An indeterminate amount of time ago
I heard a knocking coming from the door and walked over to it grudgingly, whoever was at the door better have a great reason to be disturbing me on a Saturday morning. I pushed the door opened and revealed a pearl white unicorn mare in a mail carrier’s uniform.
“Sorry to disturb you sir, it’s just that you need to sign for this package”, the mail said as she levitated a paper package to me.
I nodded and scrawled my signature onto the clipboard before taking the package and closing the door. I walked over to the table in the living room of my apartment and put the package down. Cautiously I removed the exterior brown paper, revealing a white cardboard box with the name Knight Fire written across the front. I always found it funny when clients used my alias and not my actual name, Stormwind.
I proceed to open the box, figuring that there was probably nothing inside which could do him immediate harm. Inside the box were two objects, a pink envelope with smelled like flowers and a glass ornament like the kind I would hang on wreaths for Hearthwarming Eve as a colt.
“Dear Knight, it has been all too long since we've seen each other. I’ve thought about you every day since the last time we saw each other. I just blew into town for a gig and was wondering if you wanted to meet up at the theater on the 20th and catch up. Love, Treble Clef”, the letter in the envelope read.
It was obviously a job offering, I had no doubts about that. Whoever had written it hadn't been stupid, or at least not a total dunce; they had been smart enough to disguise the letter as something from an old romantic interest and not a job offering to a thief for hire. The letter also had a strange aroma to it, like it had been sprayed with perfume, but I knew the actual purpose. I held the letter in my mouth and walked over the fireplace where there was a steady blaze. Then I held the letter to the fire and let the light pass through. It took a few seconds but soon a new set of letters faded into view.
“Check the ornament for a little down payment for the hit”, the new letters read.
I then tossed the letter into the fire and incinerated the primary evidence after committing the time and place to memory. I then walked over to the table and inspected the ornate glass orb which had also been in the package. The decoration was deep blue and had snowflakes etched into the sides, but it felt much heavier than it should. I wasted no time in smashing the glass ball with a hoof and reveal what was this “Down Payment” was. Sure enough, the outer layer shattered and revealed a golden orb which had been hidden inside.
Upon further inspection the golden orb appeared to be solid and about the size of an apple.
“Damn, this is worth at least five hundred bits; whoever is trying to hire me isn’t screwing around”, I said as I cleaned up the glass shards and inspected the large piece of precious metal.
None of this was new to me, my entire livelihood revolved around stealing from and spying on the elites and government officials of the city. My “less than legal” services were sought after by sketchy business-ponies, drug lords, politicians, and many others when they wanted information or spy work done on somepony they didn't particularly like. The morality of the work never bothered me; as long as the client paid I couldn't care less what their motivations were.
Despite my need for clientele for my “information acquisition services” I made absolutely sure none of them would try and double cross me. Once a drug lord had tried to kill me in order to tie up loose ends; I made an example of him by putting him in a coma and breaking his horn in half. I considered killing him but decided that he would make a better example alive, I was not a senseless killer but it was not out of the question. Just to be safe, I also ran my contacts through a front business in the city so that nopony would know where I actually lived.
The 20th was in two days, whoever wanted my must have been in a hurry to get whatever it was. I usually turned down jobs offered on such short notice, but if the golden ball proved anything, it was that my would-be client had deep pockets. Deep pockets were good; they usually meant good payment later on. First thing’s first, I need to flip this thing for some cash, I thought while eyeing the golden orb.
I walked into my bedroom and rifled through my closet until he found some worn saddlebags and a dirty blue baseball cap which looked like it had been through the war. I put the hat on and made sure it concealed my mane, it wasn't that it stood out but I wanted to be as cautious as possible. Then I walked over to the desk in the corner and grabbed my wallet. As I put the booklet into my saddlebags I noticed an old letter lying under some papers. I brushed the papers aside and saw a letter with the return address: 8430 Mountain ave. Manehattan. I groaned a little bit and remembered why I had left it there in the first place; it was from my twin brother, probably asking me to spend a weekend at his house.
After getting everything I needed, I walked out of the front door. Outside it was bright, a massive contrast to the dim interior of my house. The cold autumn air swirled around me and nipped at the skin under my chocolate brown fur. My wings felt uncomfortable and cramped all of a sudden as they screamed for attention. I gave into the natural urge to take flight, and with a mighty leap soared into the cloudy sky.
The crisp wind felt good as it passed through my fur and under my wings. The cold autumn air helped to clear my mind and gave me time to think about what was going on. As I passed over the richer neighborhoods I looked down and got the feeling he would be breaking into one of them within the week. The marble spires and gold trim of the rich neighborhoods faded into elegant commercial space filled with various shops, restaurants, and other places of business.
As always the commercial areas of the city were packed with ponies and even a few griffins and diamond dogs whose clothes marked them as foreign diplomats or businessmen. Every time I flew over the high traffic areas of the capitol I couldn't help thinking it looked like an ant hill with ornate marble houses instead of dirt and rocks. I pulled into a dive and landed on the one patch of the street which was not occupied with ponies. My sudden and dramatic landing garnered nothing more than a sideways glance from the pedestrians, Canterlot was known for its “strange” residents and I assumed they had all lived there long enough so that almost nothing could faze them.
The street was less impressive than the regal shopping hubs but it still felt more inviting than my home neighborhood. It was part of Canterlot’s old quarter, the streets were cobbled and even though the houses were over four hundred years old they appeared to be in good repair.
I quickly checked my hat and saddle bag to make sure they hadn't fallen off during flight. The check was unnecessary, they were both enchanted to stay on until I landed, but it was comforting to know nothing had come loose in the air. The gold in my bags was heavy and even though it had made flying a bit harder, I knew it would all be worth it soon.
I trotted down the street until he came to a storefront. The neon pawn shop sign was broken and flickered above the door which hung open slightly. The windows were plastered with signs that read “cash for gold!” and “maximum profit, minimal effort” and other signs to that effect in faded yellow lettering. The pawn shop was the definition of shady, but the owner didn't ask questions and he was usually reliable. I pushed open the door with a hoof and took off the baseball cap, placing it on a hat rack right inside the door, I had worn the hat in order to keep my mane tidy while flying but now he didn't need it now and so I freed my black mane with its trademark green stripe.
The inside of the shop was filled with items ranging in value, from moth eaten jackets to ornate swords with pure silver blades. I walked up to the counter and tried to ignore the strange musty smell that always pervaded the shop. The owner was nowhere to be seen so I examined the various guns and jewelry on display in the glass topped cabinet. Crash, the noise came from the back room of the shop and as I turned my head to look I noticed the owner coming out. The clerk was a powder blue stallion with an off white mane; he wore a jeweler's loupe on a string around his neck.
“Ah, Stormwind what do you have for me this time?” the unicorn clerk excitedly asked in a slightly nasal voice.
“Listen, I just want you to tell me how much something is worth; I might consider selling it, but only after that”, I replied.
I then produced the golden orb from my saddlebag and placed it on the table for the clerk to see.
The store owner’s eyes widened and he struggled to keep his jaw from hitting the ground as he inspected the item in front of him. The unicorn reached out with a hoof to touch it but snapped it back as he got over his momentary trance.
“So what do you want me to do with it?” the clerk asked, a twinge of greed coming to his usually giddy voice.
“How much is it worth”, I deadpanned, wanting to skip the formalities.
“Straight to business as always I see”, the clerk chuckled as he levitated the loupe to his eye and inspected the aurous sphere.
The blue stallion mumbled to himself as he inspected the surface of the object, weighed it, and pointed some sort of contraption at it. All the while he mumbled about the value of gold and the market for ancient artifacts, but I really couldn't care less.
The clerk eventually took the gold object off of some sort of scale and placed it back on the counter. “I can’t tell you what it’s worth, sorry”, the clerk said in a slightly disappointed voice.
I cocked my head to one side out of confusion and said “So it’s worthless?”
“No, I think this is some sort of weather manipulation tool but for some reason I can't identify the quality of the gold”, He replied as he levitated the golden ball back into my bag.
I was irritated but not very angry yet “So I’m assuming I can't sell it to you for anything”, I said, trying to get at least some profit out of the object.
I let out an exasperated sigh as the clerk shook his head and took the golden orb back. I put the heavy object into my bag, except this time it was burdensome.
“Need anything else, I know you have a thing for knives and I have a new one you might want”, the clerk said, trying to salvage the business opportunity with me.
I was going to protest but the pawn shop’s owner grabbed an object off of the shelf behind him and placed it on the counter. It was wrapped in tough cloth with smudged markings on it.
“Go on, take a look, I had a feeling you would be around sooner or later so I saved this for you”, the clerk said as he motioned at the cloth object.
I was curious and unrolled the cloth, revealing what the clerk was so determined I would like. Inside the cloth was a knife with a long cylindrical handle and a thin blade. The edges of the blade sparkled a little and I realized it was made of some sort of gem. I turned the blade around and noticed that it had a white claw holding a gear stenciled on the base of the handle.
“A griffin empire ballistic knife, I don’t even want to know how you got a hold of this”, I said, pleased by the find. Ballistic knives were few and far between, but they packed on hell of a punch. They were illegal, very illegal, but I couldn't care less.
“That’s not all, the blades are enchanted so that they don't dull and will guide themselves to their targets”, the clerk said
“How much”, I asked, wanting to add this treasure to my collection of blades.
“150 bits”, the blue unicorn replied.
“Or I could just tell the police about you having possible connections to illegal arms dealing”, I replied even though I had no intention of ratting out my primary source of illicit goods.
“Did I say 150, I meant 30”, the clerk said, giving me an uncomfortable grin.
I nodded and gave him the money before putting my new possession into the saddle bags and left the store.
The clean and crisp air of the outside world came as a stark contrast to the dark and musty pawn shop. I savored the clean air for a few moments before taking off into the cloudy sky. I went straight back to my house and stashed the new knife in a hidden safe before continuing on with my day as before.
The days passed and quickly and soon enough it was the 20th. I was in Canterlot’s theater district; home to restaurants, elegant stores, and as one might assume, theaters. I sat at an outdoor table in front of a cafe, looking out at the crowds of pedestrians who cluttered the streets, trying to spot one pony in particular. The box I received a few days ago had also contained a picture of my contact, which I used in my search.
A waitress came over and put a coffee mug on the table and asked if I wanted anything else. I shook my head without saying a word and drank some of it. The hot beverage helped to wake me up somewhat and I redoubled my efforts to spot the pony I was supposed to find. Eventually I spotted the pony form the picture, a cream colored pegasus mare with a fiery orange mane. I stood up and walked toward her, leaving a few bits on the table for payment. I crossed the street and walked up behind her.
“I'm assuming your Treble Clef”, I said, trying to sound as professional as possible.
“As far as you're concerned, yes, my name is Treble Clef”, she said in a disdainful voice. I could already tell I wouldn't like her.
“We need to find a place to discuss things further, walls have ears you know”, She continued bluntly.
“Nopony is paying attention, as long as you don’t make a show of yourself than we will be invisible”, I replied, my voice gaining a slight edge.
“Fine”, she replied.
“Now I understand you might need my services?” I asked.
“My employer needs a set of files to disappear. Tomorrow there is going to be a party in the royal gardens. A diamond dog dignitary will be there. He will have a briefcase with him; my employer needs you to destroy the contents of the briefcase without him knowing. He will be the only diamond dog at the gathering so I doubt even you could miss him. It’s imperative that the documents are destroyed within the first hour of the party. If you succeed then meet me here the next day at the same time for your payment”, she explained in an emotionless voice.
“Is this payment going to be as worthless as the ‘down payment?’”, I said, putting sarcastic emphasis on “Down Payment”.
“That was a psychic interface”, the now miffed mare said.
I was surprised but he wouldn't let her know it. Psychic interfaces allowed non unicorns to manipulate the world around them indirectly without magic. They were rare and extremely expensive, meaning that this could be a profitable endeavor.
“How much are we talking?” I asked, now more invested in the job than before.
“Four hundred thousand bits, six hundred thousand if you can get this done unnoticed”, she said.
My jaw hit the floor; it was a massive sum of money, especially for such a simple job.
“Who is your employer”, I asked, breaking my usual professionalism.
The cream colored mare turned around and gave me a death glare. “Does it matter?” she asked in a stern voice.
I coughed and replied in a calm voice, “You have a deal, just don't try anything funny, it won't be hard to track you down”
The mare nodded as I walked away. The sun was low on the horizon when I returned home and the air had grown frigid. I opened the door and trotted into my living room. The golden orb sat on a stand on the table, reflecting the light from the fire. I walked up to it and without hesitation put a hoof on it. I felt a jolt run through my leg and recoiled from the unexpected pain. Then I placed the appendage back onto the orb, except this time no pain came. I searched the room for a potential test subject. A book on a shelf caught my eye; I concentrated on it and willed it to levitate over to the table. Within moments the tome was engulfed in a white glow and floated over the table.
It worked, and with the promise of riches in my future, I got ready for the job the next day.
The time came in a blink of an eye, with the sun just dipping below the horizon and the moon taking its place as I approached the royal gardens. It was bordered by a wall of hedges which did little to conceal the sounds of classical music and light conversation from the other side. Parties like this made me feel sick to my stomach; I couldn't stand anything this formal. I wore a black suit which miraculously still fit after two years of being shoved in the corner of my closet.
I walked up to the gate and to my surprise the guard didn't even check if he was on a list or something. Inside of the hedge wall was everything I expected; manicured grass, an orchestra, and ponies in cloths which cost more than my yearly rent. I meandered around in the party, trying to find the target. It took me the better part of fifteen minutes to find him, but I eventually located the diamond dog.
Surprisingly enough nopony was crowding the foreign diplomat as I had expected, and it made me wonder if the other partygoers were just that used to foreigners. I walked up to the dog and noticed that he had the promised briefcase clutched in one of his paws.
Stormwind stood up straight before making himself known, “Hello sir”
“Hello”, the diamond dog replied, turning to face the brown pony.
The diamond dog was tall, at least two and a half times as tall as me, and appeared very muscular. If we got into a fight I wouldn't stand a chance, but I hoped it wouldn't come to that. The creature had dark grey fur, beady yellow eyes, long arms, and a white vest with some sort of tribal emblem embroidered on it.
“Sorry if I’m being rude, but it is quite unusual to see a diamond dog in Canterlot”, I said, doing my best to mimic the high society accent
The dog chuckled and replied, “I hope I don't scare you”
“No, I try not to judge others by their appearance”, I replied, giving an honest answer.
“Honestly I wish more of your kind held those same beliefs”, the diplomat replied.
“What do you mean?” I replied, doing my best to make small talk with the target.
“The ponies fear me, believing me to be some sort of monster”, he in a sad but somewhat disappointed voice.
It took me a minute to realize, but this diamond dog didn't speak with any of the speech impediments they were known for.
I kept up the small talk, painfully aware of my timeline. With half an hour left I asked if the diamond dog, whose name turned out to be Cracked Bones, if he wanted any punch. The dog gratefully accepted the offer and I walked over the refreshment table. The table was full of food on silver platters, all of it appeared to be top quality and very expensive. At the end of the table was a crystal punch bowl surrounded by ornate glasses. I poured two cups of the sweet liquid into the cups and placed them on a platter. Then when nopony was looking, I took a silver tube out from under my right wing and popped the cap off. I then deposited a white tablet into one of the glasses and put the tube back in its hiding place
The pill fizzed and dissolved as I made my way back over to the diamond dog and gave him the punch. The dog took in his paw and raised it on a toast before downing the drink in one gulp.
I knew the drugs would take at least two minutes to have any significant effect.
“So my friend, what do you do?” the diplomat asked.
“I’m a journalist”, it was a practiced lie, one I had told time and time again.
“Should I expect to be riddled with questions any time soon?” Ambassador Bones asked jokingly.
“No I mostly cover business and disputes between wealthy ponies, stupid stuff like that. But it pays the bills and as a bonus I get to attend parties like this occasionally”, I continued to lie.
While he was speaking, I noticed that the ambassador started to look uncomfortable. Bones clutched at his stomach and tried to stifle some coughing. The dog set the briefcase on a nearby table and groaned.
“Please excuse, must be having bad reaction to something in the food”, the diamond dog said as he rushed off towards a small building on the corner of the lawn.
Without hesitation I got to work; it took me under two seconds to unlock the briefcase and reveal its contents. It was full of papers and a rolled up map. I resisted the urge to read the documents but I knew that time was short so he grabbed the papers and stuck them in a hidden pocket of my suit. Then I closed the briefcase again and set it back in the exact same spot as before, hoping that Bones wouldn't notice anything had happened.
The wad of papers created a slight bulge in the side of my coat pocket but nopony seemed to notice. I trotted towards the gate as fast as I could without attracting too much attention. The guard at the gate seemed as disinterested as ever as I left the party in a hurry. As soon as I gained a good distance from the party I took off into the sky and sped home as fast as possible.
I reached my apartment and opened the door. I briskly walked in and closed the blinds on the windows. Then I removed the papers from my pocket and threw them in the hearth without hesitation. I watched as the papers disintegrated into black dust and then disappeared entirely. If the mare had not been lying then soon enough I would be able to retire sooner than he expected much sooner. I slipped out of my suit coat and went to bed, the promise of future riches in my future.
For the second time in two weeks I was awoken by somepony knocking at the door. However this time it was different, frantic instead of the deliberate knocking of the mail mare. I rolled out of bed and glanced up at the clock on my wall, 6:00 it read. It better be Celestia herself knocking on that door, I begrudgingly thought as I trotted over to the front door.
“It’s Sunday, what do you want!” I yelled at the pony who thought waking me early was a good idea.
It turned out to be my neighbor, Tulip. I gave the mare a distasteful look and got ready for her to start blabbing about some gossip or even more meaningless thing. However to my surprise she seemed unusually serious and somber.
“Did you see the morning paper yet?” she asked, a note of desperation coming to her usual cheery voice.
“You know I don't get the paper Tulip”, I deadpanned in response
“Just take this, you might want to have some time alone after you read it”, she said as she gave me the morning paper.
She walked away muttering “Celestia help us”.
I walked back into the living room and put the newspaper on the table upside down. The fire in the hearth had gone out but a strange golden light still lingered in the room. The table was clear, save the newspaper and the psychic interface which now rested on a metal stand. Tulip’s reaction to what was in the paper made me curious and I wasted no time in flipping it over and reading the headline.
23 dead in embassy bombing, was written in block capitals at the top of the paper. My heart skipped a beat as I scoured the rest of the page. There were pictures of the diamond dog embassy, fire billowed out of the windows and bodies of dogs and ponies alike were scattered around like leaves in the breezed. A notion began to form in my head, but I tried to suppress it. I read more and more and learned all of the disturbing details. Then I read the last line, “The bombers managed to stop a set of security documents from reaching security personnel, the loss of these documents caused a drop in security and officials believe that this may have allowed the security breach”. My suspicions from before were confirmed, I was the one who had destroyed the documents.
Rage filled me and shook me to the core. I screamed as I swatted the golden orb off of the table. The golden ball collided with the metal box, connecting with a solid thud and throwing off sparks in all directions. I took a momentary reprieve from my rage and the sparks caught my attention. I knew it shouldn't have done that unless...
Rage turned to determination as I swept up the golden ball and brought it into the kitchen. I turned on the faucet and let the water run over the orb, hoping for the result I wanted. The water, however, seemed to evaporate before it even touched the orb and glowed as it disappeared into the air. I took the ball out of the water and hastily threw it, as well as some other items into my saddle bags and ran out of the door.
After twenty minutes of nonstop running I came to an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city. With a few good flaps I got up to the roof of the old building. With a little effort I managed to smash in a skylight and make an opening for myself. I descended into the dark building, rusted machinery littered the floor and the room reeked of diesel and death. The ceiling was very high and iron girders served as rafters. I perched on one of the steel girders, ignoring the rat droppings which were strewn about on it. I slung my saddle bag off and hung it from a bolt on the rafter.
I rooted around in the bag and found what I knew I would need soon enough. I produced two knives from the bag, my new ballistic knife and an old survival knife. I strapped them to sheaths on my forelegs and made sure they would not fall off in midair. Then I removed the golden ball from the bag and threw it to the ground. The impact was followed with a golden light and a loud thud. Now all that was left was waiting.
After two hours of staying on a girder the time finally came. I heard the front doors swinging open and multiple voices shouting before being hushed by another voice. I could see the group moving among the old rusted machinery, the cream colored mare from before leading them.
“Find him, and bring me his head!” she yelled to the others.
The ponies below all had black cloaks on and their right ears appeared to have been amputated. The only one who lacked the cloak or missing ear was the mare from before. The group below fanned out in an effort to search for me. One of them walked right under my perch and inspected the floor around him.
I pulled the survival knife from its sheath and dropped down. As I collided with the pony below I drove the blade into his neck. I felt the blade sever two of the vertebrae in the pony’ neck and the body fell lifelessly to the ground. I pulled the knife from the pony’s neck and dragged the body under a dilapidated conveyer belt.
I snuck around, taking cover behind the rusted machinery and crates. Silently I snuck up on the second pony and wrapped my forelegs around his neck. The pony tried to struggle and cry out but with one swift motion I switched his neck with a wet snap. The stallion fell limp and threw the body down once the last vestiges of life had left it. Then I heard hoof steps from around the corner and slid behind a crate.
I heard another pony round the corner and I knew he would spot the body if I let him get any further. I threw the survival knife at a crate near the one I was hiding behind and it connected. The pony must have heard it and changed directions to investigate the noise. He walked past me without noticing. I lunged out of cover and collided with the pony, knocking him over. I wasted no time in driving the straight bladed ballistic knife into his heart. The stallion’s eyes then rolled back into his skull and a little blood flowed out of his mouth.
I retrieved the survival blade and placed it back in his sheath before hunting down the three remaining ponies. The next one was standing next to some old machinery. I crept up on the pony and struck him in the head before he could call out for help. I then proceeded to stomp in his throat to stop the breathing.
The last two stood in the center of the ware house, one was one of the black clad goons and the other was the crème colored mare who had given him the assignment days prior. I drew the ballistic knife and aimed it at the robed stallion’s head. I clamped down on the handle of the knife and sent the blade flying. It flew through the air at remarkable speed, finally colliding with the stallion’s head after a second or two of flight. The knife buried itself in the stallion’s skull and he fell limp instantly.
Upon seeing her comrade fall dead the mare whipped her head around and saw me charging toward her at full speed. I brought out my survival knife and poised myself to strike. I leapt into the air and closed with the mare at incredible speeds, using my wings as a boost. Just as I was about to strike she jumped into the air and struck me in the jaw. The blow sent the blade skidding across the hard floor and the taste of my own blood lingered in my mouth.
I wasted no time striking her in the gut and sending her reeling back. She flew
Into the air and I took off after her. We collided in midair, becoming tangled in a fit of biting, kicking, and other attempts to injure each other. We flew higher and higher all the while striking each other. Then once we were at the ceiling, she rushed forward and latched onto me, sending us both plummeting to the hard ground below.
At the last moment before we hit the ground I twisted so that she would hit first. When we hit the ground her body absorbed most of the force of the impact. I managed to stand back up despite the considerable pain in my rear leg and ribs. However I had fared much better than the mare, which now lay there with legs twisted in directions they shouldn't have been able to go and a pool of blood forming under her.
She chuckled in a raspy voice and said “We could have worked so well together”, then began to cough up blood.
Anger boiled up inside of me and I look into the dyeing pony’s eyes as I spoke. “You know what I should be thanking you, now I know I have a limit. I may have done some bad things before but helping terrorists massacre innocence is where I draw the line!” I screamed.
The dying pony looked back up at me and said in a raspy voice, “Estas ciego de los verdades de nuestro mundo. Su ignorancia va a matarlo”.
“Stop playing games with me I know what you're saying! Who the hell do you work for?” I yelled at her.
She gritted her teeth and looked into my eyes. “I will say no more”, she said convinced as she appeared to bite down on something in her mouth. Her mouth filled with bloody foam and she began to shake violently.
I decided to ease her passing and crushed stomped on her temple as a final blow. As the adrenaline left my system I could feel all of the injuries I had sustained in the aerial fight. Pain shot through me, becoming worse and worse with every passing second. I could feel my broken ribs, broken leg, and a large amount of blood running down the back of my head. Soon the pain became too much to bear and I passed out on the floor among the corpses of my enemies.
As consciousness returned to me I realized that I was not on the cold hard floor of a warehouse, but in a warm bed. I opened my eyes and looked around at the powder blue walls, dirty window, and artificial flowers in the room. At that point I realized I was in a hospital room, probably Canterlot central, judging from the dreary appearance. Then I noticed I wasn’t alone in the room, a black earth stallion with some sort of uniform on stood in the corner of the room.
“I knew you would be up sooner or later”, he said with a voice that oozed authority.
“You here to arrest me?” I replied uninterestedly.
“Maybe I am maybe I’m not, it all depends”, he replied with a small smug tone in his voice
“Oh great, more riddles”, I said sarcastically.
“How did you lure them into that?” He asked in more of a serious tone than I expected.
I don’t know why but I divulged my method, “Here’s the funny thing about radiation and magic; in a vacuum like space radiation is free to travel however on our planet the magic energy which permeates everything interferes with radiation’s ability to move freely. When the two energies come into contact a sort of energy shell is formed as the radiation is contained by the magic, and that energy shell can be tracked. I tried to run water over the gold but it evaporated before making contact, confirming that there was an energy shell around the golden orb. Anypony with the right spell could track down the energy signature and find me. I assumed that the bombers would use it to track me down and so I used it to bait a trap”
“Why are you telling me this?” the uniformed pony asked, although his tone of voice changed.
I let out an exasperated sigh and continued to speak, “The ones I killed couldn't have act alone, there are more of these bastards out there and if you can use any of that to find them then I don't care what happens to me”
“I have to say you have made my job a lot easier”, He said.
“What, are you going to skip the trial and throw me in jail now because I admitted to murder and aiding terrorists”, I said cynically
“No, you see you managed to do something I couldn’t. You were right; they didn't act alone, at first. My team and I hunted down most of the organization but you managed to kill the last of them”, He said, looking me in the eye.
“Now I can go to jail knowing that I helped some shadowy government agency”, I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
“Your rash and your technique are sloppy but I see potential in you. I have an offer for you, I work for a group who acts outside of the law to make sure that the Equestrian ponies are protected from dangers that they don't know even exist”, he said in a more friendly tone than before.
“You want me to be an assassin?” I asked incredulously, “and what if I say no”
“Then you get to rot in a cell for the rest of your life for five murders and aiding in a terror attack”, he said bluntly.
I chuckled a little bit before saying, “I think I’ll take the first offer”.
The stallion gave me a proud grin and said, “You have a lot of raw potential, and with training I think that you could become a force to be reckoned with; welcome to Equinox my friend”.