//------------------------------//
// Night Route 
// Story: Red Velvet and the Red Dawn 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

	Nighttime, the time of the day when the sky was dark and the majority of the ponies were sound asleep, was the best time for anypony to strike out at whoever was wandering the streets alone. Red looked out from an alleyway and smiled as he noticed his prey, the stallion Filthy Rich, approaching from a safe distance. He drew back into the shadows and kept his cloak close, waiting for his target to pass him by before making his move.

During the nighttime Filthy Rich would make his way all around Ponyville, the original starting point being his house and the end point being the same. He would zigzag across the town, stopping at random stores on the same street every night, until he returned to his house after two hours. His first stop was the same every night, Sugarcube Corner so he could grab some coffee and a treat to keep him going before the store actually closed. After that he would go to any store that he felt like visiting, as long as it fell into place with his nightly route.

An hour had already passed and currently Filthy Rich was passing by the Golden Oaks Library, the tree that housed the home of Twilight Sparkle. He paused at the door, as if he wanted to knock and ask Twilight something, but he shook his head and continued onward. Red smiled and followed the stallion silently, his cloak making no noise as it blew in the wind. Spells had some useful abilities that a unicorn could use if they combined them correctly, but some felt that combining spells was dangerous. Red wasn't like most unicorns, he was dangerous and he was going to show the others exactly what he was capable of.

Red was a very patient pony and that night tested his mettle was he witnessed a second pony pass by Filthy Rich, ruining his perfect shot at getting the stallion. It wasn't the best idea to knock out another pony who might witness his actions and report him to the authorities, which is why he waited. If he timed it just right he would inject the knockout liquid into his target as he passed by and he could proceed with his mission.

Cherry was also patient, which had come from her training under the Changeling Guard, and she had a thing for staying in the shadows when she didn't want to be seen. Right now she was watching the stallion from at least a block away, keeping tabs on him in case he decided to strike out against somepony that night. She couldn't see much, but by the way the stallion was moving it made her think he had found a target and was waiting to strike.

Red smiled and darted out of his hiding place just as the second pony turned a corner and disappeared from his view. Before Filthy Rich could even realize what happened Red injected the liquid into his veins and watched as the stallion fell asleep. It was as simple as it usually was, now all he had to do as transfer his prey to his operating room and he could erase another name on his list.

Cherry was shocked, the stallion she was trailing was quicker then she had been expecting him to be, but she wouldn't let him get away. She ran forward to where the stallion had been and was surprised to find that there was nopony around anymore. Somehow Red had vanished from the area without so much as a puff of smoke to indicate his disappearance, but something else was weird. The pony that Red, and effectively Cherry as well, had been following was also gone, vanished from the area.

Red watched the mare from a different alleyway, making sure that she couldn't see both him and the unconscious Filthy Rich. Apparently he had been correct in his assumption that he had a tail, somepony that wanted to be sure of what he was going and likely catch him if they suspected him of some crime. As far as he knew Princess Celestia hadn't assigned any patrols to the area of Ponyville, nor had Princess Luna, which meant that somepony else was hunting him down. He already had his target, but seeing this other mare he wondered if he should take her down now and wring her out of existence.

Red silenced his breath as the mare neared his location, allowing the mare to get closer so he could get rid of her easily. Magic would be a bad idea, he knew, since Twilight Sparkle was no more than a few minutes away from his location. If he used any explosive magic it would alert everypony in the town and he would never be able to get away before somepony saw him.

"I know your still here," Cherry called out, hoping she didn't wake somepony up, "Come on out before I get you."

Red shook his head and used the shadows to leave the alleyway he was in, leaving a confused and distraught Wild Cherry behind. He wasn't in the mood for dealing with a mare that wanted to find him right now, but he knew that she had to be dealt with in due time. His employer would need to know that somepony was hunting him and maybe she could pull some strings to figure out who the mare was. And maybe she would tell him that the mare would be added to the list of ponies he had to take care of.

Cherry sighed, the stallion was gone and so was the pony he had been following. She was going to have to report the suspicion to her boss as soon as she got the chance. First things first though, she was going to scout out his house later on and see if she could find anything that would tell her if Red was the one. After all, what fun was there in being a Changeling if you couldn't steal intelligence and report back to your superior?