too friendly.” She said bitterly, looking away, “Meanwhile I’m just an emotional street thief who doesn’t know shit about the world, and thinks she‘s far more than what she really is.” As tears fell down from her cheek to the ground, the two noticed a soft glow coming from the ground watered by her tears, a white aura surrounding the damp spots,. Picket groaned and kicked the dirt, the glow disappearing in an instant, “And then there’s that. A freak with weird magic nobody understands.”

“Hey now, calm down. There’s nothin wrong with yo magic, you are just different that’s all. And I dunno how many bucking times I gotta tell you this, but you’re more than what you give yourself credit fo’, you really need to start getin’ that through that damn thick as buck skull.” The stallion looked at her with sympathy, before chuckling, “Hey, did I ever tell ya the story of how I met Mama Spirit?”

Pockets chuckled, something had told her he’d bring that up, “Yes Papa Spirit, you have told me like a bajillion times already.”

“Thirty eight years ago,” Both he and Pockets said in unison, the unicorn doing so more to taunt him than anything. He looked at her with a quirked eyebrow, she looked back at him with her tongue out, causing him to chuckle, “Okay I get it, I get it, you know the story all too damn well. But you don’t know the prequel now do ya?”

“The… prequel?” The unicorn quirked an eyebrow, “What are you talking about?”

Urban Spirit chuckled, giving the unicorn a noogie, “I’ll tell ya in a motherbucking minute, just wait my little thief.” He hummed as he recalled the story, deciding on where to start, “Imma make it short for ya. Conquering Mama Spirit’s heart was not as easy as you may think y’see. I wasn’t da only fisherpony in the pond trying to catch that lady’s heart. There was this unicorn, Fine Perfume, one of the snobbiest most annoying motherbuckers in Manehattan. And as you know, Mamma Spirit, or Clean Jewel as she was known back then, she was also a fancy snobbie Pegasus just like him. Her motherbucking father loved that bastard, and hated me for being nothing but a street gangsta. I had everything against me, her family, her friends, her social status, everything my little thief, everything. But guess what I did and I didn’t do?”

“What?” Pockets asked softly, actually interested in the story.

“I kept trying, and never gave up.” He responded, raising her head so their eyes would be connected, “Ma child if you really like this mare then just keep tryi’, never give up. And if she’s the right one, then she will notice and no matter what surrounds her, no matter if bucking Princess Celestia is also flirting with her, she will choose you over anyone else, ya hear me? You are a motherbucking special pony, a dedicated, caring, and loyal friend, I can only imagine how good of a marefriend and even wife you’d be. So don’t give up ya small motherbucking gangsta, keep your ass in that fight and win!” He grinned at her.

Pickett was silent for a few seconds, before smiling softly, shaking her head before hugging him tightly, “You old coot, you always know what to say.”

“I’ve taken care of you since ya were a filly ma lil’ pony. I know how to deal with your weird-ass lady problems.” He smirked, hugging her back.

“You’re the best dad I could have ever wished for.” Pockets whispered to him.

“And you’re the best child I’ve ever had Pockets.” Urban replied, closing his eyes as he kept the unicorn close, the scene reminding him so much of years passed when she was nothing but a filly.

“You know…” Pockets raised her head, clearing the tears, “I wish I could have known Mamma Spirit, she sounds like an awesome pony.”

“Oh she was ma child, she was the bomb, a stunning free-spirited mare who inspired me to be who I am today.” Spirit nodded, “And you know, if she was still kickin’, I’m sure she would have loved to meet ya.”

“Oh but ain’t this a heart warming scene.” 

Urban opened his eyes and looked back, only to be bucked away in the nose by an orange Pegasus.

“Urban!” Pockets called out, trying to rush towards him yet failing as a magical grasp kept her in place, an unicorn chuckling coldly as he revealed himself from the shadows. Yet it wasn’t like if Pockets hadn’t been in similar situations before. With a flash of magic she was gone from the grasp, standing between the attackers and Spirit. She looked up and noticed the earth pony who was commanding the other two, smirking as she remembered that face all too well, “Ha! Really now Drop? I thought that by now you’d learned that amateurs can’t handle me. Maybe I gotta steal from you again and teach you another lesson huh?”

The stallion chuckled as the two grunts stepped in front of him, “Ah lil’ brat I would say it’s a pleasure meeting yam again’, but ah’d be lyin’ and mah momma told me that lies are bad.”

“Well what a nice lady.” The unicorn huffed, her horn glowing as she took aim, “Get out of here or I’ll take you down before you can say ‘ouch’.”

“Ouch.” Dead Drop smirked. And before Pockets could shoot, she saw her world go black, a net covering her and sending powerful shocks of electricity that sent her to her knees, striking every nerve in her body with agonizing pain.

“Pockets!” Urban called out, running to help her yet being stopped by another buck on the side this time, which he took with a heavy grunt.

“Listen here ya stupid gangster, if ya want yer lil’ brat back, bring th’ thestral, ya know who I’m talkin bout don’t ya? Yes you do.” Dead explained as he raised his crossbow, pointing at Pockets, “If I don’t see a thestral in yer hooves by tonight, Imma kill this brat with a simple bolt through her skull, y’hear?”

“Let her go you motherbucking fucker!” Urban growled.

“Hey there pardner, watch yer language. Just grab the mare for me and you’ll get the unicorn. Easy as pie.” Dead smirked, tossing a small sphere which blew up and released a thick cloud of black smoke, filling the area with it. Once it died, Urban looked around and coughed, growling as he realized the mercenary was gone from sight.

“I’m sorry Pockets, but I guess there’s no other choice…” Urban sighed as he collected his thoughts, before shouting in anger at his own foolishness, “Stupid motherbucking old idiot! Why the fuck did you not keep guard! Now she’s bucking gone and I-” He kept going for several minutes, anybody who lived in the nearby area covering the small fillies’ ears and just waiting for the storm of curses and anger to be over.





“Miss Song, are you ready?” Sphinx asked as she got out of her room, a gorgeous floral dress adorning her body, “The reunion will start soon enough. You can be a bit late if you need to, but the sooner we crash this party, the better.”

“Sounds good,” Midnight said and looked around. “Hey Sphinxy? Have you seen Pockets anywhere? She left over an hour ago, but I haven’t seen her.’

“Hm? I thought she was with you and our new guest.” Sphinx quirked an eyebrow while she took a good look at herself in the mirror, making sure she was looking as classy as always. “Didn’t she tell you where she went?”

“No, she teleported away at breakfast and I haven’t seen her since,’ Midnight said, now starting to sound a little worried.

“Well that’s weird... Did anything happen?” The griffon asked, a slight tone of concern growing up in her voice.

“No, nothing,” Midnight said. “I was teasing Quickie cause she was so cute in that collar and that sexy lingerie. Then, Pockets got all huffy and ‘ported off.”

“She did look pretty cute, didn’t she?” Sphinx giggled.

“Can we stop speaking about last night?” A now red Quick huffed, “And she left because she’s a jealous doofus. She was feeling threatened by the presence of Miss Skies’ superior looks. Oh, and the fact that you two know each other for far more time than you know her.” 

Sphinx blinked, “Huh… I did not take her for the jealous type. But it does make sense she would see Miss Skies as a threat. Even I feel inferior next to her when it comes to looks.”

“You do?” Quick asked in disbelief. Her mistress always seemed so confident about her looks.

“Well… not precisely.” Sphinx shrugged, earning a roll from Quick's eyes, “But if I was a pony, I would most likely be. And Miss Song’s flirty personality probably did not help Miss Pickett’s nerves.”

“Pocky’s… jealous?” Midnight tilted her head. “But, Starry’s just a friend and she's using a glamour spell to change her appearance. I asked her to disguise herself before coming here.”

“So that’s what’s been messing with the security system!” Quick groaned, “What sort of magic are you even using? The whole house has been going nuts since you came here! To be honest I wasn’t sure of whether to ask or stab you. So thanks for not mentioning it before.”

“Forgive her, aside from her multiple tasks, she’s also in charge of security.” Sphinx eyed Quick with a look of disapproval, who just huffed and went back to cleaning, “It doesn’t matter who you really are, what matters now is finding Miss Pickett’s whereabouts, or else I’m afraid you’ll have to do this without her.” 

“Nu-uh, she’s the reason I got into this,” Midnight said and shook her head. “I’m gonna go find her and make a scene while I’m at it!”

“Wait!” Quick shouted, her ears… twitching? “Oh come on! I can’t… it looks like something is coming, but Miss Skies here is seriously messing with the spell. Freaking…”

Sphinx narrowed her eyes. “Whatever it is, I’m not taking any chances. You two, hide, now!” She pointed at Midnight and Starry Skies. They nodded and headed up to the bedroom, Midnight had to change anyhow, and her hearing would let her in on whatever was going on anyway. Within moments, the two mares had vanished.

“Quick, ready.” Sphinx signaled her, and in the blink of an eye the mare was gone, hidden from sight.

Then came a loud banging from the main door. 

“Open up you filthy motherbucker!” 

That voice, “Oh gods…” She groaned as she walked towards the door, she had no time to deal with protesters. “Not now you fi-” But much to her surprise, she was forced to back-flip and hid behind her sofa to protect herself from the incoming projectile, a sharp metal tube flying across the room and landing on a wall.

“Where… IS SHE!?”

Urban Spirit was not happy. 

“Dear I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Sphinx said with her usual calm demeanor, yet she was already planning a dozen ways to take down the earth pony.

“The bat… THE MOTHERBUCKING BAT. I KNOW SHE’S HERE!” He shouted, one of his fellow gang members giving him another metallic pole which he prepared to toss as soon as the griffon showed herself.

“Dear, I am afraid to tell you that there is no ‘bat’ in here. Have you tried the caves east from here?” 

With amazing reflexes, she rolled towards yet another chair just before the metallic pole impaled the one she was previously hiding on.

“Very bucking funny, Sphinx. But I ain’t resting until I get ma hooves on that bucking bat.” He groaned at the attempt at humor, slowly walking into the house with his eyes wide open, searching for the winged creature.

Sphinx already had seen several ways in which she could have ended this, yet this whole deal was striking her as odd. It was a known fact that Urban Spirit and Pockets were extremely close, and yet he was hunting for Midnight… she needed to get to the bottom of this, “Ok then, I’ll play your game dear. Let’s pretend she’s here, why on Equestria would you need her for? Did you get in some trouble with the royal guard again?”

Spirit jumped over the sofa and prepared to jab… yet the griffon was long gone. “Why do you bucking care, motherbucker? You ain’t never cared about anyone but yo senile flank!”

“Well ain’t you a rude stallion?” Sphinx giggled from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. “Maybe if you tell me, I won’t hurt you too bad.”

“Like hell you can put one of yo’ filthy claws on me.” He growled, before tossing yet another pole at the chandelier on the roof, which of course had no longer a griffon hidden in it. “I ain’t got all day! Show yo’self and fight like a mare!”

He really wished he hadn’t said that. His entire world was turned around, literally, as from the roof Sphinx slammed into him, swiftly immobilizing him with what seemed to be some sort of martial arts-related lock. 

“D-dammit! Chivalry, attack!”

“What Chivalry, dear?” Sphinx chuckled as she pointed at the door. An unamused Quick kept guard over a pile of tied up, almost-unconscious gang members. 

“Y-you… you motherbucker!” He hissed while at the same time trembling, “Let dem go, now! They acted under ma command, put me on lockdown fo’ they crimes!” Yet as much as he tried, he knew that no matter how rude or menacing he acted, it would be of no use. His gaze saddened, worried of what may happen to his children, ”Please, I beg of you, let dem go!”

“Only if you tell me what you need the thestral for.” Sphinx grinned as she ran a claw over his cheek, “And don’t worry,  I keep my promises.”

“I…” He didn’t know what to do. Trusting her was such a risky move, nopony could assure him she’d follow on her word. Yet all things considered, he had no better option, there was no denying. For Pockets, he’d risk it, “Pickett… she’s… she’s been gotten. They told me that if I brought the thestral to them, they’d give her back to me.”

And that was when a blur of brown and blonde tackled him to the floor, a very pissed off Midnight standing over him. 

“WHERE. IS. SHE?!?”

“I… I don’t know… the motherbucker who got her has dis straight up thick Appaloosa accent!  That’s literally the only thing I know of him. I wasn’t even shizzle how he would come fo’ you!” The fear on his face turned into sadness and regret, his foolishness had gotten him and his gang in such a mess with whoever these mares were, “I… please don’t hurt them, I just wanted ma child to come back home. Pickett, she’s like a daughtah to me, I just wanna bring her back home!”

“Appaloosa accent…” Sphinx growled, “Drop Dead!”

“I will save Pockets,” Midnight said and stood up. Sphinx noticed she was clad in a full set of guard armour, the gold gleamed in the sunlight, as did the pair of razor-sharp wingblades sheathed on her sides. “And I will see to it that Dead Drop is brought to justice.”

Sphinx shook her head no, what was going on was far too obvious, “We need to focus on the meeting. This is all part of his plan. He knows that if he has Pockets, you’ll go for him and ignore Grumble.”

“Tch!” Midnight snorted, her previous plan had already been shot to hell. Then she looked at the stallion and smiled. “I have an idea!”

“To save ma child?” Spirit’s face brightened, “Fo’ shizzle?”

“Yup, because you see, I’ve just realised you have a lot of kids. And I bet they’re all used to doing things outside the law,” Midnight smiled and looked him over. “So, you’re gonna cause one motherbucker of a scene at this little party. Go nuts, do whatever you like. As long as it’s big, flashy and un-motherbucking-forgettable~”

“I see…” Sphinx hummed with a smile, “Now this might actually work. But… Miss Midnight, dear, you do realize that you can’t possibly face Drop Dead, right?”

“I can and I will,” Midnight nodded. “Gotta go and rescue my princess after all. And give her all kinds of hell for being kidnapped in the first place.”

“No, no, no. You don’t understand.” She turned to Quick and nodded, a nod that the maid understood all too well, “You can’t possibly face Drop Dead by your own. That is why I’m coming with you. Screw my mission, I’ll risk everything to stop that bloody bastard once and for all.” 

“Are you sure?” Midnight asked her. “It might blow your cover, and we’ll lose our only insidemare with Grumblebutt.”

“Eh, I was getting rather tired of his company anyways.” She smiled, extending her hoof to Urban to help him get up, “Now go, we’ll rescue Pickett. The reunion is at Grumble’s house. Ruin that reunion and I promise that you and your children will see your criminal records as clean as my floors before you rushed in here.” 

Urban took a few seconds to think on that. Pockets was in danger, and they wanted him to just go somewhere else entirely and ignore that little detail? “No.” He said firmly.

“Dear, please don’t make this more complicated than it already is. I just need you to go to Grum-”

“Ma children are good enough to take care of dat shiz. I’ll tell dem where to go and what to do, but after dat, I’m going with you.” He stood up and with a determined look, he nodded, “I’ll help you find Pickett. Whoever this motherbucker Drop Dead is, I can find him.”

“I’m not sure about it… I’m not the type to bring civilians into danger.” Sphinx sighed, “What do you think, Midnight dear?”

“Well, i suppose we could use a meat shield,” Midnight chuckled and waved a hoof when she saw the looks on their faces. “I’m kidding. No, it’s a good idea. I’m sure this charming gentlestallion knows the town better than either of us. We need to find Pockets as quickly as possible and Mr. Spirit here is our best bet.”

“Yo bet your bat-ass I am!” He nodded, before turning to the door, “Chivalry of da Broken! Get yo motherbucking flanks ready cus we’re going with da Blastin’ Smashin’ strategy! You bring da party to Grumble and I’ll meet ya there.”

A groan of confirmation from the still injured ponies was all he needed, as Quick untied them in the blink of an eye. They slowly stood up and made their ways towards the suburbs to warn the others, having no idea of what was going on at all.

Sphinx closed the door and smiled, “Well then.  Quick Step is getting my equipment ready. That leaves us just you, me, and your dear friend.” She looked at the door which slowly opened to reveal Starry Skies’ figure, “Come on out, Starry my dear…if that even is your real name.”  

“It is,” she replied as she walked out. “But, as from what I’ve seen you can’t be too careful in this town and I am close to the princesses. That leaves me in a vulnerable position should somepony find out, wouldn’t it?”

“Of course not. That is why I’m asking you to stay here, if it isn’t much problem of course.” Sphinx smiled softly. Yet inside, she couldn’t help but wonder who this mare really was. An enigma she would solve later, “Quick, my suit?”

“Ready Mistress.” The vanilla pegasus replied, “But… are you sure about this? Won’t your superiors be mad that you’re abandoning your position?”

“Yes, they will.” She sighed, before smiling, “Now be a good mare and stay here with our new guest. Make her feel at home. And don’t worry, Miss Skies, my maid is the best at what she does, she should make you feel like royalty.”

“Is that so?” Starry said and then smirked. “I’ve always wanted a pet~”

Quick Step just gave up. This was her life now, and even though a good part of her hated it… another part was going crazy over all of this. She really hated that second part of her. Oh, and there was also the fact that she had to clean the huge mess Urban had caused.

“Oh yeah, why don’t you accept the freaking job as the maid of a bucking spy! Yeah that’ll be fun.” She grumbled as she went to get the broom. Starry giggled at her antics and her horn flared. When Quick would come back to a perfectly clean room, the look on her face would be priceless.





Pockets couldn’t believe it. She had screwed up, and bad. 

She simply lay on the small cage they had placed her in, hanging from the ceiling for everyone to see and laugh at. There lay the legend, the uncatchable thief, the hero of Tall Tale.

“Who am I kidding…” She sighed, “I ain’t no hero. I’m just a street thief. And now, everything’s probably ruined… because of me.” 

“Damn right ya are.”

Pockets’ ear perked when she heard Drop Dead calmly walk towards his cardboard throne of boxes, a cigar in his mouth and a brand new hat on his head. He sat down and looked at the cage with a victorious grin, chuckling in amusement at the thief’s such miserable position, “Look atcha, Pockets. Such wasted talent. Ya could be up here in th’ top with me if ya wanted to. I’ve always thought ya had th’ potential t’become one hell of a thief, ah reckon. Too bad ya choose to side with the good guys.” 

Pockets remained silent, not even bothering to turn around.

“Now look where that gotcha.” Drop Dead sighed, “In ah filthy cage, like the rat ya’ve become, being used as bait for an angry bat.” With a malicious grin on his muzzle, he stood up and walked towards her, calmly running his crossbow throughout the outer part of the cage, the metallic clanking sending shivers down Pockets’ spine, “Tell me, Pockets. How does it feel? To know that because of you, that mare ya care so much ‘bout is gonna die.” 

Pockets jumped at him and growled, the air around them heating up as the cage waved all over the place. At this, Dead simply laughed. “You dare to do anything to her and I’ll.. I’ll!”

“You’ll what? Can’t ya see? Yer trapped missy! And with Grumble’s lil’ reunion on the other side of town I doubt they even gonna care enough to come here and try to rescue ya.  After all… why would anyone choose saving th’ life of a filthy murderer over the life of thousands?” 

Pockets lowered her gaze, going back to her little corner and returning to doing what she had been doing ever since she was kidnapped, cry quietly. She hated him, she hated all of this… and overall, she hated herself for being so foolish. Her only comfort being imagining Midnight’s warm embrace, an embrace she was sure she would never get to feel again. He was right, why would anyone choose her over thousands others?





According to what Urban Spirit had managed to gather through his contacts, some claim they had seen Angel Wings himself go inside a shady warehouse on the suburbs twice now, and that several thugs that were definitely not from around town would frequent the site. So just putting two and two together, they took the risk and decided to use a carriage Sphinx had rented to travel there.

“Ya know…” Urban sighed, breaking the silence, “Before she got kidnapped, she came to me. Won’t go into details but…. she began talking bout you.”

“Hooboy,’ midnight said and fanned herself with a wing. “Good things I hope?”

“Much to my surprise, yes.” He chuckled, “She usually comes to me whenever she wants to rant about some motherbucker but… this time she came here to rant ‘bout herself. Took me by surprise. Dunno how but you really made quite the impression on that lil’ thief.”

“I have that effect on ponies,” Midnight smiled proudly, before that smile faltered a little. “And now… she’s in trouble because of me…”

Urban nodded solemnly, “But ya know… I’ve known that lil’ pimp since she was barely a filly stealin’ apples to survive. And let me tell ya somethin’, if she’s blaming anyone, that’s probably herself.” He looked out the window and sighed, “Ya know… it always hurts me to see her sufferin’. Most of the times she’s just so friggin happy and positive, that quirky smirk on her muzzle… that in those rare occasions she does get down, it hurts, y’know?”

“It’s like a kicked puppy and a sad kitten had a baby and then somepony kicked that!” Midnight chuckled and wiped her eyes. “I promise, I’m going to get that smile back.”

Urban smiled, “That ain’t gonna be hard. From what she told me, just looking at cha should do the trick.” With a loud sigh, he looked back at Midnight and grinned, “Hey. This mood ain’t done good to anyone. So I know, why don’t I tell ya one of my favorite stories about the lil’ pimp, huh? To pump you up so ya can kick the butt of that motherbucker even harder.”

“Like I need any more reasons,” Midnight smiled and looked at her swords. “But go ahead. I could use the blackmail material against her.”

The stallion chuckled and shoko his head, before humming in thought as he easily recalled that fateful night, “It all started… I don’t remember how long it’s been. Me and ma gang were just this small group of troublemakers trying to make a difference by like graffiting some good ol’ messages across the city. Well, one day we had just hit this big fat cash of money we got from… a certain place, and we were planning to blow it all up in some bar or some shizz. Well while we were making our way down town, we encountered this dusty-looking lil filly. She seemed lost, afraid, shaking like a wet pup, and overall just so frigging hungry. 

Now, we were ‘bout to just give her some bits and then go to th’bar, but then… for Celestia’s sunny ass I swear, she shot us these irresistible puppy eyes, we were paralyzed from sheer cuteness! And motherbucker,  you will not guess what happened next.”

“I’d like to say something cute,” Midnight said and shook her head. “But… I’d place my bits on her robbing you blind.”

“Damn right!” He nodded, “That lil’ rascal kicked me in da nuts and left me on da floor, before running the heck away with all da bits! All tha members of ma crew were fully grown motherbucking adults and yet they couldn’t catch her to save dem lives!” He chuckled, “That motherbucker kicked me in da nuts! Dirty rascal.” 

“Ouch,” Midnight winced. “That must have been embarrassing.”

“It was, oh motherbucker you have no idea.” He nodded, a smile across his face, “We tracked her down to an old orphanage, Miss Wide Heart I believe the place was called. I went in dere alone to ‘adopt’ a kiddo. So they showed me where she usually hid, and… there she was. As dusty as the moment we met, yet… with a wide smirk on her muzzle. She didn’t run or hide or some shit like that. She just began talkin’ about the good chase she had and gave me half ma bits. Told me she only did it for fun and to get some sweets for her orphan pals.” He took a moment to laugh softly, before nodding, “After seeing dat, I took her under ma hoof, taught her all I knew, and even though they didn’t let me adopt her, she became like ma daughter. Always telling me that when she had enough money, she would go to Canterlot and learn some magic to make me proud and get us off the streets.” 

“Well, I know that Teleportation and Illusions aren’t easy,” Midnight nodded as her ears twitched. “I’m guessing that didn’t happen though.”

He nodded, “For reason I don’t get to dis day, she failed the test to get into Celestia’s fancy school. Tried reasoning with dem snobbies, told them she had learned to teleport all by herself. But those motherbuckers…. So what if she couldn’t do shit about some stupid egg!? She was good!” Sighing to try and calm himself down, he grinned when the memory of what happened afterwards came to him, “Yet even if I was hella pissed, she came to me and told me that it was no biggie. That she could still save some bucking money to get into another school. Of course, when you give all dat money to those who need it, saving it ain’t easy. But… even after she got her Cutie Mark, she didn’t give up on having a better life. One day she’d tell me she wanted to be a doctor, another day she wanted to be a wizard, another day a g-” He chuckled softly and shook his head, “I ain’t telling you that one, she’ll kill my butt if I do. In any case… she always kept a smile on her muzzle, and I know this may be a tall order but…” He looked at the thestral with pleading eyes, “Please, I know we didn’t start with da right hoof but I beg of you… try to keep that smile going, for as long as you can.”

Midnight blinked. She certainly wasn’t expecting this from somepony like him. “Looks, all things aside, I barely know her. But…” Midnight smiled and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “I like her, and… I wanna see if I can make things work. I can’t promise they will, and I am far from the easiest pony to get along with but…” She nodded and smiled. “As long as I’m around, that smile will never fade!”

“Damn right!” He grinned, “Yo, driver! Stop right here will ya?”

“Huh? We are not quite there yet, dear. What do you think you’re doing?” Sphinx spoke for the first time in a while, having heard the entire conversation yet deciding to not interrupt the moment.

Urban chuckled as he kicked the door open, “I see this motherbucker right here cares about ma child. So I’m sure as heck she will kick the flank of that bucking Dead-guy. Ma children may need ma help crashing the party so.” He saluted at Midnight with a half-grin, “Yo butt-kicking better make me proud. Bring ma lil’ thief back home, will ya?”

“Like you even have to ask,” Midnight said and then swept a wing in front of her. “I swear on my Wings that I’ll bring Pockets back.” 

A vow like that, it was one of the highest a winged species could offer, like a regular unicorn swearing on their magic, or Pockets swearing on her butt. 

“That’s what I like to hear.” He nodded, before rushing of towards the distance.

“Dear,” Sphinx caught her attention, “You do know what this means, right? The only creature that was unable to fly is now gone… and we will probably get there sooner by air.”

“Finally!” Midnight exclaimed and spread her wings. “Let’s fly kittybird!”

And without thinking it twice, the two took off towards the bright blue sky, leaving two confused ponies who were driving the chariot very confused. 





“This seems to be the place.” The sun shone strongly above both Sphinx and Midnight, who calmly flapped their wings to keep attitude over the old abandoned warehouse. “Are you ready, dear?”

Midnight’s gaze narrowed and she checked her blades, the sharp metal glinting in the sunlight. 

“Dead Drop will wish he dropped dead,” Midnight said with a low growl.

“I’m liking your style more, and more.” Sphinx giggled. Usually she would try to go for a more stealthy approach, trying to take down the mercenaries from the shadows. But this was different. She was acting by herself now, breaking the rules of her own organization. Eh, it wasn’t like if this was the first time she went rogue. Letting out a mighty screech, she closed her wings and took the lead, descending at incredible speeds towards the falling-down roof. 

Thankfully, the poor thug in whom she landed on made for a soft crashmat. Of course, the sound of the alarm was soon heard, not like she cared. Two thugs charged at her, knives on their mouth and not a single hint of fear. Dodging both swings with incredible easy, she retaliated by extending her now metallic-tipped wings, pushing the two thugs into a wall with several cuts all over their body. 

“Go for Pockets, dear. I’ll keep these brutish oafs distracted.” She winked at Midnight who had landed not far from her, another thug now between her legs while he fought to break free from the strangling. 

With a screech that shattered the glass of the uppermost windows, Midnight dove inside, her wingblades slashing out as she flew past. They cut through the beams along the roof like a spell laser through butter, dropping the heavy wood onto two thugs sneaking up behind Sphinx. She flew deeper into the warehouse, ignoring any guards she passed as she made her way towards Pockets. Her ears could hear the mare’s heartbeat. Her nose could pick up that spicy perfume she liked.

And her eyes were tinted red, with the rage against the one that stole her little thief away!!

Her speed, strength, and reflexes had been tenfolded. And because of this she was able to dodge the incoming bolt that flew right past her, inches away from her cheek. She rolled out of the way just in time as a second whizzed by her head. Pausing in the air, her wing moved and her blade deflected a third.

“Get out here!” Midnight screeched. “Face me you bucking coward!”

A soft chuckle resonated through the walls accompanied by the click his once again charged crossbow made, “Kinda funny you call me a coward, missy. Effn’ ah recall correctly, ya’re th’ one that got th’buck away from mah sight when thet bolt hit ya all them years ago.” And then, another bolt flew towards her, aiming for her heart.

Midnight bat it away with her wing again. “You shot me from behind, while I was off-duty,” she snapped back. “This time… I’ll return that favour tenfold Droppy. You’re never going to see outside a dungeon wall again once I’m done with you.”

“What can ah say missy?” He chuckled, “Ya got so many of mah fellas in jail, ah reckon. ah had t'do sumpin about it. But let’s forget ‘bout th’ past, eh? Let’s focus on how ya’re planning t’git me in jail, when ya probably will drop dead in like… five minutes.” With yet another cold chuckle, Drop Dead got out of his hiding place, and Midnight’s eyes widened at what she saw. On his right frontal leg, a strange looking device shined with the sunlight. It looked like a crossbow, yet at the same time it was so different. A long trail of what seemed to be bolts hanged from the device, several strings were attached to different parts of his body while what seemed to be half a binocular was firmly attached to the top. “Ya like mah noo toy? Got this built not too long ago just for ya. So ya better feel special.”

He then raised the hoof that held the machine, and aimed at her. “Now say yer prayers, Midnight.” He pulled a string, and the sound of mechanism was heard, before a non-stop barrage of bolts were shot at high speeds towards her, the mechanism automatically recharging the crossbow with all the jointed bolts that hanged from it. 

“Bucking hell!” Midnight rolled to the side and dove behind some boxes as she heard the bolts impact the wood with rapid, repeated thunks. “Hah! Your little toy is useless if you can’t hit shit Dead Head!”

Pulling another string, the firing stopped. He didn’t want to waste all his ammunition after all, as plentiful as it was. “Come out, come out, wherever ya are little bat.” He grinned as he walked around the set of boxes and pillars spread throughout the warehouse, until on the corner of his eye he spotted a particularly strange brown spot, “Found ya!” A new strife of bolts went for Midnight, forcing her to get out of her hiding spot. 

She bucked the box, sending it flying towards him as one of the bolts scraped her armour in a shower of sparks.

“I just bucking polished that,” she swore as she beat her wings to get some speed. She needed to go on the offensive, but getting close was a deathwish. Instead, she angled and then unleashed another of her screams at him.

Dead Drop flinched, his eyes instinctively closing as he covered his ears, and by the time he managed to open them, she was gone. He huffed as he once more stopped firing and looked around, checking every corner and every hole, “Ya know. Ah still don’t get it. Why are ya helpin’ this gal? You’re a royal guard for crying out loud! Ain’t you supposed to detain that lil’ bitch?”

“Not that I’d expect a flaccid little mudcrawler like yourself to understand,” Midnight said from the shadows. “But what the sunfucking hell are you talking about? She’s just a pickpocketer. A murderer is much bigger prey.”

“Curious ya say that, missy.” He chuckled, trying to pin-point where her voice was coming from, “Ya really bought her dumb’ story, didn’t ya? Th’ whole ‘street thief’ deal? Ahm sorry to break it up for ya, but that’s jest a facade.”

“Oh yes, because the word of a stallion trying to kill me is sooo trustworthy,” Midnight snarked as she moved about, not staying in the same place twice. Her wingbeats were silent, and her gaze never left him.

“Don’t believe me if you don’t wanna. But let me ask ya somethin’. Have ya run a backgroun’ check on her?” He didn’t wait for an answer, he just needed to keep the conversation going until he could find out where she was, “She ain’t no mere pickpocketer. Why do ya reckon she lef’ Manehattan? She was runnin’ from th’ guard! Missy, ah got news for ya. Yer friend is a killer, jest like me.” And then he saw it on the corner of his improvised scope, the brown blur he was looking for. The barrage of bolts was shot again, following Midnight as she searched for a new place to hide.

“You’re so full of crap!” She yelled, her blades deflecting some of them. Truth was, she had done that…

“Five years ago, downtown Manehattan. Officer Hard Time of th’ royal guard, stabbed repeatedly while off-duty. Gonna guess the name rings a bell, doesn’t it?” He half-shouted as he lost track of the thestral, searching for her once more. “Do ya know why he died?”

Her silence was all the answers he needed. He still couldn’t see her though. The bat was a slippery one.

“He was going after a criminal. A street thief who had tried to rob him of his saddlebag. Yer friend got so buckin’ scared when she was caught, that she stabbed him just to not go to dem Canterlot Jails. Ah dunno ‘bout you but… ah saw the evidence mahself, and let me tell ya, when ya find a dead body in her home… it’s kinda hard to not believe she did it.” With a cold chuckle, he walked towards a small box covered by an old, dirty blanket, a grim smile on his face, “So why don’t ya ask her yerself, Missy?” And then, the cover was gone, revealing a miserably-looking, gagged Pockets with tears running down her cheeks, on her neck, one of Green Lead’s ‘special’ collars that kept her from doing anything. “Rise n’ shine, mah little killer.”

More silence… then, he felt the temperature drop a few degrees. 

A fun fact about ponies. They were a herd species and a predator, and the feelings of one was still ingrained into their very being.

Dead Shot swore he could feel the murderous intent of the Thestral in the room. And from the darkness of, a pair of crimson eyes shone, staring into his own. 

“You say… she’s a killer?” Midnight walked forwards as her wingblades dragged along the ground, sending up a shower of sparks. “Well, I have some news for you… little morsel~”

“So ya finally come out and play.” He chuckled, pulling the right strings to activate his weapon, before firing a massive barrage of bolts at the incoming thestral. She stepped from side to side, until one bolt struck her dead center in the chest, knocking the bat off of her hooves.

Seeing this, Pockets’ eyes shot open, struggling to break free from her cage, attempting to teleport only to get an extremely painful charge of electricity downloaded unto her, causing her to scream in agonizing pain, yet that didn’t stop her from trying over, and over again. She had to break free, she had to save Midnight, she couldn’t let her die because of her fault, she had to save her no matter what.

Dead grinned maliciously, slowly walking towards the now prone mare with a bloodthirsty look on his eyes, “Tsk, tsk, tsk…. Ah gotta say, Missy, this was far easier than what ah had expected. Like mah momma always told me, just press th’ right triggers, and yer victim will come to yer ho-”

Midnight rolled back to her hooves, a wide, fanged smile on her face. The bolt was sticking out of her armour, it clearly penetrated it, yet… She reached up and pulled it out, tossing it aside.

“Tsk Tsk!” She waved a hoof and her eyes practically glowed red now. “Why is it? That ponies always seem to think a bolt to the heart is any way to deal with a vampire?”

Dead Drop jumped back, growling at the mare who he was sure would be bleeding to death already, “Ya demon scum! Just stay down an’ let me finish mah job!” He pulled another string from his machine, which this time shot one individual bolt aimed right at her head.

Then she moved, impossibly fast as one wing lashed out, the blade detached and severed the chain of bolts that fed his weapon. When he pulled the string, all he got was a series of empty clicks.

“Wanna know that she’s not a killer?” Midnight said as she advanced. “Her eyes. Those aren’t the eyes of a killer. Not like yours little morsel. And not like mine!” She raced forward, so fast she looked like a moving shadow as she pinned the stallion against a large box. The cracking sound was either the wood of said box… or several of his ribs. Maybe both. She held him there with her forehooves as she licked her glinting fangs. “I’m going to enjoy draining you dry!”

“N-no! You… yer pretending game won’t scare me! Ya… ya work for th’ law, ya don’t have th’ guts to kill me!” He stuttered, trying to sound though and rude, yet the rest of his body betrayed him. The pain her hooves were inflicting on his body, the tone in which she spoke, and those eyes… those deadly eyes. He knew it too well, he had been in the business for far too long. The bloodthirst the mare held at that moment was far greater than any other he had ever seen before, even greater than his own, and that frightened him. 

“Silly. Little. Morsel.” Midnight said as her fangs drew near to his exposed neck. “Do you think anypony is going to miss you?”

“N-no… don’t!” He begged, fear taking over the heartless killer, “P-please! Ah, ah’m sorry! PLEASE!”

That killing instinct grew more potent and Midnight chuckled, a cold, dark laugh that chilled any who heard it to the bone. “You’re going to die now. Tell me, how does it feel? Knowing after causing so much death. Are you ready to meet the Reaper?” Her fangs grazed his neck, he struggled, but the thestral’s strength was intense, he couldn’t move… he couldn’t answer… he was frozen in fear. He was not ready to die, he didn’t want to die, not like this. 

“But!” Midnight said in that cold, dead tone she’d been using. “I won’t decide your fate…” Her wing flicked and Pockets found her gag removed, falling away in tatters. “She will. The mare ‘you’ accused of murder. The mare ‘you’ were going to kill after me. She will decide if you live or die.” Midnight leaned in close and smiled. “So Dead Drop. Are you feeling lucky? Is my Little Thief the murderer you think she is? Let’s. Find. Out~”

Pockets lowered her gaze, before coldly deciding that it was not worth it, “Don’t…. I… I just want to go home.” Both Midnight and Dead could hear the pain in her voice, yet even after suffering so much at his hooves she knew better. She would be no better criminal than him if she killed him, besides, she wouldn’t give him the pleasure of being right. 

“Do you hear that?” Midnight said with a smug smile. “She’s a better pony than you will ever be. Better than I will ever be.” She drew back a hoof and smacked him across the head, knocking him out cold. With a deep shudder, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them to reveal her usual green ones. “Gods I hate pretending like that.” She turned towards the unicorn, yet much to her surprise she had once again gone back to her corner, not even sparing her savior a look or a thanks. 

“Little thief?” Midnight took a hesitant step closer. “Pickett? Are you okay?”

“Just leave…” Came her weak, almost-broken voice, “You heard him… I’m a murderer. Hard Time died because of me… and I almost got you killed as well. Who says I won’t screw up and get you in trouble again? Just… please leave.” 

Midnight paused. Then her eyes narrowed and she snarled. “You… you bucking selfish bitch!” Midnight stormed forward and grabbed the unicorn. “I don’t think so. You do not get to worry me half to bucking death, then tell me to buck off!”

Pockets at first wanted to push her away and once again tell her to leave. Yet… she would be lying if she said she didn’t miss feeling Midnight’s body. For the final time that night, she broke into tears, hugging Midnight tightly while ignoring the extreme pain her body had suffered, “I… I’m so sorry. I was being childish and a complete idiot and… I just didn’t want to be replaced, I just… didn’t want to lose you. I’ve lost so many friends and I-”

She was shut up as Midnight pressed her lips to hers, tears running down her face as she gave her not a lust-fueled kiss, but one filled with blossoming love. 

Pockets gasped at first, yet soon, she returned the kiss with just as much care and tenderness, the trail of tears that was falling down her eyes stopping completely as one emotion finally won the eternal war inside her head, love. 

After what seemed like a delightful eternity, the lack of air forced Pockets to break the kiss, losing herself on those beautiful emerald eyes she loved so much. She had no words, not like she needed them, as her face spoke a thousand words of love and gratitude.  

“Okay,” Midnight said and licked her lips, relishing the taste of the little mare. She reached out and booped her nose. “First. What the fuck Pockets? How does an ‘uncatchable’ thief get caught by these idiots?”

The unicorn giggled and rolled her eyes, “Hey, it’s kinda hard to run away when you have this thing on your neck while also surrounded by like a bajillion thugs,” She poked at the metallic collar, “And I was a bucking mess of a mare, don’t judge me ya badass bat-butt.”

“Ergh, that thing does not suit you,” Midnight replied and her wing blurred. A second later, the collar fell off after she cleanly cut it in two. “There, much cuter.” She pulled Pockets into a hug and rubbed her spiky mane. “Okay, so item number two. What do you mean replaced? Are you upset at Sphinx and Quicky? Cause, they’re just a little fun is all.”

“No, no.They’re cool and, to be honest, I would have never learned there were that many ways to buck a mare if it wasn’t for Sphinx. But… your friend. She just seemed so… perfect and... “ Her sigh told Midnight everything she needed to know.

“You-You mean… Starry?” Midnight blinked and when Pockets nodded slightly… the thestral burst out laughing. “Aahhahaha! Oh my gosh, you are so jealous and it is the cutest thing ever. Oh my Little Thief, you are so adorable it should be illegal.”

“Sh-shush, I’m not that cute,” She blushed furiously, “And can you blame me? She’s like super smart and has the body of a freakin goddess for butt’s sake!”

“You know she’s using a glamour spell right?” Midnight deadpanned. “And trust me, I couldn’t tap that flank if I tried. And believe me, I have tried!”

“Waitwat. A spell? You mean, like the one I used on you?” And now, she felt like a complete idiot. Facehoofing hard, she couldn’t help but chuckle at her own shenanigans, “Oh my bucking gosh I’m so dumb! Of freaking course! Geez, good job recognizing your own butt-magic, Pickett.” 

“You, you’re a dumbbutt,” Midnight nodded and noggied the mare. “Seriously Pickett. You think Sphinx and I would risk our flanks to save your sorry ass if I didn’t like you?”

“Well I mean, there was the whole reun-” Then that last part reached her brain, blinking in surprise, shock, and excitement, she once more locked eyes with Midnight, “Y-you like me? Do you mean like as a fuckbuddy, a friend or… like like me?”

“W-Well,” Midnight blushed and looked away. “I guess… it started as the second, then the first… now…” She winced as she took of her breastplate, the peice that the crossbow bolt had pierced and Pocket’s saw why the thestral wasn’t dead. She’d been wearing her locket underneath, the pure platinum piece of jewelry had stopped the bolt from giving her lungs a new breathing hole. The locket was destroyed though, crumbling in the bats hooves.

“I’ve been so concerned about the past, that I ignored the future. So I guess…” Okay, so meek and bashful Midnight was a new one. She fidgeted with her forehooves and looked at Pockets. “After all this crap is done… you… um…” She blushed as she looked up from a downwards gaze. “You wanna go on a date?”

Pockets blinked, before giggling softly, a giggle that soon grew into a loud, childish laugh that caused Midnight’s blush to intensify even further, “Oh my bucking Celestia, and ya said I was the cute one?” She grabbed Midnight’s muzzle and pressed their lips together in yet another loving kiss, both to stop Pockets’ laughter, and to give Midnight an answer, breaking it up, she nodded her approval, “How could I say no to the sexiest, cutest, and most amazing mare in Equestria?”

“Oh... well, of course,” Midnight nodded and coughed into her hoof. “I’m awesome and sexy. Duh.”

“And cute,” Pockets booped her nose, before smirking playfully, “I will totally tell everyone about this side of you. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me~” 

“You wouldn’t dare!” Midnight exclaimed with a huff. “You do that… And I won’t do that tongue thing you like so much!”

“But I like the tongue thing!” She pouted like a filly, before failing to keep her laughter at check as a titter left her muzzle. She placed her forelegs around Midnight’s neck, and gave her a warm, honest smile, “Hey, thanks, for everything. You have no idea how happy you make me, and… if I gotta tell you a secret, I may kinda like like you as well.” She winked jokingly.

“May?” Midnight said and sighed dramatically. “Maybe Quickie wants a batty marefriend instead then?”

“Oh hell naw! I’m not letting that mare run off with you. Besides, I’ve seen her in action, she can’t keep up you at all~”

“Hmm, well that’s true,’ Midnight nodded and then grinned salaciously. “But, that means I can stop holding back then. We’ll see what you’re really made of smol thief.”

“Oh bring it on, batty.” She smirked tauntingly, “I’m as good at drinking as I am in bed. A Canterlot snobbie like you trying to outmatch an urban Manehattan master like me? Now that I wanna see.”

“Oh little smol pony, you have no idea who you’re dealing with,” Midnight smiled and kissed her one more time. “Now, let’s go and see if that sexy griffon is still alive, then we have a party to crash.”

Yet there was no need of that. As soon as they stood up and prepared to leave, Sphinx made herself known, rushing towards the duo with an excited, yet tired smile and bit of dust and some liquid they seriously hoped wasn’t blood on her suit, “Dearies! I am glad I found you. Just in time for our exciting escape from death.”

“Uh…. what?” Pockets blinked. 

“Uh…. what?” Midnight Song echoed.

“Oh don’t worry about it dearies.” She giggled, “It’s just a small little magical explosive that will blow this entire building to pieces in about… one minute? No, less than that.” 

Still not being able to believe this, Pockets once again blinked in confusion, “... no bucking way.” 

“Oh yes dear. You see, it has been such a long while since I’ve gone rogue and… well my superiors for some reason prohibited the use of any sorts of explosions when it comes to me. I just needed to end our little adventure with a grand finale!” She swung her fist in front of her like she was talking about throwing afternoon tea.

“Pockets?” Midnight said as she put her hooves around the mare. “You recall how you said you didn’t like me flying fast? How quickly can you change your mind?”

“Oh would you look at that, fifteen seconds remaining!”  Sphinx said excitedly.

Pockets nodded, this went from a hundred to zero to two hundred real fast. “Yup, way less than that. Beam me up, Batty.” 

Midnight flared her wings and shot off like a bullet. The scenery around Pocket’s blurred as the sudden and extreme acceleration left her stomach behind the the building that suddenly became a giant fireball.

“Well… guess that would be our flashy distraction,” Midnight yelled to Sphinx. “Also, you are bucking insane!”

“Oh yes indeed!” She laughed, doing several unnecessary pirouettes on the air, “Oh it feels so good to be rogue. I could probably run as an independent spy if I wanted to, what do you think dearies?”

“I think the same as her,” Pockets yelled as well, “That was bucking insane, and also kinda amazing!”

“That it was,” Midnight said as she slowed down a little. “Hey, we should go check on that guy from earlier. The motherbucker stallion.”

“Motherbuc- oh please don’t tell me you met Urban Spirit.” Pockets rolled her eyes, “I swear, whatever he may said about me when I was a filly, don’t believe one bit! I did not dream with becoming a royal guard when I was little!”

Midnight just gave her a wide grin. That information was getting stored away for later use. And for blackmail purposes~

But first they had a job to do, and one of them was take down a mayor and stop him for making hundreds of ponies homeless to house criminals. 





Urban Spirit had been a little… too successful. The town center was chaos given form. The town's guards were involved in an all out war with Urban’s gang, while most of the town's citizens had taken to hiding in their homes… and…

Whhyyyy was the fight timed perfectly with loud, blaring hip trot music?

“I… am so bucking confused right now,” Midnight admitted as she hovered in the air, holding Pocket’s close. “I mean… just… wow.”

“Ok. I’m gonna put two and two together and say you guys put him in charge of the reunion-thing, right?” Pockets asked unamused.

“Indeed… and I am starting to see why this was such a bad idea.” Sphinx scratched her head.

Pockets facehooved, “You guys want to know what’s the only real crime he has committed? Public Disturbance for placing five dozens of speakers all over Downtown Manehatten to play his favorite song at max volume! He was sent to jail five entire years because of how bad it was, and the song wasn’t even that good either!”

“I… words fail me,” Midnight sighed, wishing she could facehoof, but she’d drop her marefriend if she did. “Well, shall we pay a visit to Town Hall? I’d like to see what Grumble thinks of all this.”

Pockets grinned like a madmare, “Damn right we should! I just can’t wait to see Grumble’s face. Oh! He’s gonna be so pissed and I love ‘et!” 

“Ten bits says he’s steaming from the ears,” Sphinx giggled, causing Midnight to smile as well. That said, she wondered how her boss would respond to the thestral guard inciting a riot, blowing up a factory and generally causing so much chaos it’d make Discord look tame in comparison.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



“What do you mean we can contact the royal guard? I am the mayor of Tall Tall for Celestia’s sake!” Grumble was mad, real mad. This day was going to be perfect, he was going to earn millions of bits from selling soon-to-be empty lands to some of the worst criminals of Equestria, he would get rid of what to him, was the scum of the town, and he would end the day with a nice bottle of wine and a grin on his face.

So far, the only thing he had gotten was chaos, chaos, and more chaos.

It started when some idiot stole the demolition crew’s tools and equipment and used them in his very own mansion. Then came the shouts of revolution all over the town, followed by that annoying urban music that filled the streets. Then, oh boy what a surprise, half of the police force joined the riots after a certain Diamond Cloud convinced them to do so. Oh and there was also the fact that about a dozen thugs were outside Town Hall trying to break in by any means necessary. 

“They have control over the postal office, as well as the train station.” Angel Wings sighed, this was not looking good for any of them.

Grumble groaned out loud, punching a painting out of sheer anger. “This is incredible… this is it, we’re done for! Even if we somehow manage to take control of the city again, this will definitely reach the Princesses’ ears, and oh you better believe they’re going to look more into things.” He tried to relax, yet failed miserably. This was just too much to just ‘relax’, “At least tell me Drop Dead did his job.”

Angel Wings shifted uncomfortably, he didn’t want to give him even more bad news, yet he had to, “I am afraid our friend has… perished in action. There have been reports of a magical explosion on an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs. He most likely did not survive”

“Then you’d be wrong pardner.”

Both ponies looked in shock the image of a bruised, singed and slightly beaten, yet otherwise perfectly fine Drop Dead walking into his office.

“H-how! But, the explosion!” Angel Wings couldn’t help but ask.

“Ahm hardier than the Appleloosan desert, pardner. I have survived way worse than that.” He chuckled.

“Unlike you idiots, I have further use for this one,” a well-dressed unicorn entered the room. “I would have thought that the mayor of this town could at least control his citizens. And yet, two mares and two mares alone have undermined your entire operation. I’d say this was the very picture of pathetic, but that would be too generous.”

Grumble’s eye twitched, if there was something he really, really hated, it was being blatantly insulted, “What… did YOU SAY!?” 

“Grumble, stay calm please.” His pegasus ally sighed, “This is no moment to fight with quite possibly our only ally left. Mister… Valiant Heart wasn’t it? Leader of the Orphanage from Manehattan?”

“Oh look, one of you has two braincells to rub together,” Valiant clapped his hooves slowly and patronizingly. “And you heard what i said Mr. Mayor. You have been utterly undermined by two little females. They have over half the city against you, as well as most of your guard. If you can salvage this… well, I have doubts that you actually could. So, I’m withdrawing my offer and I’ll be leaving. Have a wonderful day gentlecolts.”

“W-what! Wait, no, Mister Heart please wait. We can still-” 

“Shut it, Angel Wings. I’ve had enough. After all that has happened today, I refuse to let anyone else buck me over. You think you’re so tough, huh?” With a sinister grin, the old mayor walked around his desk, grabbing a small knife he kept around for occasions like this one, before turning to him and chuckling coldly, “Well honestly, I think you’re all barks and no bite.” And pushing Angel Wings who had tried to stop him away, he rushed towards the unicorn. But when he struck?

The knife snapped against the stallions coat, leaving not a mark against him. Valiant turned his head and then his eyes stared coldly at the mayor. With a move that was too fast to track, he had the stallion against a wall, holding him up with a single hoof.

“The only reason you aren’t dead is because your pathetic attempts amuse me,” he said to the gagging earth pony. “But if you try that again, and I’ll stab out your eyes with my horn!”

“Mister Heart, sir please. I shall keep him under control. I ask for forgiveness in his honor.” Angel Wings said quickly, kneeling down as his body trembled ever so slightly. 

“Just let him go, pardner. Ah’ll try to keep him from messin’ up even more. Besides, as much as I’d love to return to Manehattan with ya, I gotta stay around and deal with our least favorite mares. They owe me a new warehouse.” Dead Drop growled, “Ye sure you don’t wanna stay with me? Finally get rid of that mare of yours?”

“All in due time,” Valiant smiled as he dropped the whimpering mayor. “Things will become… difficult here soon. I’ll depart before that happens hmm?” He turned to Dead and sighed. “Try not to get scared by a foals tale this time hm? She isn’t a vampire.” His horn flared with emerald light and he Teleported from the room, leaving Grumble and Angel to their fates.

“Ah swear, if he wasn’t so scary I’d shoot his brains out.” Dead Drop sighed, “Now you two, we gotta get ready for dem mares ya hear? Before it was just business but now, now it’s personal. So ya better follow every single bucking detail of what I’m gonna tell ya…”





As much as Pockets loved being close to Midnight Song, she loved the feeling of solid earth under her hooves even more. If unicorns were meant to fly, she’d have been born an alicorn.

“Yo, motherbucker!” Midnight called out to a certain stallion beating down some guard. She pulled Pockets into a hug and held her up. “You lose this? I found it for ya!”

“Fo’ Celestia’s motherbucking sunny butt… child!” Urban Spirit gave one final punch to the now unconscious guard before rushing to hug the unicorn, “I’m so bucking happy to see you mah lil’ thief. Wait… did that motherbucker do anything to you? I swear if he did I’m gonna stab that bitch.”

“Hey Papa Spirit, good to see you again, and yeah he tried… but let’s just say I got a guardian angel… or rather a guardian demon mare looking out for me.” She giggled, returning the hug.

Urban raised his head and smiled at Midnight, “Thanks, in da name of the Chivalry and mahself, we owe ya big time.” 

“Nopony steals my thief,” Midnight nodded and kissed her again once Spirit had released her from the hug. “Now… you look like you’ve been having fun here.”

Urban blinked, several times, before shaking his head and pointing at Pockets, “We talk ‘bout this later. First, we take down that motherbucker Grumble.”

Pockets in return kissed Midnight’s cheek and then shot him a taunting smirk. 

“I swear lil’ pimps these days…” He sighed, before grinning as he recalled what Midnight had just said, “And ya bet your butt we have! I knew bringing dem thirty six speakers here from back home was a phat idea.”

“You mean this awful music is your idea?” Midnight groused as her ears flattened against her head. “I can’t hear a bucking thing out here except for that!”

“Did yo dirty ass just say ‘awful mus-”

He was soon interrupted by Pockets, who forcefully kept his muzzle shut in order to prevent an even bigger hell to break loose, “You do not speak of his music like that,” Pockets bit her lips, before mouthing an “As bad as it is” that Urban did not see. “So! Changing topics, why are you guys outside and not inside?” 

“‘Cuz that motherbucker Green Lead has tha doors locked with some high security shit.” He angrily pointed at the door, “Da only way we could git up in that place is blowing dat shiz up!”

“An explosion?” Pockets grinned mischievously and looked at Midnight with an ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ look.

“Oh Sexy Sphinxy?” Midnight cooed and turned to the griffoness. “Would you be a dear and make those pesky doors go Boom?”

Sphinx couldn’t help but let out an excited childish giggle, trying to play it off by covering her beak with her claw, “Sure, I could do that.”

They soon regretted their decision.

Thing with magic bombs is. Unlike your regular bomb, magic bombs are far flashier, far messier, and according to Sphinx, far prettier and deadlier. So even with a small charge the explosion was so powerful many were almost blown away, literally, by it. It did look quite pretty though~

“Remind me to never ask Sphinx for an explosion, ever again.” Pockets’ now raspy voice said between coughs as the purple magical dust resulting from the explosion dissipated. Yet in the end, it did the trick. 

“I dunno, I thought it was pretty cool,” Midnight nodded and then her ears flattened. “Oohh… that’s… that’s a lot of guards.”

At least thirty remaining guards were on the other side, all still loyal to Grumble. Midnight took a small breath and stepped forward. 

“I am Specialist Midnight Song,” she announced in a loud voice. “Stand aside and allow us to arrest Mayor Grumble and his compatriots. We have enough evidence to arrest and convict. As Guards, that should be your duty. See to it that you assist us, and you may yet keep your jobs!”

Yet none said anything, with the sole exception of a really annoying deep toned laugh. Green Lead stepped out of the shadows with a wicked smile across his muzzle and a massive scar on the left side of his face, he had clearly been busy, “Good try, Specialist Midnight. But these ponies ain’t gonna leave my side. There’s a reason why they’re the only ones I have left. Every single one of them have been involved in one form of corruption or another. From bribes to blackmailing, these ponies won’t go to jail without a fight. And believe me, we’ll give you a fight. So you and your lawbreaking friends should just stand down and let us take control of the city that’s rightfully ours.”

“Fine, then here’s my second offer,” Midnight said. “While Specialist is my title, do any of you know what my job actually is?” This might make her friends, or a target.

“And why would we care?” Green Lead chuckled, “We’re going to kill you anyways!”

“I am head of Princess Celestia’s Honor Guard!” Midnight said and took a step forward. “Swear fealty to me, and I will make sure you don’t see the inside of a cell. That you get a second chance at life.”

The mumbling of several guards could be heard, mumbling that got Green Lead extremely nervous, “If any of you dares to leave my side, I shall make sure you’re shot on the spot!”

“Wow dude, really?” Pockets grimaced, “And you guys are seriously following this guy? While we’re giving you guys a chance for freedom, he’s giving you a death threat. What kind of leader is that? Yo, Firefly.” She looked at a pegasus mare who stood on the second floor.

“Pockets, please, don’t make this harder than it has to be.” The shaky mare begged.

“No, but listen me here. I know Lead made you take the bribes from a gang that was involved in the robbery at your aunt’s place. I know you, and you ain’t a bad mare. So why don’t you come down here and help us out, hm?” Pockets quirked an eyebrow, extending her hoof towards her.

“Pockets… I…” 

“Serenity,” Pockets looked at a young unicorn who was trembling of fear, “You were forced to stay shut when an old lady was beaten up by some thugs just ‘cuz they had payed Lead their protection quota. I know you still have nightmares ‘bout that. Do you wanna keep feeling guilty, or are ya gonna take revenge in that lady’s name?”

“Well… I mean…” 

“Ember,” A timid earth pony colt, “Ocean,” A buffy yet lovable pegasus stallion, “Eclipse,” an insecure yet intelligent unicorn mare, “I can call out names all day long. Yet I know most if not all of you have one thing in common. You have been forced to do things you are not proud of. Well I don’t know what Lead threatened you with this time, but I’m sure of something. I trust this mare with my life, and if she says that you will all be free of charges, then I assure you that you will be. Don’t trust her? Then trust me instead.” 

The room was silent for several seconds, until the metallic clank of a helmet falling to the ground was heard, followed by the clopping sound of Serenity Breeze walking towards them, a decided look on his face. Then came Firefly, followed by Ocean, Ember, Eclipse, and several others who held similar looks on their faces, forming a line right behind Midnight and Pockets.

“You fools… you’ll all get yourself arrested for life! But don’t worry, I’ll kill you before that happens. Shoot your arrows, now!” Yet much to Green Lead’s surprise, there was no response. He had no ponies left, not a single one.

“D’aww, poor Greenie, you’re all alone now.” Pockets pouted tauntingly.

“This is what you get,” Midnight said as she stepped closer to the stallion, now a few feet away from him. “Loyalty can’t be bought or gained through fear. It must be earned! You are barely a stallion, let alone a guard. You are horribly outnumbered, give up now and I can try to see you get a lighter sentence.”

“Y-you! I’m not buying your crap. I’ve worked too hard to see this empire fall down to the hooves of the likes of you. I’m going to bash your head until there’s nothing but tiny bat pieces!” He growled. And this is when Pockets realized just how dumb he really was. After all, if she had learned something, that was that you did not just try to tackle the batmare and expect to win.

But he did it anyways. He tried to tackle the batmare.

Midnight sighed as the stallion charged. “I tried to give you an out. I really did…” She moved to one side and as he passed by, her hoof tripped him, sending him sprawling across the ground. “You honestly think you can beat me? Please give up. I’ve had enough fighting for one day.”

“N-never!” He grunted, trying to stand up. Only to be bucked back down by a whistling innocent-looking Pockets.

“Oopsie!” 

“You filthy thief..” He growled, before trying to tackle the unicorn instead. Or rather he would have if it wasn’t for an incredibly painful electric charge storming every single muscle in his body. When he managed to stand up, he realized his neck was feeling rather stiffy and uncomfortable, “What the…” Resting on his neck now was a metallic collar with a single gem encrusted on it, the same collar he used to arrest unicorns. 

Pockets grinned as he walked around the stallion, “So, fun fact Greenie. Turns out your little collars only need to detect magic in order to zap you up. In other words I just need to do this~” She smiled as a bolt of magic left her body to land on his coat, resulting in a pained scream coming from the stallion. 

“Y-you…” He stuttered angrily.

“Nope!” And then another beam of magic and another zap. Pockets giggled as the stallion simply gave up, letting his now pained body rest on the floor, “Oh, I will never get tired of that.”

“You’re terrible,” Midnight rolled her eyes and looked at him. “I tried to give you an out lovey. This is all your doing.” She stood up and looked out at the crowd. “Okay guys. This party is just about done. Mind cleaning up a bit?”

“Sure thing Miss.” Firefly nodded, and so did everyone else. “We’ll keep guard in case anything happens.”

“Thanks, ‘Fly. And hey, I’m proud of you.” Pockets winked, causing the Pegasus to giggle with a soft blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. “So, batty. Ready to have a nice good ol’ talk with our favorite mayor?”

“Oh yes, I have a few choice words for him,” Midnight nodded as they walked inside. “I do hope he’s up for talking. I’ve had my fill of stupidity for the day.” She looked around and hummed to herself. “Now, where do you suppose he’s hiding?”

“Eh, I don’t know. Maybe the sewers, or a rathole, or the dump, maybe even the moon, or ya know his office.” She pointed at the second floor and the flashy door that lead to Grumble’s office.

“No need to be a smartflank,” Midnight said as her tail whipped the unicorn’s Cutie mark. “Now… do we want a dramatic entrance? Silly me, of course we want a dramatic entrance!”

Inside, Grumble and Angel heard the sounds of the riot die off. In fact, it had become eerily quite out there.

“What’s going on!?” The mayor shouted, “First the fucking explosion then nothing! Nothing! I swear if Green Lead is fooling around I’ll kick his arse into the ocean.” 

“Perhaps he actually did something right for once and got rid of the nuisance.” Angel chuckled, “Oh who am I kidding, that good for nothing brute would never be that effective. But I guess one can dream, eh?”

“Oh shush you bird-brain.” Grumble shot him an angry stare, anxiously tapping the ground, “I hope this works. I’m not going to prison anytime soon!”

*Sssssshhhhink!*

“What the buck was that?” Grumble quirked an eyebrow.

Angel Wings narrowed his eyes, just as confused as Grumble, “That sounded like…” 

*Ssshink, sliceslicesliceslice!* The door creaked, then exploded into countless pieces as Midnight sheathed her wingblades and nodded at Pockets.

“Told ya I could do it. You owe me ten bits babe.”

“Pfft, show off.” The unicorn chuckled, before giving the two now shocked stallions a lazy salute, “Sup. We’re here to kick your buns and chew some gum, and we didn’t even bring gum.”

The two stallions remained immobile, one of them shocked and the other one trying to not burst out into angry screams. 

“Hmm, sorry bout the door, but in my defense, it was a really ugly door,” Midnight nodded. “Now, all your guards are on our side, Dead is dead and Green is in our custody. Sooo… this is the part where you give up.”

“Give up you say?” Grumble chuckled coldly, “Please. You foolish mares. You are the ones that should probably give up.”

Just then, Pockets felt something. A shiver running down her spine something she had felt all morning long. Yet even though she didn’t know why she was feeling that, she knew one thing, it meant danger. Quickly, she tackled Midnight out of the way just as several crossbow bolts flew into the room from behind them. 

“Good mornin’ pardenrs! Guess who’s baaaack!” Came Dead’s loud, maniacal cackle as the sound of several bolts being fired at once filled the room, “And ah got mah toy back together!”.

Midnight turned her eyes as her eyes flashed red again. “I thought I told you to give up!?” She yelled at him in that terrifying voice again.

“Well sorry to disappoint Missy, but ah ain’t gonna go down just like that.” He smirked, slowly walking into the room as his now far more powerful, yet far heavier device kept firing endless rounds of bolts. “Ya see, mah buddy, the one who helped me rebuild this thing, he made me realize that ya are nothin’ but a showoff! Ah dunno how I felt into yer trap, but believe me I ain’t no longer scared, y’hear?”

“Maybe we should hide?” Pockets suggested in alarm. He was getting far too close.

This could… be better. While the immediate threat was Dead Drop, she wasn’t going to discount the earth pony and pegasus behind them either. “Take Nutball and Pidgeon Wings, I got ‘can’t aim for shit’ here!” She raced forward, already lashing out with her wingblades at the stallion. The endless barrage of bolts caused her to veer away though.

“New plan, that one sucked,” MIdnight said as she grabbed Pockets and dove out of the window.

“AND HOW IS THIS ONE BETTER?” Pockets shouted in fear as she saw the ground getting closer and closer.

“...I have wings dumbass,” Midnight deadpanned as she spread said appendages and soared away from the ground below.

“That does not make it better, at all.” Pockets gulped as she saw the ground now get further and further away from her. “So if you could just fly us down that’d be-”

Her words were cut short when a strafe of bolts flew right next to them, a cackling Dead Drop firing into the sky. The unicorn eeped and hugged Midnight tight, “Nevermind! Keep flying, keep flying!”

“Time to hit two mares with one bolt!” He shouted, before turning to both Grumble and Angel Wings who sneakily tried to escape, “Hey, you two! Get out dere and bring them down.”

“Are you insane!? What if you shoot me instead?” Angel gasped.

“If ya don’t go out dere, I’ll shoot ya here mahself!” Dead growled. Angel Wings quickly nodded and grabbed Grumble against his complaints, before the duo followed after Midnight, trying their best to dodge the line of dangerous darts that was being shot.

“Dumb and dumber coming at our six.” Pockets pointed out, “I could try to shot them down but I should warn ya, I’m a terrible shot.”

“Then I have an idea,” Midnight said and looked down at her. “Do you trust me?”

Pockets didn’t even think it twice and nodded, “Always.”

Midnight flew in a large loop, arcing upwards and back behind them, and once she was above Angel and Grumble…

She dropped the Pockets Bomb.

“I’M SUDDENLY HAVING DOUBTS ABOUT THIS PLAN!” Pockets shouted as she saw the glimmering darts fly past inches away from her. 

She landed with a thud on Grumble’s back, causing the Pegasus to lose a lot of balance.

“My back! Get that filthy thief out of my back!” Angel shouted as the ground came closer and closer to him, or rather, the other way around.

“You…” Grumble grunted.

“Uhm, sup?” Pockets blinked, before dodging an incoming punch with an eep.

“I’m tired of your foolishness! Every, freaking, time you’ve messed up my plans!” Then punch after punch that were, much to her own surprise, easily dodged by Pockets. 

The unicorn went from scared to confident as she realized that his aim was probably worse than her own. After all, she was freaking on top of him and he still missed, not even she was that bad. “Eh, what can I say. Your reactions when you find out you’be been pwned are just the best, old coot.” And then, a punch of her own… which missed, “Well it’s official, I suck.”

Then they engaged in the most civilized ways of battling. Trying to slap each other with random hoof-waving and grunting sounds.

Meanwhile, Midnight saw how Dead Drop’s shots came closer and closer to her. His aiming getting better and better as time went on. She angled back towards the building and then suddenly tucked in her wings and dropped like a stone, disappearing from sight.

Not even bothering to turn his weapon off, Drop Dead turned around to go bat-hunting, destroying a good portion of the office’s furniture on the process. “Come out, come out, wherever ye are you annoying bat-lady! I ain’t gonna play around no more, not gonna give you that benefit.” His eyes wide open, he searched the room, going towards the outside to check the lower floors as well.

Then something grabbed his back leg, as Midnight had come in through the window. “Wanna know the big difference between you and me?” She smiled and then threw him out the window. “I have wings motherbucker!!”

Dead Drop grunted as he quickly grabbed a piece of rope from his belt, forming a quick lasso before tossing it at the broken window. He grunted in pain as the lasso stopped him from falling inches away from the floor. Cutting the rope with a knife, he dropped to the ground and took a look at his weapon, “Darn thing, why ain’t ya firing no more? Ah buck me, it’s stuck!” He took off the device and threw it on the ground, keeping the crossbow part of it and a few bolts, “Guess we’re doing this th’ old way, Missy. Just like when ah first shot you all dem years ago.”

“Why does everyone wanna punch me?” Midnight complained and waved her wingblades. “You really think I’m gonna play fair after all that crap you’ve pulled?”

“Missy, ah never said we gonna play clean.” He chuckled, taunting her to come down there with him. 

“...seriously?” Midnight deadpanned. “You really think I’m dumb enough to fall for that?”

“Come on Missy!” He smiled, tossing his crossbow away, “There, ya happy now? Just a good ol’ hoof-to-hoof combat!” 

“Fine,” Midnight tossed her swords and jumped down. “I am going to enjoy beating your ass again, and again, and again...”

Yet before she could say another ‘again’, they both shifted their attentions to a weird… buzzing sound? And was that someone humming? 

From the skies, a white blur came closer and closer to them, a blur that soon became white, brown, and a lot of navy blue. 

Then Midnight realized. The humming was most definitely coming from Pockets, who was… riding Angel Wings? And then there was Grumble’s seemingly semi-unconscious body, he still had his eyes half-open. What was she trying to do?

And then she realized. She was going down, and fast, towards Dead Drop.

“For Equestria, and for Celestia!” Pockets shouted, and it was then that both Angel Wings and a now more conscious Grumble realized what she was doing, and the only thing they could do was scream, a lot. 

Drop Dead’s eyes widened up and his ears lowered as the Pegasus-missile came closer and closer, whimpering like a puppy before letting out a soft, high-pitched, “Momma.”

And then, dust everywhere. As soon as it dissipated, a cocky-grinned Pockets with a dramatic victory pose looked at  Midnight, three now unconscious stallions under her hooves, “Hey gorgeous,” She winked at  Midnight, “Come here often?”

Midnight stared blankly at her now decidedly insane marefriend. She just… she just knocked out a stallion… with two more stallions. From the air. 

“Un-bucking-believable,” Midnight sighed and looked at Pockets. “Now what am i supposed to do? You totally stole my awesome fight scene!!”

Pockets chuckled as she stuck her tongue out, “Sorry not sorry hun. You had your time to shine at the warehouse, so I took the epic final showdown all for my little sexy self.” 

“Stupid sexy Pockets,” Midnight muttered and sighed. “Fine. But I’m calling dibs on the next one smol action pone.”

“Fineee, ya attention whorse,” Pockets rolled her eyes as she looked at the crumpled stallions. “Ya know, I think i’m starting to like flying! Oh hey! Ya think the Princess could make me an Alicorn? Princess Pockets, Alicorn of Thieves!”

“Yeeaaahhhhno.” Midnight said and rubbed her head. She saw somepony approach and smirked. “I have a better idea. Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Midnight cooed as Starry Skies approached them, along with Sphinx and Urban. 

“Wait… whatcha mean?” Pockets blinked in confusion, before chuckling, “Hey, I know Urban’s cool and all, but he ain’t a Princess ya silly batty.” 

Midnight facehooved as the trio stopped in front of them.

“Well, you certainly know how to make a vacation interesting,” Starry said as she looked around. “Also, we are going to have words about you Miss Sphinx. Long, careful words, mostly about your… hobby of pyrotechnics.”

“Guilty.” Sphinx giggled, “Oh do not worry dear. If anything you should blame these mares for letting me have too much fun. Perhaps leaving Quick Step back in the house was not such a good idea, she keeps me in check most of the time.”

“Hey there sexy-butt, I had no idea you had these crazy-ass explosives so don’t go blaming me.” Pockets chuckled.

“In any case,”  Sphinx quirked an eyebrow, “Why should I respond to you, Miss Skies?  Are you perhaps going to reveal us now who you really are? Some high-rank officer of the guard? A student of the princesses perhaps?”

Starry’s form glowed, her mane lengthening and taking a wavy appearance, specked like it was taken from the night sky itself. Her horn grew longer and a pair of wings sprouted from her back as her form took a larger, more regal appearance. Her Cutie Mark warped, changing to a crescent moon against a dark blue, almost black spot on her rump.

The only thing that hadn’t changed were those amazingly beautiful teal eyes.

“When thou Us sent that letter,” Princess Luna sighed and looked at Midnight. “This was not We were expecting.”

A collective jaw-drop was heard coming from Pockets, Sphinx, and Urban alike.

“Motherbucker… I did not expect that no sir.” Urban whispered outloud.

“P-p-p-princess Luna,” Sphinx chuckled awkwardly, “Your highness I am so sorry. I did not mean to be so rude!” Oh she was in so much trouble now.

Pockets chuckled softly, eyeing Luna in disbelief, “My...bucking...Celestia. No offense Princess Moonbu- I MEAN Princess Luna.” She giggled nervously, rubbing the back of her head, before looking at Midnight with narrowed eyes.

Luna chuckled and walked over to Pockets. “I am sorry you got upset over my presence,” she said and nuzzled the little unicorn, before leaning down to whisper in her ear. “You didn’t need to jealous Miss Pickett. If anything, I should be jealous that Midnight got you first~”

Pockets’ entire face went as red as a tomato, if not even redder, “He-he… Ahhhh I need a rest.” She dropped her rump and just sat down. She had never been so confused, weirded out, and… slightly aroused in her entire life.

Midnight looked at Luna and smirked. That was just too funny. 

“So,” Luna looked at Sphinx and nodded her head. “Do not worry. The whole point of Our disguise was not to be recognised. But, We shall have to apologise to fair Quick Step. We have given her much to be concerned about.” 

“Oh she must be horrified.” Sphinx sighed, before letting out a sly grin, “I do hope you at least helped her calm down.”

“Oh yes,” Luna licked her lips. “Though, I dunno how calm she was since she was screaming out my name like that~”

“Oh she’s quite the screamer alright.” Sphinx chuckled devilishly.

Seeing things, Pockets immediately leaned closer to Midnight with a smirk on her face, “So, you Miss Flirty weren’t able to tap that booty, but a maid she just met today was. Guess you gotta step up your game, huh?”

“I hate you so much right now,” Midnight grumbled under her breath. 

Pockets giggled and kissed the thestral’s cheek, “Hey, I may not be a sexy Princess, but ya still got me.”

“You’re right,” Midnight smiled and looked her in the eyes. “You’re far more beautiful than any Princess.”

“Oh gosh that’s so cheesy, I think I just became lactose intolerant just because of that.” She grimaced playfully, a wink leaving her eyes, “Real talk, I’m seriously loving romantic/cute-you, so why don’t you show me more of that, huh?” 

“Maybe later,” Midnight said with a smirk. She paused and thought about it before shrugging. “Ah… buck it.” She grabbed the unicorn and pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss.

Pockets gasped, then giggled, and then hummed in delight as she locked herself in the thestral’s warm embra-

“Oh, no hell naw!” And then they were separated by Urban, who was still not fully happy about all of this, “No smooching or-” He was quickly shut by the glares of the two mares, glares that told him that they were this close to kicking his butt, “Okay, fine. I’ll bucking leave…” He sighed, going to check how his children were doing.

Pockets turned to Midnight and shrugged, “He’s kind of like my dad, so get used to it.” And with that, she kissed her once more, with as much passion as before if not even greater. 

Only to be separated, this time by Princess Luna’s magic.

“There will be time for that later, but we have more pressing matters to get to.” She turned towards the three stallions that Pockets had crashed into the ground. “Now… what do we have here?” She lifted them with her magic and woke them up as she glared at them. “You little foals are in a great deal of trouble.”

Former Mayor Grumble, unsurprisingly enough, simply grumbled under his breath, not wanting to look into her eyes. On the other hoof, Angel Wings was shivering, he didn’t want to go to prison! Bad things happened in prison! Specially to pretty little flanks like his own!

“I- I pledge guilty for reason of insanity!” He splurted out. Except he was clearly not insane.

“Yer an idiot.” Dead Drop sighed, just giving up. This was extremely humiliating for the deadly mercenary.

“Insanity hmm?” Luna stepped closer as her horn flared with power. Enough that small stones started to float into the air. “I know a thing or two about that… and you know, I hear the moon is lovely this time of year.”

Moon, or jail. Moon, or jail. “D-do, do I get to listen to my radio on the moon?” He really wanted to keep his butt intact.

That… was not the reaction the Princess was expecting. She sighed and dropped them as another thestral guard clapped some cuffs on them.

Oh yeah, seems that a few dozen of the batponies had shown up in the last few minutes.

“Make sure they get the deepest part of the dungeon,” Luna said and looked at the three prisoners. “That’s where we keep the bigger stallions.”

“So… many… thestrals...” Pockets whispered out loud, “Must resist… making bat joke.”

“Are you alright Miss?” One of them approached, wearing silver armour with a red cross on the flanks. And… oh sweet Creators, he was gorgeous~ Those golden eyes, that chiseled jawline, and those flanks~

“Well I’ll—” Pockets started, but… then a Midnight Song happened.

“She’ll be fine…” she cooed. “Though, I bet she might need an injection~ Fifty cc’s of your big bat~”

“....Dammit Midnight,” the stallion sighed and walked off. Though, his tail was noticeably lower than before.

“Oh come on! Not even a little three-way?” Pockets pouted and Midnight licked her lips. 

“So…” she started and nibbled on the mare’s ear. “What would it take to get you to hang around my belfry tonight?”

“That was even worse than the pickup line I was gonna use.” Pockets chuckled, nuzzling her playfully, “And that’s saying something.”

“Your fault,” Midnight replied and nuzzled her back.

Luna cleared her throat from behind them. “Pickett Midnight? A word if you will.” Luna sounded… unimpressed.

“From one to ten, how much trouble am I in?” She asked Midnight with an actual worried expression.

“Let’s see,” Luna said as she stepped closer before Midnight could respond. “You have countless charges of petty theft and pickpocketing, which you have freely and constantly admitted to. Then there’s inciting a riot, coercing a Royal Guard into illegal activities, assault against another pony, reckless endangerment, fraternizing with other known criminals…” She took a moment to glance at Urban Spirit. “That’s not counting your outstanding charges from Manehatten…”

“Uhm… I promise to do better?” She half-grinned uncomfortably. 

“Midnight Pickett… you would not see the outside of a prison cell for the rest of your natural life,” Luna started, before something she did not expect, hell nopony expected it.

Midnight Song placed herself between Luna and Pockets.

“If you touch her,” Midnight said, her eyes flashing angrily. “Well, you won’t. Because I won’t let you!”

“Hey, hey, batty chill.” Pockets rushed to her, “It’s alright. I…we’ll figure something out, ok? I don’t want you losing your job because of me.”

“Losing your job? You would be tried for treason,” Luna stated. “And forget jail, you will be lucky if banishment is your lightest sentence…”

“If I save Pickett, then it’ll be worth it,” Midnight replied, not moving an inch.

“Bullshit.” Pockets teleported behind Luna, “I refuse to get the mare of my life freaking banished! My crimes may be plenty but they’re still low-tier. Midnight, we’ll figure something out ok? I trusted you back there, and now I want you to trust me.” She said with a pleading look, obviously not able to withstand the idea of Midnight suffering like that because of her. 

“You two are rather overdramatic, aren’t you?” Luna chuckled. “I am merely stating the facts… I never once mentioned anything about acting on them.”

Both Pockets and Midnight remained speechless, while Sphinx couldn’t help but let out a loud, yet somehow still lady-like laugh, “Oh dear, I so adore you, your Majesty. You don’t see this side of royalty on the news.”

“Ah, Miss Sphinx,” Luna turned to her. “Now you, you’re a different story. A foreign spy acting on Equestrian soil. Unidentified employers and you’ve engaged in multiple acts of terrorism, murder and countless others…”

“Goodbye dearies.” Sphinx smiled at them, before an extremely dark cloud of smoke covered the area, forcing everyone to cough and close their eyes. Once they were able to open, the griffon was gone, a simple piece of paper with clawdrawn heart on it, the words ‘Until next time~’ written underneath.

“Yeah, adorable isn’t she?” Pockets snorted. It was far funnier when they did it to someone else. 

“Too bad… i was going to offer her a job,” Luna shrugged. “Oh well.” She turned back to Pockets and stood over her. “Back to you.”

“Do we have to?” Pockets shrugged. At Luna’s glance, her shoulders slumped. “Well, it was worth a try.”

“Midnight Pickett!” Luna said as her horn shone. “Due to the evidence I have seen, I shall pass my judgement upon you.”

“Woo! Go team Pockets” She smiled, and then the smile turned into a deadpan, “Wait… so my talent is being a thief, but now  I should probably stop stealing, and Grumble’s whole operation is down… what the heck am I supposed to do with my life now!?” 

Luna sighed and facehooved. “Take all the fun out of it why don’t you?”

“She does that apparently,” Midnight grumbled, still sore about not getting a cool fight.

“Eh, I’ll figure something out.” She chuckled, bumping Midnight’s butt with her own, “As long as I have my favorite batty around, I’m gonna be f- OH!” She blinked when the truth hit her, “Wait, so like. My record’s clean? All of it?”

“As a Princess of Equestria, the mare known as Pickett Midnight, AKA Pockets, is hereby pardoned of all her existing crimes,” Luna announced. “On one condition~”

“Please say that I have to sleep with you, please say that I have to sleep with you.” She whispered under her breath. 

“....God-freaking-dammit Pockets,’ Midnight muttered and facehooved. “I am a terrible influence.”

“Not quite,” Luna rolled her eyes. “You are to be placed under house arrest as it were. And you will be drafted into the Royal Guard until such a time that your debt to society is paid.”

“... wait what.” Pockets blinked, “The… Royal Guard? Y-you mean the… the freaking Royal Guard?” She could not believe this, and now she was in that weird state between shouting from excitement, fainting, hyperventilating, or doing the three consecutively. Yet then she realized something, and narrowing her eyes she shot Luna a smirk, “Okay, but I have one condition myself.”

“Do tell,” Luna said with a bemused smirk. It took some serious balls to bargain with her of all ponies.

“I want a partner. Someone awesome that can kick some major flank, and maybe even good looking… something I’d tap…” She hummed as she purposely avoided looking at Midnight, her eyes running through all the other guards around.

“Did I not mention the house arrest?” Luna said. “Oh, and Specialist Midnight, you have a new assignment. You shall be her parole officer.”

Midnight swooned dramatically. “Urrghhh, if I have too…”

“Oh don’t you ‘urgh’ me batty. I’m the one that should be ‘urgh’-ing! I wanted that hot stallion from before.” She mimicked Midnight’s own expression and let out an even louder, “Urrghhh”

“Red Cross? Nah, he’s married,” Midnight shrugged and smiled. “So I’m guessing I have to train our newest recruit as well Princess?”

“Perhaps, we shall see if she’s to be useful for more that cleaning barracks and scrubbing toilets,” Luna smirked and gave her tail an idle flick. “Now, I shall leave it to my Night Guard to clean things up here. I shall await your return to Canterlot.” With one last bow of her head, Luna’s horn shone and she vanished in a crack of bright light.

And that’s when Pockets remembered something, something that should have probably been important to remember before the Princess left, “Wait… did she say something about ‘house arrest’?”

“She did,” Midnight nodded. “So… seems like you’ll be staying with me in Canterlot for a while hmm?”

The unicorn chuckled, shooting her a wink, “Eh, could be worse. And hey, I don’t see no pesky motherbuckers or princesses with a moon on their butt around.” She huskily pointed out, half-lid eyes and a soft smile on her muzzle, “So… wanna go back to what we were doing?”

“I think we could, but let’s find a better place to do it,” Midnight nodded. “Urban might come back and I’m outta Princesses to throw at him.”

“Nah.” Then with an amazing speed worthy of a thief like her, she grabbed Midnight and stole yet another kiss, closing her eyes and humming from delight while her magic kept Urban’s mouth shut and legs in place, much to the stallion’s annoyance. Breaking the kiss with a giggle, she decided to point something out, “Hey, you didn’t notice but I just stole something from you, again.”

“Huh?” Midnight looked over her form. All her armour and her swords were in place, and she wasn’t carrying her wallet. “What?”

“Your heart.” She whispered with a nuzzle, “Oh, and a few bits this morning as well. But let’s focus on the cheesy part ‘kay?”

Midnight shook her head and smiled. “Fine, I suppose I’ll give you that much at least.” The two mares nuzzled once more, while poor Urban Spirit was forced to watch the whole thing…





Back at Sphinx’s house, they’d found that both she and Quick Step were gone, but at least they left Midnight’s possessions behind. Collecting those, the thestral turned to her marefriend.

“So, are you sure you wanna come to Canterlot with me?” Midnight asked her. “I mean, we have only known each other for a few days, and, my family can be a little weird and-”

“Nope.” Pockets chuckled, her magic shutting Midnight’s muzzle before letting it go, “You’re cute when you ramble, ya know?” She giggled, bumping her butt against Midnight’s, “And ok. First of all, you make it sound like I have a choice, ya heard Moonbutt, I’m stuck with you. And even if I wasn’t, there’s the fact that I’m hopelessly in love with you. And, so what if your family’s weird? The closest thing I have to a father is Urban and you can’t possibly get weirder than that. And about moving with you? Eh, this town doesn’t seem to need the Midnight Thief anymore, and I don’t really have a house or anything. So yeah, as long as I’m with you, I’m a happy smol mare.”

“I think if I kissed you now, you’d taste like cheddar,” Midnight smiled sweetly and booped Pocket’s nose with her own. “Well, I’m not complaining if you are. And hey, I always take risks way worse than this. So…” She grinned wickedly and spread her wings. “It’d be a shame not to give lovely house a… parting gift,” she said and looked at Pockets’ flanks. “You get a five second head start~”

“Oh boy…” Pockets gulped, before running like she had never ran before. “HAVE I EVER TOLD YOU YOU’RE KINDA NUTS?” She shouted from the distance just as the five seconds passed.

“Have I ever told you you’re kind of cute?” Midnight said as she lazily flapped just above Pocket’s head.

“Just ‘kind of’? Wow, rude!” Pockets laughed, before teleporting away and reappearing right on top of the thestral, “Hi ho batty away!” She exclaimed happily, hugging her tightly.

“Okay, one, that is horribly offensive, but you’re cute so I’ll let it slide… for now~” Midnight’s wings opened. “And two… remember, you asked for this!” And with a burst of speed, she shot off through the halls at blinding speed, somehow knowing when a turn was coming up before she even got to it.

“I REGRET EVERYTHING!” Pockets shouted. She would never get used to those levels of fast. 

“I regret I can’t fly faster in here,” Midnight said as she lapped the house before flying into the bedroom, the drag she created slammed the door shut behind her. “Now… Where were we~?”

Pockets would be kept flying high for a while yet~





The train gave a shrill whistle as Midnight finished loading the last bag onto the carriage. While Pickett may not have had many possessions… the sheer amount of gifts the townfolk had given her more than made up for that.

And now said folk had turned up to see her off… like, half the freaking town!

“Thanks everyone! Yeah, yeah I’ll write from time to time and stuff!” She chuckled as there was no way to understand anything the crowds were saying.

“Make way, police department yada yada.” Came a familiar, cold voice from the crowd. Diamond Cloud made his way through the crowds with Summer Breeze under his wing, “Hey. Would you look at that, you actually did something.” 

“Yup, solved all your problems for you,” Midnight nodded. “You’re welcome by the way.”

Diamond snorted, “What, for taking Pockets away? Yeah, for that I am forever thankful.” 

Pockets blew him a raspberry in return, “Ya coltcuddler besterd.”

“Look who’s talking.” He smirked, before turning to Midnight and chuckling, “Yeah, whatever. Thanks for saving our ass. Now that the entire political system of Tall Tale is down I’m now unemployed.” He deadpanned.

“Well, at least you don’t have to listen to Greenie anymore,” Midnight said and leaned against Pockets. “There’s that.”

“Eh, wasn’t planning to do so for much longer anyways. I’m taking this sweet bastard for a trip to wherever the rails take us.” He smiled softly as he nudged a now blushing Summer Breeze.

Pockets’ eyes widened up, “No way… you two?”

“Whoo, nice!” Midnight smiled and licked her lips. “Give us a call when you wanna spice the bedsheets up a little. Once you go Middy, you never go back~”

“And that’s exactly why I’m not jumping on that bandwagon.” He deadpanned, before chuckling, “In any case. Just take care, eh? And if you get tired of dealing with Pockets just give us a call and we’ll put the toddler back in her crib for you.”

“Aww, don’t worry, I love foals,” Midnight smiled and ruffled Pocket’s mane.

Pockets grumbled with an angry blush, “Friggin tall ponies and their bad jokes. Just wait till I grow up!” She said playfully with her tongue out.

“That ain’t happening you midget.” Diamond chortled, before grinning, “Well, we got some train tickets to buy. See ya later girls.”

“Bye Pockets, Bye Miss Midnight!” Breeze said chipperly, as they left towards another lane. And just as they were leaving came the sight of a sobbing Urban Spirit who just wasn’t ready to see her child leave home.

“Oh boy... “ Pockets sighed.

Midnight waved to Breeze and Diamond before she saw a rather heart warming sight. Full Steam and his family walked towards the two mare, wide grins on their faces.

“Hey, guys, you made it!” Pockets chuckled.

“Of course we did. After all you’ve done for us, Pockets? We couldn’t miss it.” Steam smiled, greeting Midnight with a nod, “And I must thank you too, Miss. We know this couldn’t have happened without you… and there’s someone who’s dying to see you.” He stepped to the side to reveal the small figure of Seashell, a wide heart-warming grin on her face.

“Little Seashell!” Midnight giggled and pulled the filly into a cute. “Ahh, now this I have this cuteness, my life is complete.”

“Hey, I’m cute as well!” Pockets mock whined before smiling, “But yeah, there’s no better cute than Seashell cute. Just look at those gla- Wait… are those what I think they are?”

Midnight looked at the filly in her pair of new glasses and her chest tightened. “Too… cute… can’t breathe… bleh!” She fell back, hugging the adorable filly. “Here lies Middy. Dead by Cute.”

“Ahh, I killeded the Tickle Bat,” Seashell gasped. “Nuuu, I’m too cute.”

“Nah, you’re no- gah… wait… oh boy.” With her eyes rolled back and her tongue all out, she leaned on Midnight and let out a raspy, zombie-like, “Gaaaaaah… RIP.”

“Nuuu, now I killeded Miss Pockey as well!” Seashell gasped. “Now I’ll be banisheded.”

“Extra Life!’ Midnight sat up and looked at Pockets. “Aww, Pockey is dead. But… I know a secret to waking her up~” She smiled clicked her teeth together.

Then, Pockets resurrected. Only to narrow her eyes and look at Midnight with a ‘don’t you dare’ look. As much as she loved/hated being bit on the butt, she would not allow that in front of Seashell’s innocent eyes. 

“And cuteness revives us!” Midnight decaled.

“Yaay, I leveleded up!” Seashell giggled as Midnight tickled her.

“Oh I’ll miss you, little ‘shell.” Pockets chuckled, messing with the giggling filly’s hair.

“So,” Seashell’s mother leaned in and whispered to Pockets. “When am I going to become an aunt hmm?”

Pockets’ face went red, a really awkward giggle leaving her mouth as she kicked the air, “W-well, I… I mean. We just started dating and...“ She winced and looked at Steam with eyes that begged for help. 

“Don’t look at me,” he shrugged and then pulled Pockets into a bonecrushing hug. “You take care you little scamp. And don’t be afraid to ask for anything. We owe you.”

“Aww, thanks Steamy. Now, if you could… you know, let me go because I kinda need my lungs to breathe.” Pockets half-chuckled, half-gasped for air. 

“Miss Middy?” Seashell asked and Midnight looked down at her. “Guess what?”

“Hmm, what’s up?” Midnight asked.

“When I grow up,” Seashell said and smiled brightly. “I wanna be a cool Royal Guard. Just like you!”

Midnight Song had no idea how to respond to that. She just blinked and then hugged her close. 

“Yeah, you can be whatever you want,” she smiled and rubbed the filly’s head. “No matter what anypony says.”

A grin appeared on Pockets’ muzzle, those words hitting close to home, “Yeah. Just look at me, I’m a street thief the size of a teen, and now I’m gonna become a Royal Guard myself! So, don’t let anything stop you, eh?”

“You’re gonna be a Guardy-Guard too?” Seashell stared up at her with an expression of wonderment and then smiled. “Then, when i grow up, we can be Guards, and protect the Princesses and kick bad guy butt!!”

“Heck yeah I will!” Pockets laughed, nooging the little filly. 

“Well. We should get going.” Steam chuckled, pulling Seashell closer to him, “Take care you two, and remember to write!”

“I’m looking forward to the wedding invitations!” Breeze called out.

Pockets facehooved as an embarrassed blush took over her face, “She’s relentless.” And just as they left, the sight of a familiar, sobbing motherbucker came to view.

 “Aww, what’s wrong Papa Spirit?” She asked him and pet his head.

“You know wuddup! Mah child, she gonna go to Canterlot and be one of dem guards! I'm both happy and angry at the same time!” He cried out.

Pockets chuckled and gave him a comforting hug, “Don’t worry Papa, It isn't that bad. I'm gonna write every week and maybe they'll let me visit from time to time. ‘Sides…” She leaned closer to him so Midnight couldn't year, completely forgetting that she had some amazing sense of hearing, “You know being a guard is like a lost dream to me. It'll be fun!”

“I know, I know mah child. Still… take care out dere eh? And you,” He looked at Midnight, sighing, “I know we didn't start with th'right hoof but… I just wanna ask you to look out for her. Got et?”

“Well of course I will,” Midnight nodded and pulled Pockets into a winghug. “I’ll watch her very, very closely~”

“Halp!” Pockets mouthed out.

Urban narrowed his eyes, “Ya watch your hoof motherbucker, if I hear anythin’ funky Imma deliver three dozens of full blastin’ speakers up in your place.” He growled protectively.

“Aww, don’t be like that,” Midnight chuckled and nibbled Pocket’s ear. “She likes where I put my hooves~” 

Urban blinked, several times, “OH YOU MOTHERBU-”

The magical bubble now placed on his muzzle kept him from startling the entire station. And a few minutes passed as he screamed into the bubble, until he finally calmed down. Once he did, he was hugged by a giggling unicorn who owed him the world.

“Thanks Papa Spirit, for everything.” Pockets whispered, causing the stallion to chuckle.

“Anytime child. And hey,” He lowered his gaze and made sure that nobody, not even Midnight could hear, also not remembering (or rather not knowing) of her amazing hearing sense, “And remember what we talked ‘bout. Ya gotta try to remain calm and don't stress up. And also, ya gotta tell her at some point. You ain't no freak, got it?”

“Yeah… I know. I'll tell her soon enough.” She sighed.

Midnight tilted her head at the two. They were mumbling about something, so she turned away to give them some privacy. Wait! Was that?...

She could have sworn she saw Quick Step in the crowd. Aww, she missed that snarky little maid already. Oh well, she still had her cute little thief. 

The train whistled again, signalling that it was time to leave.

“Well, Papa Spirit, time to go.” Pockets giggled, kissing his cheek.

“Take all the motherbucking care in th'world, child!” He exclaimed as the two mares boarded the train, “And remember to hear some blastin’ hip-trot so ya don't end up a snobbie!”

“I will!” Pockets shouted back, before looking at Midnight and shaking her head, “I won't.” 

“I’ll show you some decent music later,” Midnight smiled as they boarded the train. It gave one last whistle as the doors closed and the train started to pull away from the station. The two mares waved good bye until the station was out of sight, and they eventually took their seats.

“I am really looking forward to some peace and quiet,” Midnight groaned as she flopped onto the seat. “I wonder if I can take a vacation from my vacation?”

“A vacay-ception?” Pockets chuckled and sat down next to her, “And I thought I was the lazy one. And hey, at least you had fun, saved the town, defeated the bad guys, and got the mare. I don't know why you're complaining.”

“Because you still ruined my epic fight scene!” Midnight pouted. Yes, she was still complaining about that. “You better believe I’m punishing that bouncy butt of yours for that.”

“Geez, such a whiny little bat baby. Get over it.” The unicorn stuck her tongue out, “And hey, I told you already that if we see another baddie, he's yours.” She leaned on Midnight and sighed as the the sight of the slowly disappearing town planted a smile on her muzzle. “I’m gonna miss this little town… Hey, whatever happened to Sphinx and Quickie? I heard they never found her.”

“Dunno,” Midnight sighed and shrugged. “For a foreign spy that might or might not have been a badgal as well. She was tons of fun, and so was that little snarky maid of hers. I think I’ll miss them.” The thestral hummed to herself.

“D’aww, did you hear that dear? They'll miss us.”

Both Pockets and Midnight looked at each other in confusion, “Did… did you also hear that or am I just going crazy?”

Midnight’s ears flicked. “No… bucking… way…” She looked a few seats down. “I swear, if that’s Sphinx and Quickie… I will not have sex for a week!”

“Well good  thing they are not.” Came that so familiar smooth voice from behind Midnight, a pleasurable stinging sensation taking over her left ear as Sphinx nibbled it playfully, “Hello dearies.”

“Sphinx!?” Pockets exclaimed in shock and surprise, “W-what are you doing here?”

She chuckled as her arms surrounded Midnight, her head resting on the thestral’s own, “Well now that my mission is complete, I shall be relocated to a new city of course. But of course, first I must go to Las Pegasus to meet with my superiors. They are not too delighted with my behavior yesterday.” The griffon sighed, before letting out a soft smile, “Quickie found out that this train goes to Las Pegasus after its stop in Canterlot, so she made the arrangements.”

Then, the head of the unamused vanilla pegasus popped up from the seat right next to Sphinx’s, “You have no idea how hard it is to get train seats at the very last minute. I almost had to blackmail the lady at the boot.” She grunted.

“Luckily, a couple of tourists got extremely sick all of the sudden after a certain friendly griffoness offered them a drink” Sphinx giggled, “Poor dearies, such terrible luck they had.””

“I’m sure,” Midnight sighed and rolled her eyes. “You know… Princess Luna is looking for you Miss Sphinx.”

“Well then good thing ‘Sphinx’ is going to disappear from the map soon.” The griffon replied with a sigh, “One of the many ‘perks’ you get from being a spy, a new identity for every new city. Albeit if I must be sincere with myself, I was really growing fond of this name, partially because of you two, dearies.”

“Imma be real for a moment,” Midnight said to her. “Are we friends Miss… Whatever your name might be?”

Sphinx hummed in thought, “Well. You could say that. We have the same objective and in the end work for the same cause. Yet as you can probably tell my methods are far more… extreme to say the least. So you don’t need to worry about me turning against you, because even if for some strange reason I was ordered to take you down, I would simply go rogue again and blow something else up instead.” She winked to Midnight, “So relax dear, I’m not evil if you’re thinking that. Does Celestia agree with our methods? Not in the slightest. But we are on the same side.”

“And for the strangest reason. I believe you,” Midnight nodded and patted the arm that hugged her. “Well, I won’t turn you over to the Princesses at any rate, but do try and visit sometime. I still have plenty of moves to try on little Quickie there~”

“Please don’t.” The Pegasus deadpanned, “Never before have I had so much to clean until you two came along. Do you know how hard it is to get rid of those… ‘special stains’ on the floor?” 

“She’ll love it.” Sphinx chuckled.

Pockets hummed and quirked an eyebrow, “Hey, Quickie. Is that even your real name or do you also change it like feather-butt here?”

The Pegasus shook her head no and shrugged, “Never had the need to. I’m not really an agent, just her companion.”

“Besides, I change my name for protection purposes. There are dozens of ponies out there with grudges against my former personas. Yet with our dear Quick here, anyone who ever had a grudge against her… well let’s just say that if they’re somehow still breathing, they will not want to see her face anytime soon.” Sphinx smirked, “After all, she was the one that decided to be my companion to teach me the ropes and keep me in check under the whole ‘maid’ facade, which surprisingly enough stopped being a facade shortly afterwards. But when I first started working, she was actually my superior.”

“And you just had to say it, didn’t you?” Quick Step rolled her eyes. Middy gasped and looked at the pony maid, who was apparently a badflank spy in her own right. 

“Hmm, that explains the daggers I kept finding under your skirt,” Midnight hummed, her hoof idly tapping against the floor in a rhythmic beat. “And here I thought you just wanted me to stop groping you~”

“I despise you sometimes...” She grumbled, turning around to go back into the newspaper she was reading, “Yes, yes. I’m a former spy. Big deal. Now if you excuse me, I’ll read these comic strips until I fall asleep.”

“Oh she’s adorable.” Sphinx giggled, “Well. If you need us, we’ll be cuddling together back here. Have a wonderful journey dearies.” And with a warm smile, she went back to her seat.

“Well that was… something.” Pockets chuckled, before noticing the pretty nice beats her marefriend’s hooves were making. With a grin, she followed the beat as well with her own hooves, her head bobbing to the rhythm, “So, are ya finally gonna tell me what that buttmark means? I swear if ya say you’re a drummer or something ridiculously out of place like that.”

“Hmm, my Cutie Mark?” Midnight looked at her flank. “Oh… I suppose I never did tell you did I? Well, it’s fairly self explanatory really.” She started to refine the beat as she took a breath...

And then Midnight Song started to sing.

“Holy Celestia…” Pockets’ jaw dropped, a smile growing on her face as she followed the beat with her hooves. She was good, real good, and oh it just made her love that batmare so much more. The thestral stood up and started to dance as well, timing her steps and creating a rhythm to her song. And when she hit the second verse, she nuzzled the unicorn to let her know it was about her.

Even behind them the usually grumpy Quick Step let out a soft smile, humming along the song while Sphinx pet her head and caressed her hair softly, “Well my dear, a new adventure awaits us.”

“Yeah, but at least I know that without you it won’t be a dull one.” Quick chuckled, “And you know… I’m feeling like coming back to the force, perhaps aid you on a more direct way.”

Sphinx hummed, “Is that so? Well now this will be an interesting thing to see. Celestia bless whoever is our next target. Now bring your marvelously cute head here dear and let me pet you some more”

The pegasus replied with a deep sigh, getting a bit closer to secretly enjoy what she would otherwise claim to hate. Sphinx was too good at petting, much to her annoyance.

Meanwhile back in Tall Tale, Urban Spirit laughed and rejoiced as he and his children celebrated the start of a new Grumble-free era. The rumors of an old beloved officer running for the next mayor giving everyone hope about a brand new future.  And now that their records were completely clean, the possibilities were endless. “Heck! I may even become a hip-trop rapper!” Nobody was happy with that decision, yet they still supported it nonetheless. 

Far away in Canterlot, deep underground in the ancient dungeons, three unamused ponies served food in a rusty old jail filled to the brim with the most wicked criminals around. The white pegasus in particular kept his eyes wide open all the time, not even able to sleep and even shouting at any stranger that got remotely close to his flank. At least he had his radio to calm him down, playing his sweet classical music to help him relax, much to his two cellmates’ annoyance.

And so, their new journey began. The street thief and the royal guard, now ready to take on whatever destiny had prepared for them. And judging from past experiences of both mares, they knew it wasn’t going to be pretty, but they also knew it was going to be a blast. After all, with two mares like themselves? Life could never get boring.





“... And because of these thousands of lost fillies who did not have the pleasure of growing up with loving parents, is that we are happy to announce our brand new Miss Wide Heart’s Orphanage for lost Children branch here in Canterlot.” 

The sound of clapping hooves filled the massive hall, every single pony in the room standing up from the heart-warming speech. The tears and ‘Bravos’ from the invited nobles gave the tall blue-coated stallion a warm, thankful grin. 

“Thank you all kindly! If you wish to donate to our foundation, Miss Sparks will be waiting in a stand outside for you. Let’s all work together to make a better Equestria!”

The hall slowly emptied itself, all the nobles leaving it with the widest grins possible as the sensation of helping those in need warmed their chests. 

“Poor fools…”

The stallion sighed as he got rid of the uncomfortable suit with a flash of his horn, shuddering as the ‘snob-stench’ as he called the intoxicating expensive perfumes reached his muzzle. 

“Yo, Heart.” A slim light blue pegasus walked into the room with a bag full of bits, “Amazing job as always dude, you killed their wallets with that speech!”

“Tch! Appealing to their base nature is foal’s play… hmm, speaking of…” he looked at the Pegasus. “How goes the training of our newest, recruits?”

“The Canterlot branch’s ready for action. Those five you found? They have some talent. Yeah it took some… convincing to do with most of them, but I think they’re ready for their first job.” She nodded, before stretching her wings with a sigh, “This is sooo dumb. I prefer regular stealing way better. Also, what’s up with that dull blue you got going on? It’s ugly as heck.”

“Agreed,” Valiant nodded as his form flashed with emerald flames, altering his appearance. He was now a slate-grey Thestral stallion with a cobalt mane and tail with piercing red eyes. “Ahh, this is more my speed. A little… inspiration from recent events.”

“Geez, edgy much?” Spark chuckled, shaking her head, “Whatever floats your boat dude. Well then, let’s go cause some ruckus, shall we?”

“Indeed,” the now-batpony nodded and licked his fangs. “We have much work to do.”