Vapor Trail frowned as she stared in the mirror. She took a deep breath and ran a hoof through her mane. “Sky, what did you do this time?”
She knew that Sky Stinger had crossed paths with the Las Pegasus Mafia before, but he assured her it was nothing to worry about. Vapor sighed, turning away from the mirror.
The pegasus paced nervously in her room, weighing her options. On the bed sat a brown parcel, wrapped up in a red ribbon. Just deliver it, get Sky back, and we can pretend this never happened, she thought. Oh, who am I kidding? There’s no way they’d possibly let him go unharmed! I should go to the police!
The pegasus collapsed onto her bed, tears welling in her eyes. She wished that Celestia would send her a sign, or give her something--
There was a banging at the door, and her ears perked up. Had Celestia heard her calls and sent her an angel?
“Vapor? Are you awake?”
Her ears drooped back down. Technically, it was the voice of an angel, but not the one she was hoping for. With a groan, Vapor dried her eyes and picked herself off the bed, going over to the door.
As she pulled it open, a black and yellow blur shot into the room, followed by a grayish-cream pegasus who hovered in the doorway. ““Look alive, sunshine! It’s laser tag time! Let’s get this done!” cheered Midnight Strike, the black pegasus practically bouncing around the room.
“Hi, Vapor,” said Angel Wings timidly. “Are you ready?”
Vapor dropped her gaze to the ground. “Uh, sorry, but… something’s come up.”
Midnight stopped and whipped her head around to stare at her. “What?!”
Angel tried to give a confident smile. “That’s okay! If you can’t come--”
“It’s not okay!” Midnight protested. “You guys never hang out with us anymore! And come on, Vapor, Las Pegasus has the best laser tag arena in all of Las Pegasus! You can’t just bail out on us now!”
“Wait… where is Sky Stinger?” Angel asked quietly. “We went to his room first, but he wasn’t there.”
Vapor Trail opened her mouth and closed it again, glancing at the package nervously. “He… uh… well…”
Midnight grabbed her and started shaking her. “Come on! Spit it out! What, did he get kidnapped by the Mafia or something?”
Angel Wings narrowed her eyes when Vapor Trail didn’t respond.
“Wait… did he actually? I was kidding, you know that right?”
Vapor freed herself from her friend’s grip and went over to the bed. “Look, they told me they’d let him go if I deliver this package, okay?”
Angel Wings growled. “Vapor, you know that they aren’t going to do that.” A grim look fell over her face. “We should go teach them a lesson…”
“Shouldn’t we like… go to the police or something?” asked Midnight. “I mean… this feels pretty serious.”
Angel Wings laughed and shook her head. “It really isn’t, Midnight. The Las Pegasus Mafia is a joke. Trust me, they don’t know anything about crime.”
Vapor and Midnight gaped at her, before Vapor shook it off. “Look, I’m just going to deliver this package and be done with it, okay? Grubber wants me to bring it to the Lucky Stallion Casino.”
“Grubber?” Angel frowned. “I should have known that sleazebag was behind this.”
“Angel, I’m seeing a side of you that kinda scares me,” Midnight muttered as she scooted closer to Vapor.
Angel Wings ignored Midnight and went over to the package and poked at it. “Still, it’s better if you don’t get involved with them. What if they try to scapegoat you?”
Vapor hung her head, sitting on the bed. “I just… I just don’t know what to do,” she whispered.
Midnight patted her on the back. “Hey, it’s fine! We’ll get him out, right?”
Angel Wings nodded reassuringly. “But we’re going to need a plan. These guys might be idiots, but they can be dangerous if we’re not careful. Now, where did you meet Grubber?”
“Hotel Indigo,” Vapor answered. “But he’s got a lot of security. We’re just three mares! What are we going to do against him?”
Angel Wings smiled menacingly. “I know just the pony we need to call…”
---
Meanwhile at Hotel Indigo…
---
“Where’s the money, Stinger?”
Sky Stinger growled, struggling against the rope that tied him to the chair. “You’ll never find it! You know who I am? I’m a Wonderbolt! That means you’ve got the military after you--”
He was cut off by a slap to the face. “Where’s the money?”
“Screw you!”
The air was accented with another slap. Grubber frowned as we watched through the window. “I thought you weren’t going to use violence, boss,” he said.
“I said I’d avoid it if possible.” The masked pony stood still next to Grubber, staring with disdain at Sky Stinger. “They took everything from me. Not just him and his friend, but the Wonderbolts as a whole.”
Grubber shrugged and picked up a piece of pie, taking a hefty bite. “You’re the boss, boss.”
The masked pony nodded, narrowing their eyes. Oh, yes. It was all coming together.