Another entry. So, a few more deaths have occurred and my inability to care has been seamless! Of course, some by accident, others by sheer stupidity, I watched a guy stand in a campfire while screaming 'Flame On'. I'm convinced people have a pool going for the dumbest, most avoidable deaths possible. Off-topic, lets get back to where I was, today I was aiding the Rat, also known as Gin with a mystery that had cropped up in the town of Hoofprint...

[Hoofprint | Central Plaza]

"A-ah! Son of a --!" Biting my curse I rubbed my eyes of all the black spots that danced around, shaking my head clear while stepping off the white platform. "Who adjusted the brightness of these Runes anyway?"

Blinking a couple of times I stopped to view the most... plain and uninteresting town so far. The area used to be like the rest of the wilderness between Ponyville and Canterlot, wilderness and forests. Now, it's all water and moats didn't do anything for the main town, I've seen black and white movies with more glamor. The large lake the town was situated on was shaped like a hoof, guess where the name came from.

The town was located in a hoof-shaped basin, all its buildings were made from bright white stone and had stone-paved streets filled with water to make canals, meaning you had to use a gondola to get anywhere. I blinked slowly. "Looks like chalk floating in the middle of a lake..." "Also, why are the entrances to the buildings on the second floor? What topsy-turvy town is this?"

Taking a moment to procure a bench to sit by and watch time fly by, I decided to get a 'certain' skill ready. It was sunset, but I had time to kill before my partner arrives to conduct business. Parting my hooves the menu appeared as I pressed the 'items' icon, then went to 'Skills'. Now a list of many skills in a line with branches leading downward to higher, locked levels appeared. Dashing my hoof to the left to rotate the horizontal list I stopped at the skill I needed.

<Skill - Lumina Curso>

When under the cover of darkness you gain increased speed and reduced stamina depletion for twenty seconds.

Closing my menu I rubbed a hoof over my face, peering up at a lamppost, completely bored out of my mind, how long is this going to take? I'm finally level sixteen so I can take on my personal quest, the Bloodied Blade, I have the supplies for the quest but of course, a monkey wrench was going to fall by my hooves.

I screamed, yet the blowback from a limb covering my mouth made it almost inaudible. My glare titled back to come nose-to-nose with that smug Rat again. Her eyes narrowed with a condescending smile.

"Ah wll emm yowr exithtese yew weched wat!" My muted insult only made her toothy smile widen, her hoof finally releasing me

"Fufufu, all this time and that's the 'hello' I get, not very welcoming, Red." She looked mocked, but I just sent her a fierce glare

"Burn in hell you Rat." Gin laughed me off, hopping over the spine, and sitting down next to me. "A little career advice, maybe don't treat your employee like she's an object and she might stick around to actually ingest whatever comes out your mouth."

Her posture bent a little, her grin shrinking a little. "Never gonna change, eh?"

"Alright," Her hooves rose for a moment. "So, these sorts of requests aren't my business and Blu-boy's got himself wrapped up in another issue so my time's nicked, but given how bloated the issue's become, I thought that somethin' unexpected requires and unexpected solution."

"Yeah, with any luck I expect little to no sleep as of right now," My voice dripping with sarcasm, but she once more smiled devilishly. "Unless you already took care of that issue?"

"Fufufu, never underestimate the lengths I would go fer info and a reward, especially since stealth is more my forte," Her elbow soon jabbed me, a cocky expression just radiating off her. "You're leagues away from ever bein' able to pull off my kind of espionage with that half-assed set of skills!"

Gin sat with her back to a wall, hidden among the shadows with her hood as to not draw any attention to her presence. Around the corner, down a small alley sat several players, three of which were low levels trying to trade some old gear for something substantial, nothing special or out of their price range.

A few ranking players, two of which were rather weak, while one of those Assault-League players led them, had some decked out equipment too :)

You mean the overly incompetent guild that's not a guild that's been able to clear the Ponyville Region Boss despite their leaders being idiots? :/

She had been tailing them for an hour and finally, they stopped before a man with a nervous disposition, their blonde mane was frazzled and beard unkempt. He looked ready to faint until his magic pulled from behind his back a potion and popped the cork, the thin test-tube was twisted into a helix, containing what looked like stardust.

Upon obtaining their weapons, including the AL player's overcompensating sword, the man muttered something under his breath as he threw the liquid in the air around them, at first Gin tilted her head, blinking without much to guess as to the three guys... waving goodbye without their weapons, spouting how good their new and improved gear was, or lack of any.

Gin's little tale came to an end with my forelegs crossed, lips pressed into a thin line. She shared an unusual expression of concern and bafflement.

"And after that, the guy just wandered off with their weapons in-toe?" She nodded once. For a moment I said nothing, groaning audibly as I stood up, tapping my hoof against the inside of my Platinum shield, it looked like a standard shield now.

Her hoof wiggled before me. "Tisk-tisk, first we meet with two from that guild, they'll be our witnesses so that we both don't end up pickin' fights with the wrong crowd, not that it wouldn't be fun to see them try." Well, that's true. Then she raised a second hoof. "Then, once we get the situation explained, we'll proceed to the hideout where this guy's storing the goods or even where he's gettin' those potions from."

Without another word of complaints, I followed her into the gondola toward the market street of Hoofprint, passing by many stalls and shops that continued to serve throughout the night. We took our time, pointing out different locals of interest for future reference. After many streets, we came to stop before a corner tavern under a large building.

From the outside, the tavern looked very rustic in contrast to the rest of the town, just the golden glow from the small windows gave me the sign it was open, I mean, why wouldn't it be? Large stones and wooden details make up most of the building's outer structure. When Gin held the door open for us, we were greeted with a relaxing atmosphere, and surprisingly, there were players here in this rather old fashion place.

The bartender looked quite busy but still managed to welcome us with a short wave. It was okay, not screaming 'perfection', but taking a more public place to discuss a string of robberies wouldn't be such a smart idea. Rounded, wooden beams support the upper floor and the light fixtures attached to them. The walls are littered with all sorts of memorabilia, Approaching a smooth, oak table, two light-armored players sat anxiously as though they believed the whole place was about to draw their weapons on them. Sitting down, I pushed the lantern aside to view the two in a better light.

The one on the left was a white unicorn with long, blonde hair tied into a ponytail like me with emerald eyes, a few freckles on her cheeks. Her armor was like the rest of the AL, lighter than what I was expecting. She wore a pure white chest plate covering a bit more of her upper abdomen trimmed with gold lining and similarly-colored bracers. Additionally, she wore black gloves with gold-colored metal armor plates over her hooves with a gold-pelt sash.

The guy, a pegasus, wore the same as her, must be friends if they wanted to look apart from the rest of that so-and-so guild. His coat was light blue with a mane that was curled a little with a dark blue hue, his eyes the same color.

[Tahchi - Lv. 14]

[OmniSloth - Lv. 14]

"So, Miss Informant, was it?" Gin nodded to the mare while I held a hoof to my chest, the other covering my mouth as I held back a laugh. Her eyes did glance in my direction, her rather serious expression shifting to uncertainty. "And this is...?"

"...hehehehe... that name..." I wheezed, I was about ready to die as I waved my hoof to the girl, teeth knitted together for a moment. "I-I'm a... hehehehe... I can't!"

"Is she alright?" Oh yes, your holiness. I slammed my head against the table for a moment to laugh out loud, Gin also trying to hide her mirth

"His name is OmniSloth, this is... the greatest day of my life!" I wept with joy, wiping a few tears from my eyes as I cleared my throat, Gin patting me on the back. "Okay... Okay, I'm good, hehehe, that, that is a brilliant name."

"Come back down, Red, take a breath," I did, holding it for a moment with a mellow sigh

"Anyways," Tahchi didn't sound all too amused by my attitude so far, while 'Sloth' housed his own look of levity over the situation turned comedic by my introduction. "You wanted to discuss something about why players have had their weapons mysteriously stolen?"

"That's right, did some diggin' around and found a lead that could take us to the source, or atleast a promisin' lead -- Acts similar to the Quick-Change scam a while back," Gin jabbed a hoof in my bemused direction, cheek in-hoof. "This gal's our way of getting the info we want, of course, you two for extra hands encase things get too sour for my taste."

"More like I'm herding sheep, but whatever you say," I murmured, my eye caught the twitch in Tahchi's expression. While Sloth looked a little insulted by my remark. "The only reason you two are here is that, surprise, I could be doing a million better things than helping the so-and-so guild that puts 'being the hero' over actually doing their jobs in helping clear the game."

"You act as though you can single-handedly take down what we can assume is a group of six or more players of our level, while capturing the culprit behind all of this? And where were you on the day of the Region bosses, huh?" Tahchi's vexing response brought a smug look back to my features while I leaned in

"Oh don't think I can't do it too. I am quite the multitasker." I proclaimed, glaring playfully back at the knight who looked ready to put my head through the table. "From what I can see, you wouldn't be this close to the truth if not for the Broker beside me--"

"--So be honest, how much did you know of this issue beforehand?" I awaited the answer that never came, her mouth opened, but nothing came out, instead, she sat back down, closing her mouth. While I leaned back on my chair. "I rest my case."

"God, you are insufferable." Tahchi's grouch just kept adding the fuel. "Forgive my saying, but you don't quite look the part yourself."

I did a once-over of her, Sloth rubbing his temples at realizing what she had just started. "Ah, of course, I could just tell by your... typical knightly attire that you're just fit for a fight." That made her face turn red, either from embarrassment or anger or very well both

"Please," Sloth finally spoke up, looking desperate for the end of this spat between us, while Gin sat in silence, humming at the scene without woe. "I know we may not seem like it, but we are fully prepared to fight other players if need be, and we will help however we can to ensure no other player has to be robbed of their valuables."

He put his hooves together on the table, looking down. "My friend had suffered from this too, he kept spouting about this new, powerful weapon of his and yet he had no such thing... and... the next day he nearly died, only then did he miraculously realize he was unarmed."

I quirked a brow but remained silent. Then Tahchi cleared her throat, putting a hoof on his shoulder for assurance.

"Looking past everything, if this continues, the chances of stronger players being robbed and slowing progress of clearing Regions grows with each day this occurs," Her eyes reached me, anger still rich in those emerald orbs. "I do not care for you, nor how you act, I only want to see an end to this, now."

For a pregnant pause, none of us spoke, Gin all too busy in her menu working on something that kept her attention away from the tension. With a pat of the table, I leaned in again, frowning.

"Looks like your guild isn't just filled with shiny idiots who fancy themselves heroes," Their eyes widened a little. "You got the marker set, Gin, let's complete this quest already."

"Did so while you flirted with the knight," Amusing, but Tahchi didn't seem to think so, looking away as I stood up. "We need to move, and quickly."

"By now, most players would have begun noticing this trend of robberies too, and if they find out who's been behind them they'll be out for revenge, and since there's no way to salvage their gear if it's been sold," Gin raised a hoof at the thought. "With rage and lust for revenge, it'll lead to a public PK, just like what they near did back at the second Region fight."

"A...player kill...!" Sloth gaped, while I crossed my arms - legs... whatever. "I was there... that guy in a hood wanted us to kill a guy who had conned many players out of the gear to treat himself, maybe he's to do with this... he seemed adamant about PKing when we were ready to go through with it."

"Then we need to move, now!" Tahchi shot up, grabbing her broadsword from under the table, the black strap attached to the white and gold scabbard. "Where do we go, Miss Informant?"

I shrugged. "Guess we best make haste." "So this quest was added from the Developer Streams...? Seriously, who is this game aimed at!?"

"You know, I am utterly lost right now, where the hell are we?" I motioned wide to the crossroads of street number four, the three of us following Gin down her old hoofsteps, quite literally now that we were in a party and could 'see' her steps from later today banking near a long, curved row of buildings with only one visible alley in-sight

"Should be down there, but if you don't mind..." She motioned for me to take the lead, the four of us now nearing the alley in a street that was surprisingly empty, okay, that was strange. I approached the left corner, slowly pivoting my head around for a better look

"The longer we wait the more likely the culprit will leave," Tahchi proclaimed impatiently, stepping past me. "We don't even know he is still--"

I yanked her backward by her collar, throwing her against the wall beside me as several shiny objects flew past my face, splitting a few locks of hair on the way. To the left of us, Gin and Sloth stood back a little more.

"I'm sorry, am I the only person in this game that understands how DETECTION works!?" I yelled in her face, moving to stand before the alley with my sword poised. "I want double once this is over."

Three more long, silver blades flew out from the darkness, I swung down diagonally then raised my shield, effortlessly blocking all the knives with a yellow substance coating them. I yanked one off my shield, backhanding another with my shield, raising my leg back in quick succession.

"Yeet!" I spun, flicking the knife toward the shadows while slicing three more upon my initial twirl, the metal clanking against the right wall as I stomped my way forward, sword scraping the stone. "<Dawn>." My shield lit up partially

Now illuminated, the alley broke off into a 'T', with somepony laying on the ground with a knife in their shoulder, the 'Paralysis' debuff applied. I heard the hoofsteps behind me while I used my left forehoof to push the pony back down. Lo-and-Behold, it's the same guy Gin saw trick those players, only now I could see the yellow cursor.

"Now, I haven't the time nor the ability to ask nicely, so let me make this clear to you," I leaned down, pointing Genisis toward his neck. "I'm a reasonable girl, you cough up what we want to know, or I'll do everything in my power to force you to watch someone kick a wall with a toothpick between their toenails."

Everyone shuddering painfully at the thought while the man gulped, finally opting to speak.

"L-Look, I-I'll talk alright! Just... just don't let them catch me, or... make me watch that, please!" I sheathed my sword, still with my hoof planted on his chest. "Okay, so when this whole Death Game started so many people were left in the dust, some of us couldn't even level up without running into people taking up profitable spots to gain experience and gear."

"Then why did you not decide to wait? Or go to a nearby town?" Tahchi questioned, the man sharing my blunt look

"You want to fight high-level monsters far away from a Safe Zone? Make pocket money off of repeatable quests? You're crazy, lady!" He's got a point, even I wouldn't risk that, atleast not yet anyways. There's a fine line between progress and greed, most players die of the latter. "Without a Region, Boss beaten the loot and XP will eventually slow down, so what else was I suppose to do?"

This was something Malware never told us, unsurprising. With every Region Boss slew, the levels of monsters across MLPR increased, so the reward was growing but the threat of death was far more apparent if you went out ill-prepared, a couple dozen players found that out the hard way.

"Don't listen to blonde, listen to the redhead who's starting to forget the deal she just struck with your sorry ass!" I pushed down on his chest, hearing him grunt uncomfortably

"You sure you're not a red player?" Ignoring the whispered remark I awaited the unicorn's answer

"Look, woman, I just follow orders! They gave me these Potions of Starlight and tell me to use the skill <Mirage>, I don't get how it works, but they just end up in this weird trance where they believe anything you say for a moment, once it wears off they don't remember a thing," He started to sweat, Sloth looking down at him angrily. "I... I didn't think it would cause any side-effects, honest!"

I threw my head back, "Ah, fuck, that's a quest that was going to be added but canceled due to the effects..." I ran my hoof over my muzzle. "Your boss hasn't completed it, so you get an infinite supply of the stuff," This was bad, and judging by Gin's expression she knew all too well

"From what I heard. It was a potion that stimulated a player or monster's senses, like a drug, giving off sensory illusions tailored to whatever the brewer wants, it was so broken with <Mirage> since the skill enhances the darkness debuff, but it was canceled because it caused headaches and such IRL," She shook her head, hoof tapping to the other. "My guess Malware's undone the code, threw it back in when the 'Reset' occurred."

"You bastard," Now a new sword had been drawn down on the pony, this time from Sloth. "My friend nearly died because of you, all the while you and your friends sat and laughed about it, how broken are you inside to think that was okay?"

"Sloth, calm down," Tahchi moved to put her hoof on his wrist, the sword trembling before the unicorn's throat while I did nothing, seeing the effect of paralysis die out, so I pressed the man firmly to the stone. "It's okay, we can stop this before anyone else gets hurt, okay?"

His grip loosened somewhat, and I took the chance to bring my head down toward the man. "Location, spill it."

"T-the other side of town, in a shop called 'Nimbus', blue and white sign out the front." I smiled, then brought my heel up and slammed it into his forehead, knocking the man out

"How long would it take to get there?" I asked Gin, her marker already changing on my minimap

"Not long." I nodded and proceeded down the right alley. "I'll get the rest ready then!?"

I waved once, already dead-set on what I had to do next. My plan certainly had a few steps that could send it spiraling downward, but the outcome would remain the same, and besides, even if this a temporary solution it won't be skin off my nose. That being said, I stopped at the set of hoofsteps behind me.

"Here we go." I turned around, the newest in a long line of problems for me to pile in the right corner. "Am I supposed to be surprised or were you expecting a different reaction?"

"This has nothing to do with you being capable of this alone, more so... my way of applying what you said," Now I was lost, and her tone of voice had changed to be less... annoyingly serious. With her hoof to her chest, she proceeded at my blank stare. "You were right... our guild is weak."

"While I never said that, I will proceed to add that to the long list." My casual remark made her eyebrow twitch again

"Anyways. I want to do better than just sitting around or waiting for the next boss, what good is it if everyone else is risking their lives to end this Death Game when our guild cares more about reputation, not even bothering to power level, it's all just pointless," She looked angry, but more at herself and me probably. "I want to make a difference, I want players to feel safe knowing that so many are trying every day to make light of this Game."

"So please, let me help you put a stop to these thieves, atleast allow me that much." I was already walking away by the time she had probably noticed, but I tapped my shield to the wall irritably

"Are you going to continue your little heroic speech or should I keep walking?" That made her scowl return, while I smiled. "I get dibs on their leader, by the way."

"Let me break his nose then sure." Now she was actually looking at me with less murderous intent in her eyes

"Meh, deal Blondie, I'll be breaking more than that..." I muttered the last part as the two of us ran off through the streets and toward the canals

The place was discernible through the weeds and grasses that had reclaimed it. The windows were boarded up haphazardly with the sign swaying in the wind, now rusted and the paintwork chipped. There were people about, but only a handful. Comparing this shop to the rest of the town was like night and day.

"Love what they've done with the place, just screams 'Welcoming'." I drawled with a cheery attitude

"Do you just love the sound of your own voice?" Tahchi scoffed beside me, and I put a hoof to the door with one on my chest

"It's my gift to the world." That made her mutter under her breath as we walked in, a bell above us giving the entire shop the indication someone was here. "Yo, anybody home!?"

"You sure that's a wise idea?" Tahchi stepped in next to me, magic wrapping around her weapon's pommel while we walked down the middle of the dusty shop stands, looks like it definitely sold potions, most looked grey or broken now, and cobwebs covered a number of shelves

"Relax, if someone was here they'd have set a trap foooor..." We stopped before the counter, seeing a player down, struggling to breathe

"Oh my God." Tahchi leapt over the counter, myself doing the same while she tended to the player, his armor was mainly made of boiled leather with a grey cloak attached by a silver chain, a knife embedded in his chest. "Would you mind helping me, he's dying!"

"Correction, he's suffering," I pointed out with mirth lacing my words, throwing a carpet off a not-so-hidden hatch, pointing above my head to where my health would be. "Probably hurts like a bitch but his health won't drop into the red. Besides, he's one of the guys were after."

"What?" I saw her back away from the pony, his eyes shut in pain, but just above his right forehoof's wrist was a strange, ivy serpent coiled around a dagger. "Wait... I've seen that before. But why strike down their own?"

"Why else? He's the one that supplied the guy from the alleyway." God, I have to explain everything. Judging by her expression I brought my sword out, wedging it between the floor and hatch. "Those first three knives were from this guy, who ran after seeing we were on to them, so he left us with the salesman Gin had tailed, but he already used up all his knives on me in vain. When this guy got back the boss probably got mad and punished him, and right now the group is waiting down here to ambush us."

"You figured all that out from a few knives thrown?" Tahchi sounded astonished, and I finally snapped the lock off with a smile

"I like to consider myself as the girl always several steps ahead of the rest," Flinging the hatch open, I jumped down into the illuminated depths, stepping aside to allow Tahchi down also. "<Dawn>."

Candles gave some light to the large room underneath, but now we could see it for all it was. A basement around two stories taller than the shop itself, rotten support beams stretching across the ceiling and pillars connected with rusted steel. Tables, chairs, and shelves littered with items, most of which were the same for the empty and slightly empty bottles of Stardust. Holes dotted the walls with webs and dust coating most where players left it untouched.

On my minimap, I spotted several hidden targets, but from how they were spaced among the shadows near a long, dark tunnel at the far end of the room, some had higher stealth skills than my detection. Holding my blade downward we stood with our backs to the wall.

"For the love of God, would you come out already?" My snappish reply brought the whole group out, creepy smiles and weapons drawn with a few dark chuckles here-and-there. Six in total, two axes, one greatsword, two short swords, and a katana of East-Asia make. "Did I stutter? I said everyone Skeletor!"

Finally, from the damp tunnel in the back came out a man of more distinguished features, the rest all looking rather boring, some were tall and lanky, another was fat, one wore a mask so no use trying to tell who he was. Their leader, however, looked more dangerous.

His very long-sleeved, dark-grey animal skin jacket covered him to just below his waist and is barely tied with string at the center. The sleeves of his jacket are a little wide and reach down to well below his hands, they're decorated with a single thread lining and a decorative band.

The jacket has a wide v-neck which reveals part of the plate armor worn below it and is worn with a dark leather belt, which is held together by a decorative pin. The leather belt is almost entirely a functional addition. His pants are simple and wide and reach down to his back hooves. He also wore an eye mask, but nothing to hide his silver mullet. Oh, and he's a dark-grey earth pony too.

[Nocturne - Lv. 16]

"Impressive, you managed to see through most of our hidden skills, even going so far as to call me out despite not knowing I was here," Was he... making his voice gravely? Oooh, Jesus. Rolling my eyes I listened anyway. "But you should have thought better than to bring a rookie of the Assault League and yourself against us, Poison Scale."

"Haha, 'Poison Scale'? I've never even heard of you," I smirked with a twirl of my blade. "I thought you'd atleast be someone of credible danger, but you probably strike fear into the hearts of those that are surprised when a new mechanic not from the Beta is introduced."

"Another reason why our guild is still... flimsy." Tahchi defeatively muttered. Stepping toward the group, I used the tip of my sword to poke at an empty bottle of Stardust.

"I have to admit, how you got your hands on the quest for this recipe not meant to not exist anymore is strange, but I quite frankly don't have the time, nor the reward big enough for the details," My sword flicked between us. "So, I'll be taking both the event quest and your sorry asses to jail."

"It's why no one else has the quest, once it's completed it'll be gone forever, the reward is a hefty sum of Bits, half a dozen Stardust Potions, and a good portion of exp," I licked my lips. "I'll be taking the rewards to sell, thanks," Flinging the bottle against the far wall, I looked around at the group with a sly smile. "Now, while my tagalong might not agree, I am going to start breaking your legs and dragging you in, and please, please refuse to give up."

"You have quite the mouth, brat. But I've heard of you, the Red Warrior, that's all you have, isn't it?" Nocturne chuckled, while his eyes were covered I could imagine he looked as though all the cards were in his favor. "A child so absorbed in being the invincible, sarcastic, heroin when in reality you are as weak and pathetic as anyone else her age, being trapped here must have been a blessing for you."

I didn't waver at all, my smile still resting on my features with my hoof hidden behind my shield, hoof flicking back subtly, "How the hell you put up that front all day is certainly commendable, but, like I say to everyone like you." I raised my sword, shield shimmering a little brighter this time. "If you're going to be a smartass, be sure you're actually smart, otherwise you're just an ass."

"<Brightburn Shield>!" I covered my eyes with a sleeve, my shield bathing the basement in a powerful flash of light. Seeing that I affected every player bar myself and Tahchi I bucked a chair, using my shield to bash it against the face of one of the thieves, with my sword I flipped it around, shoving the pommel against another's jaw while ducking to avoid a lunge from an axe, this time I held my shield close. "<Airlock Shield>."

The air blast sent all three flying from me. To the far left, Tahchi rolled onto the table, smashing her sheaved sword against the thief's greatsword, the parry knocked him back, giving her a clear shot to kick him straight in the Netherlands. He fell with a squeal, another swinging low and taking most of the items off the table. Tahchi jumped, hooves hooked around the beam while she kicked out with both feet, landing and channeling a powerful violet into her blade.

"<Big Crunch>." The sheaved blade held high in both hooves, she brought it down through the table with an earth-shattering impact, chucking splinters across the basement, a strange, black object landing by my feet. I picked it up, slamming my shield against an idiot who came at me with a warcry

It was a scroll, markings lining the object with a silver seal on either end, to my surprise, a message popped up, just as I ducked under the swing of another's sword, so I swiveled my blade down his own, flicking it from his grip and holding him at bladepoint.

|Side-Quest Obtained!|
Starless Night
A strange contractor requests an unusual potion for his travels, filling in his request will offer you a fitting reward
|Quest Item!|
-Stardust Potion-

"Hey, Artorias!" I snapped out of my trance, seeing Tahchi block again with her weapon, pushing a pony against the wall. "He's getting away, down the tunnel!"

"Right!" Their leader was rattling away. I was so caught up with the notification of a quest that he managed to worm his way down the tunnel he came from. I took chase, fly-kicking a pegasus out of my way, slamming through some barrels blocking the tunnel. From the stench, it led to a sewer

The small tunnel was a fissure within the wall of the massive sewer system. The walls stretched around in a U-shape, about ten feet below was the sewage, while mossy cobblestone pillars bent up and around the massive arch-shaped tunnel, torches lining the walls for us. I sprinted down the left side, the masked brewer on the right, roughly twenty meters apart from my pathway, both of ours diverging at the far end in a 'T'. I couldn't let him leave around that bend, no when I was so close to catching him.

My eyes wide I spun around, blocking the three knives coated in the same substance as the rest, he was really desperate to just up and abandon his 'guild', coward. I turned, seeing my path had diverged, leaving a large gap with only a few broken pillars to bridge the way. Grumbling under my breath I sped up, shutting my eyes momentarily to focus.

"<Lumina Curso>." Now smothered in a blanket of shadows, my speed dramatically increased, pushing off a small cornerstone and onto the first pillar, slamming my hoof down and propelling myself toward the next, then with a hoofstand I flipped over onto the third, making a final dash over the gap and back onto the stable pathway, this time with my sword poised back

In a shimmer of scarlet, my body flew across the gap with a powerful lunge of energy, sinking blade through stone, startling Nocturne, who swung back with several more knives. With my blade still charged I bent it down and through the wall, spraying the path in dust and debris, hearing him cough painfully.

Taking my chance I tackled through the dust cloud, slamming into his body while he was trying to leave through another tunnel this time revealing the light of a lantern on the other side. I drove my curled hoof into his jaw, throwing him across the path, he kicked back, my shield raised to block it and two more knives.

"You should have looked the other way, Warrior!" He again threw more knives than the rest of his cronies, and I had enough, charging him down with my shield raised, something grazing my calf while I barreled into him, the two of us slamming through whatever blocked off the pathway out. "Agh!"

We fell atleast a story down onto the pavement, the unused drain we fell from having been situated just above a busy street, poor construction really. Many gasped and mumbled among themselves as I fell onto my back, finding it difficult to raise my legs even by some margin. I was paralyzed. And Nocturne? Well, he was coughing and laughing in a higher, crow-like voice.

"Hahaha, you're too late, brat, I win!" He stood proud, this time raising one of those knives in his hoof a look of malice written over his face, the mask broke to reveal heterochromatic eyes, one blue, the other red. "I can't kill you here, but I think this ought to be a lesson for you when you play around where you don't be-long!"

His knife came down on my right shoulder, it took biting my cheek to ignoring any pain that burned through my shoulder, luckily this one wasn't laced with paralysis venom. But the pain was certainly real, and there were no players among the crowd so I was kind-of defenseless.

"How does that feel, brat? Tell me?" He twisted the blade, sinking it further into the wound he made, and I struggled to hold in a pained groan, yet I twisted my lips into a cocky grin, catching him with a trickle of fear in his eyes. "What the hell are you so happy about."

"...Heh, yeet." The second those words left my lips, a large, wooden barrel smashed against his muzzle, throwing him across the pavement while the debuff finally wore itself out, since no knife was lodged in my shoulder. I sat up, rubbing where his knife sunk through while grabbing my sword. "Perfect timing, Gin."

"As much as I like to sit back and enjoy the show..." Gin sat upon a crate, legs crossed and looking understandably peeved, eyes trained on the recovering thief. "Seeing someone take pleasure in torturing someone sickens me."

"N-now hold on," He was trembling, he had no real weapon, did he? I had my head low, sword scraping against the cobblestone road, himself taking a hesitant step back. "Y-you can't kill me in here, and if you actually h-harm me, you'll turn yellow just like--"

My blade slid across his cheek, making the man tremble at the sensation of pain, the pain inhibitor wasn't low but you could still feel some pain since this Death Game began, thanks, Ryder. He wasn't some fear-inducing thief, he was just as scared as the rest of them, too cowardly to leave the Safe Zone, too shaken to lift a real weapon toward someone who aimed to kill.

"Want to my little secret?" My blade crackled with gold, resting the edge against my shoulder. He was sweating buckets as I leaned closer. "I'm the best player in the game, asshole."

"Tch, hail to the queen." I lunged forward, wind brushing through his mane while my sword grazed his neck, my hoof pulling on his jacket, his knees buckled, all the while I glared toward him. "You're lucky, I made a deal."

I threw him backward, his haunches slamming into someone else, he quickly turned, only to find a hoof strike him across the face, a resounding 'crack' causing us all to wince. The earth pony fell back in pain, clutching his now broken nose while Tahchi stepped over his wailing body, a few players from AL finally arriving at the scene of the orange player. It probably stings, what a drama queen.

"Take this guy away, he's the ring-leader for the string of robberies lately, the rest are detained inside an old shop called 'Nimbus', might want to get others before they escape," She ordered the two players, who eyed the recovering Nocturne with hardened expressions

"Thanks for the help, we'll inform the rest." The two nodded, leaving me unscathed while Sloth emerged from the crowd with Gin beside him, the night still long as ponies talked among themselves about the ordeal before them, meanwhile, we regrouped, myself downing a health pot

"Well, that was an adventure." I broke the awkward silence first, stretching my right shoulder again with a smile. "Good as new!"

"Okay-okay, back up for a moment," Tahchi waved her hoof toward me and Gin, the two of us blinking at the same time. "How are you here so suddenly? We left long before you two, and yes, I did leave all those men paralyzed in that basement before you ask."

"Nevermind." I retracted my hoof with a simple smile. "But to answer, I was planning on the idiot taking the sewer route out, and for going on the right side where there so happened to be an exit into a public place, the perfect chance to escape unseen, all while leaving his lackeys with us."

"You... planned all of this?" Sloth's head was smoking, trying desperately to comprehend my genius. I ran a hoof across my muzzle to hide my grin, pointing to Gin

"She asked for my help since she's a gatherer of info and supplier of such, she's no fighter and tends to stick to passing along the good word," She nodded to that with an 'Mmmhmm'. "She brought me here to handle the information given to me and I acted accordingly. Thus, here we are."

"Despite all this crazy nonsense, I will admit we... really couldn't have solved this mystery, atleast not in a single night, without your help, so... thank you, Artorias." Tahchi swallowed her pride to say that, okay, I guess I can say she's changed from two hours ago, maybe not completely, but she's not hopeless I guess. "What will you do now? I can imagine the guild would offer you a reward for both your efforts."

"I just keep the good word rollin'." Gin ushed with her hoof. "My livin's lucrative, this was a side-job."

"And I'm being paid by Gin here, so I don't care for whatever your shamble you call a guild will offer me, and if it's an invite I'll pass, guilds aren't my style, besides, I got a quest to complete," With my business concluded, I turned and walked away, tugging Proxima closer to my body. "Seeya around, Rat."

All-in-all, a rather informative chain of events, and the addition of the event quest too. I just need to find an inn and prepare for the rest of Genesis' questline.

"Hey, Artorias!" I stopped, looking over my shoulder and seeing Tahchi wave, lowering the hoof to the side of her mouth. "Seeya around!"

"And thank you... really." OmniSloth bowed with genuine appreciation on his face. I turned away, snorting once while flicking my hoof back once as I made my way through the crowd of ponies once more, eyes set on the uncertain road ahead

My Little Pony Realization

by Slendy

Episode 6 - Weaponless