//------------------------------// // The Meeting // Story: Red Velvet and the Red Dawn // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Red could hardly sleep, not with the impending meeting with his employer close at hoof. According to the letter he had received he was supposed to be meeting whoever his employer was at Joe's Doughnut Shack, which was fairly close to the Castle. The owner, Joe, had recently upgraded to having an outside area for customers to enjoy the morning as it peaked it's head over the city. It was the common sign that Princess Luna was stepping down from the throne to make way for her elder sister to rule over the day. He sighed and threw off his blanket, quickly moving to his study table as he thought of the best way to capture the insolent Prince. According to the news circulating throughout Canterlot Prince Blueblood was living somewhere in the area where all the rich ponies, such as Photo Finish, were living. How he had managed to get enough bits to afford a place in that area was beyond Red's understanding, but he knew where the foolish Prince lived. The only problem Red faced was figuring out how he was going to kidnap the Prince and transfer him safely to his makeshift torture chamber. Red scoured the blueprints for the rich sector of the city, which he had found in his mailbox after the first pony he had captured was done in. His mind was scouring the layout of the streets and buildings, hoping to find a way to get the Prince out of his fancy house and transport him to the waygate Red had constructed in his basement. The gate would allow him to transport himself and whatever tools he needed to his private chamber, and that included whoever his target happened to be. But how was Red supposed to get Prince Blueblood close enough to the gate so he could abduct him with nopony noticing? Over the next three hours he scoured the blueprints he had for the rich sector of Canterlot and the surrounding sectors that bordered it, trying to locate a route that would allow him to accomplish his goal. He sketched possible twists and turns on a sketchpad, trying to make sense of the way the rich sector was designed in the first place. No matter what he did he just couldn't figure out how he was supposed to capture the stupid Prince and get him back to his house. Red looked at the clock on his studies wall and sighed, it was a half hour till dawn and the appointed meeting time was so close he could taste it. It was going to be a good twenty minute walk to Joe's Doughnut Shack, but since there would be almost nopony around on a Saturday morning he could make it and have time to watch the change from night to day. He grabbed a small pouch of bits and his saddlebag, placing them on so he could leave without delay. Since he had stayed up so long he was going to need something to energize his body and keep him awake so he could meet his employer. As Red had expected it had taken him twenty minutes to reach the doughnut shack, which was currently open twenty minutes sooner then it should have been. He immediately knew something was up, so as he approached the shop his eyes wandered around, searching every shadow in case he discovered a hidden soldier. He wasn't sure if Princess Celestia had begun her search or not, so he could be jumping at shadows while he thought the guards might have already found his nonexistent trail. Besides, even if he was forced to suddenly fight somepony he had a dozen magic spells he could use to disable them and a weapon hidden in his saddlebag that not even Celestia could detect. "Hey Joe," Red called, seeing the unicorn baker as he pulled open the door, "I didn't know you were opening earlier." "Red Velvet, its been too long since you've graced my shop with your presence," Joe remarked, though in truth he was teasing Red, "and seeing how most of my customers are getting up earlier to get their days started I figured I might as well do the same so they aren't crabby. When did you decide that you were coming back to my shop and ordering stuff again?" "Just yesterday evening," Red answered, looking over the menu that hung above Joe's head, "and I see I did it at a good time. You've brought back several of your most popular drinks and specials." "I have to keep the customers coming back now don't I?" Joe chuckled, "Now, what can I do for you my friend?" "Let's see what we have here," Red said, staring at the items on the menu as he tried to decide on which to order, "How about an espresso, single shot and no whip cream, and a glazed doughnut?" "Coming right up Red," Joe replied, turning his back on Red for just a moment, "The cost will be about fifteen bits and it will take a couple of minutes to make. Where will you be sitting this fine morning?" "Outside will be fine for now," Red answered, taking out fifteen golden coins and hoofed them over to Joe when he was facing Red again, "I'd like to enjoy the morning sun before I have to start my day. Celestia knows that I've been busy and need to enjoy something as seemingly insignificant as the sun rising." "I just let you ponies do whatever floats your boat," Joe joked, turning his head back to the machines behind him, "Go ahead and pick a seat as I finish the order. I will be right out in a couple of minutes." Red nodded and returned to the outside of the shop, picking a seat not too close to the door in case any of the occupants inside decided to eavesdrop on him. Plus he wasn't too far from the door so Joe didn't have to walk so far to deliver his order to him. As he sat down at the table and placed his saddlebag to his right he noticed that there was only one other pony in the immediate area, a guard pony who was walking towards the castle. "It is so good to finally meet you," said a voice from behind Red's seat, "Red Velvet, Pony kidnapper and Executioner." Red's eyes widened as he slowly turned around, coming face to face with the hard truth that somepony had slipped past his magical sweep and was sitting with their back to him. The pony was dressed in a black robe or cloak, which meant that until the pony turned around and faced him directly he would never truly know what they looked like. The strange thing was that he could detect a hint of tiredness in the pony's voice, which meant the pony had stayed up late and was equally tired. It even explained why they had chosen this particular shop to meet at instead of someplace else. "Please, take a seat," the shrouded pony continued, somehow aware that Red was still standing, "It would do us no good if your going to be standing throughout the entire conversation. Besides, if you continue to stand the guards might think your doing something suspicious and will come running to investigate before another pony is kidnapped. I promise we will get through all the bases you wish to cover before this meeting is over." Red's curiosity was much more than his desire to be caught so soon, so he returned his eyes to normal and returned to his seat just as Joe approached. The stallion placed a coffee cup in front of him with a doughnut to the side, the order he had already forgotten about. "Ah, Lady Artemis," Joe suddenly said, staring at the shrouded pony and somehow recognizing them, "I thought you were still in the wild, hunting that dangerous monster that was last seen near Canterlot." "Not anymore Joe," the mare replied, as if she had expected Joe to recognize her, "I caught the foul and deceitful Changeling just before he could reach Ponyville and pierced his side with one of my special sleep arrows. I just got back from delivering him to the authorities in the Castle and decided I would visit one of my favorite shops before i retired to my bed. Besides, the Changeling will be spending the next couple of weeks in jail before Princess Celestia decides what to do with him." "Can I get you anything?" Joe asked, as if the notion of hearing about ponies who had been harmed was a casual topic for him. "Just a light espresso," the mare answered immediately, "I need to get my rest and a little caffeine will do me well to get me home." "One single shot espresso coming right up," Joe said, turning around and hightailing it back into his shop, leaving the two ponies alone. "So, your my employer?" Red asked, his back to the mare while his magic was ready in case she moved against him. "That is correct," the mare answered, "I am the one who originally contacted you three weeks ago with your first assignment, that is your first test; the kidnapping and killing of one Bon Bon. At the time, that is before you abducted her, she was supposed to be one of the Candy Warlords, one of Princess Celestia's drug lords and loyal soldier to the throne. By slaying her you blew a hole in the inner workings of the drug ring that exists all around Equestria, nearly crippling them as a whole. The reason they still exist is because her partner, Lyra Heartstrings, has taken over and has them working twice as hard. Of your original seven targets, the seven tests I called them, you downed six of them without failure; Bon Bon, then Snowflake the Muscle and thankfully I am glad he's gone, followed by the team of Sea Swirl the Mad and Melody the Tempest, then you took out Apple Fritter, one of Applejack's cousins or something like that, and then, last but not least, you took out that Cranky Donkey that Pinkie Pie was obsessed with." "But that is only six," Red countered, hoping his employer wouldn't get mad at his interruption, "I finished off that irritable Berry Punch last night." "Here you go Lady Artemis," Joe said, placing a steaming cup in front of the mare. "How much do I owe you Joe?" the mare asked, a pouch filled with coins being drawn out. "Nothing my dear," the doughnut shack owner replied, "It is a pleasure to repay the debt that most ponies are ungrateful to repay on their own. Take care now." "To answer your question I had already known you would not fail in dispatching the drunken mare," the mare continued, carefully starting again when Joe was gone, "Your next two targets, namely the first one, are proof that I have confidence in your abilities. Maybe one day we can persuade the Changeling Empire to be at peace, but that is for another day and another time. You must have more questions to ask me anyway." "Who are you exactly?" Red asked, focusing on his own cup as not to draw attention to himself, "I heard Joe call you by the name Artemis, but who and what are you exactly?" "My name, my true name for the moment, is insignificant," the mare replied, nearly making Red choke back his frustration, "suffice it to say that Joe was correct to call me 'Artemis', as in the name that Princess Luna once assumed during her nightly hunts. I am a huntress, the same as Luna used to be, only I have grown to resemble her more than the natural form I was given at birth. I am just a simple unicorn, but a unicorn who is blessed with the abilities that Luna once wielded. For now that will be all I will tell you about my past." "What is at the end of this kidnapping and murdering streak?" Red inquired, thinking far down the road now. "At the moment I am unsure of how to respond to that particular question," Artemis answered, using her magic to pick up her own cup and take a small drink from it, "but for know you must know that there will be a great amount of knowledge, both magical and personal, waiting for you at the end of all this. When this is over I will make it as if you never had any part in my plans and you can live a normal life without hearing from me again. Anything else?" "Why me?" Red asked. "Why choose me over all the other ponies who could have done this job for you?" "Your mind is unique," Artemis answered, very direct Red thought, "and I know you will do some good with what you will learn from all of this. If you'll excuse me I need to retire to my house and rest before another monster is loosed on Equestria that requires my attention." Red stayed sitting as Artemis got up and began to walk in the direction he had come from earlier that morning, yet she stopped as she passed him. "And if your wondering how to get Prince Blueblood I would suggest trying a party that he couldn't refuse to appear at," his employer commented, causing Red to raise an eyebrow, "Its called thinking outside the box. You should try doing that more often. I bet you would enjoy the fruits of your labors if you did." And with that said his employer vanished as the first rays of the sun his the shack, almost as if she had been a vision created by his own mind. The good thing about meeting Artemis meant that Red wasn't losing his mind or slowly going insane from the strange lists that appeared in his mail. And better yet he knew exactly how to draw out Prince Blueblood without having to go all the way to his house in the rich sector. Red was actually beginning to like his employer more than he liked Princess Celestia.