CHAPTER 47
"Today is the day. Blank is coming, and he'd better help, or I'm gonna kick his flank into next Tuesday."
"Shadow..." Pinks sat down next to me on the porch. "You're sure that Blank Check stallion'll help us?"
I closed my eyes, and let out a sigh. "He will. He owes me a favor, and in his line of work, favors are serious business."
Pinks hugged me. "I can't believe you sometimes."
I cocked my eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You always say you're no hero, yet you keep going out of your way just to help anypony who needs it. I mean, look at what you're doing now. You're calling in a favor on a pony from your past just to help my Mom, and you hardly know her!"
I hugged Pinks back, and stroked her mane. "But I know you, and she's part of your family. You don't deserve to lose your Mom. Even if she and your father made mistakes when you were little, they still love you with all of their hearts, and I'd hate to see a family torn apart."
Pinks leaned back, and stared into my eyes. "You're like my knight in shining armor."
I shook my head. "No. Even if I'm a knight, my armor isn't shining. My armor is old, and faded, covered in nicks and scratches."
"That was pretty poetic."
I shrugged. "I guess. All I know is, I just want ponies to be happy. I can't stand seeing anypony upset. It makes me feel like I have to do something, you know?"
Pinks nodded. "Oh, I know how you feel. I remember when I kept trying to make Cranky Doodle Donkey happy, but I just kept making things worse, but it all worked out in the end."
"Oh yeah, you told me that story..." I chuckled, remembering the ending. Pinks literally blasted off into the sky somehow.
"Well hey there, Weaver. Long time no see!" I looked in front of me, and saw a sight for sore eyes: Blank Check. His coat was pure white, and his mane was golden, his eyes were a deep shade of blue. His Cutie Mark was a sack of money. "So, what'd you call me out here for?"
I motioned for him to follow me inside, and introduced him to Clyde, who was more than happy to see the stallion who was going to pay for his wife's hospital bills. We showed him Roxy, and he let out a whistle.
"Oh man... She's real sick. A'ight, I'll help you, out of the kindness of my heart. And besides, I still owe you for beating the hay outta that punk that tried to screw me over." He gave me a conspiratorial wink, but Pinks and Clyde looked curious.
"Uh... Shadow, what'd you do to earn this favor?" Clyde cocked his eyebrow. I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell that story. I let out a sigh.
"Well, it was about a year ago..."
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(One Year Earlier...)
"So, Weaver... You've done some pretty good work for me. I say you're free to go. I mean, if you wanna keep working for me, then by all means, stick around, but otherwise, go on ahead." I'd just managed to get overdue payments for Blank, and I was happy to hear that I didn't need to work for him anymore. He was a good guy, but his work was dangerous.
"Well, then I'm outta here. It was nice working for you, Blank-"
"Boss!" One of Blank's goons ran in. "Little Weasel just ran off with some of the cash we got!"
Blank slammed his hoof on his desk. "That dirty..." I turned and ran for the door. And just outside the building, sure enough, Little Weasel was running full gallop down the street, his saddlebags full of bits.
"Hey, Weasel! Get your miserable flank back here!" I shot off like a bullet after him, and he tried to speed up, but all that stolen money was weighing him down.
"Come on Weaver! Cut me a break! Blank is a nobody! Just let me go!" He was trying to reason with me even though it was a bit obvious I wasn't letting up.
"Fat chance! You're in so much trouble when I catch you!"
He slipped into an alleyway, and I came in after him, but I couldn't see him... Until I noticed him going up a fire escape. The ladder was still down. I started climbing up after him. He was getting tired, and slowing down.
"I'm comin' for ya', Weasel!"
He was halfway across the rooftop whenever I got to the top of the escape. He was heading for the stairwell of the building we were on top of. Two of Blank's goons threw the door open, so Weasel responded by turning around and running towards the edge of the roof. "You'll never catch me!"
The goons stopped when he jumped. One of them looked at me. "Weaver, you're pretty nimble. Think you can catch him?"
I nodded, and jumped off the roof after him. I fell only one story, and landed on the adjacent building. Weasel was on his hind legs, slowly inching across a little beam leading along a billboard. I started off after him.
"Come on, man, lemme go! I need the money!"
I scoffed, still trying to focus on not falling. "For what?! I've seen your place, you're practically loaded from working for Blank! What could you possibly have to gain from backstabbing him?"
He looked down, and swallowed hard, sweat forming on his forehead. I was almost within a foreleg's reach of him. "I... I'm a cop, Weaver. I've been told to take this money back to it's rightful owners, and report back to the Chief. If you let me go, I promise I won't turn you in!"
"You're a cop? Oh buddy, I'm gonna do worse than just turn you over to Blank when I catch you. I'm gonna beat the living daylights out of you!"
We both stepped off of the billboard, and I tackled him to the ground, pinning his forelegs down. I punched him in the face.
"That's for screwing Blank over."
I punched him again. "That's for making me chase you."
And then, I punched him one last time, a single tooth falling out of his mouth. "And that's for planning on ratting us all out."
(Stop the music)
"B-But... I'm just doing the right thing..." He rolled onto his side.
"The right thing doesn't pay my rent." I stepped off of him, trying to ignore the massive guilt building up inside of me. Blank came up onto the roof, and smiled when he saw the mess I'd made of Weasel. He gave me a thankful pat on the back.
"Good goin', dude! And I see you had a little fun with him... I like your style. If you ever need anything, anything at all... You just give me a yell."
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(Present Day...)
"... I never called in that favor. I ended up skipping town on account of the fact that even after Blank paid some bribes, Weasel still tried to get me busted." Blank chuckled, and patted me on the back when I finished.
"Yeah, this stallion right here? Best worker I ever had. Hey Weaver, you ever think of coming back to work with me?"
I shook my head. "Sorry Blank, but I'm settling down. Pinks, right there?" I pointed to her. "She's gonna be my wife."
Blank's jaw dropped, and he let out a hearty laugh. "Woah! Look at you, growin' up! You got yourself a looker, too..."
"You so much as touch her, and I'll break your legs." I shot Blank a serious look, but then we both laughed.
"Alright Weaver, well, I gotta jet, so just tell me how much money you need, and I'll be outta your mane."
Clyde cleared his throat. "Um, yes, well, we need about a-thousand and five-hundred bits. Hopsitals aren't cheap..."
Blank shook his head. "Nah, they ain't. Alright, well, your money'll be here in a few days, I'll make sure my delivery boy hurries it up. Nice seein' you again, Weaver. I'm out."
He left, and both Pinks and Clyde stared at me. I cocked my eyebrow. "What?"
Clyde furrowed his brow. "You beat an officer down? Just for doing his job?"
I hung my head, and let out a tired sigh. "Yes, but I still regret it."
Pinks pulled me into a hug. "Hey, don't worry about it... Even though what you did was wrong, you didn't do anything permanent."
I chuckled, and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. You always know what to say."
Clyde loosened up a bit, and smiled. He seemed like a hardened, mean stallion on the outside, but he was actually very calm, and forgiving. I liked him. And now, Roxy was going to get the medical help she needed.
"Everything's working out for once..."