High in the sky of Equestria flew a lone helicopter. It swerved a bit and tilted from side to side in a swanky fashion. Blue and red lights coated it to make it easy to depict in the darkness. It was rather boxy looking, not at all like modern day helicopters that frequented the skies. Most of the new ones are sleek looking while this one was just too clunky and awkward.
Also it was irritating how loud it was, especially to the passengers inside. Princess Twilight Sparkle has always hated human aircraft. It didn’t matter if it was a plane, helicopter, or anything in between, she disliked it. Maybe if humans had developed wings they wouldn’t need aerial transport. Then they wouldn’t have to pollute the sky with them. But what she hated about aircraft was their purpose. So far the only use she saw for them was to create noise. They were big ungraceful husks that created loud noises; the total opposite of a pair of wings which are graceful and quiet.
At least some of the noise was blocked out by the headphones she was wearing which were given to her so she could speak to the other passengers. But other than that there was nothing that could stop the rhythmic chop of the helicopter blades from entering her ears. So she had to endure it and it was unbearable.
In the cockpit of the helicopter was Pinkie and the pilot. The pilot was a younger human that was probably only a recent recipient of his pilot’s licenses. The way the helicopter moved gave it away. But Pinkie seemed to like him and Twilight had been forced into this adventure so she was forced into his company. Everything was actually still pretty confusing for the alicorn princess.
Before she had left in the helicopter, Pinkie had led her to a helicopter pad and told her to wait. So she waited and eventually Pinkie came over with a human. Then they hopped into the chopper and were on their way to Manehattan. Of course it was taking longer than Twilight would have liked it. She had hoped she would be back to New Canterlot before sunrise. But it was midnight and she had to face facts. The damn club was probably closed by now.
“So,” a crackly voice came over the headphone. Because of the sound, the three needed to speak through a headset to broadcast their voice to one another. It was something Twilight found irritating so late at night.
“So,” the pilot said again after there was no response. “You ladies are out pretty late tonight.”
“I guess we are,” Twilight replied lamely.
“Kind of weird,” The pilot added. “I never see you without escorts. What’s up?”
“Mr. pilot man,” Pinkie said joyfully, leaning onto the pilot’s leg. “Remember when I said questions should be avoided? I thought we went over this. When I ask you for a favor you do it and do it happily.”
“Yeah but,” The pilot stammered. “First I have a name and second I’m just curious. I mean Pinkie wakes me up in the middle of the night to fly her somewhere. I just want to know. This isn’t part of my paycheck you know.”
“It’s better that you know less,” Twilight said, still keeping a neutral tone. “None of this concerns you.”
“Alright,” the pilot said, backing off. “Was just curious is all.”
Twilight looked out the window. Another thing she hated about human aircraft is how nauseating they are. Flying naturally was calm and relaxing. Human flying made everything dizzying and sickening. The ground moved so fast it no longer looked like the ground. Twilight found it insulting.
“We’re done here,” she said suddenly.
“What?” Pinkie Pie asked and turned to her friend.
“I said we’re done,” Twilight repeated. “We’re turning back, now.”
“Like hell we are!” Pinkie exclaimed loudly. Because of her loud outburst, everyone suffered due to the volume of their headphones. “We’re so close and you want to turn back? Are you stupid or lazy?”
“Pinkie I made a mistake,” Twilight admitted. “What if someone see us going to a strip club? Preposterous.”
“Oh that’s where you guys are going,” the pilot smirked. “Should’ve figured Pinkie for this shit.”
“Pilot,” Twilight spoke, cold as ice. “Tell me. This isn’t the first time you’ve taken Pinkie for a flight, now is it?”
There was a silence. The pilot just focused in front of him. “I just do what I’m told, your majesty.”
“I knew it,” Twilight groaned. “Pinkie I expected your rehabilitation would have completed by now. You went to rehab six months ago.”
“That place is prison,” Pinkie whined. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand but I do expect you to listen to your friend.”
“I have been listening to you,” Twilight retorted. “That was a mistake. We’re going back.”
“Damn you Twilight,” Pinkie slouched in her seat and sighed. “I didn’t want to do this.” She looked at the pilot. “Do the scary thing.” Pinkie covered her eyes.
“What’s the scary thing?” Twilight’s interest was alerted.
“Roger that,” the pilot muttered and flipped a few switches above his head.
Twilight wondered what he what he had done for about two seconds. But after the two seconds were up she was screaming at the top of her lungs. The helicopter was plummeting towards the ground as fast as it could. Twilight found herself beginning to lift upwards and began to feel weightless. And as soon as it felt like her heart was going to come out her throat, the helicopter slowed downed until it was no longer falling. It left a scared and disgruntled Twilight Sparkle fuming.
“What the fuck!” she screamed trying to not vomit.
“I swear,” Pinkie giggled. Her mane was a bit messed up from the fall but she was alright. It was actually enjoyable for her. “That was better than any rollercoaster.”
“Are you crazy?” Twilight asked but she already knew the answer so she asked something different. “Are you stupid? We could have died!”
“Give me some credit,” the pilot laughed. “I may not be a seasoned vet but I know what I’m doing.”
“Pinkie!” Twilight yelled. “I’m through screwing around. Where’d you find this guy anyway? Are you fucking him or something?” Pinkie Pie didn’t responds and instead chose to look away cautiously.
“Oh my,” Twilight gasped. “Pinkie, that was a joke. And why a human?” Pinkie looked at Twilight suspiciously. “They don’t even measure up to stallions.”
“Hey!” the pilot protested.
“Some do,” Pinkie Pie muttered. “And besides, stallions can’t do half the positions humans can do.” She winked at Twilight.
“I’ll give you that,” Twilight put on her intellectual debate face, showing that it was game time. “But the sheer girth and volume makes up for all the setbacks. And humans always want us to spread ourselves for them. What’s so bad about getting pushed against the wall and”
“I’d love to hear the rest of this,” the pilot interrupted though it was clear he didn’t. “But we’re getting awfully close to the city now.”
Twilight peered past the cockpit and through the front window. Manehattan shined bright colors of yellow, white, blue, and red. Most of the lights were due to human intervention but even so it was a familiar sight for Twilight. Manehattan was always a city of lights even before the humans. The lights reminded her of the club she was supposed to be going to. But it also recalled older memories of when she had visited it with her friends. It seemed like that was lifetimes ago.
“So I should probably tell you girls that I don’t have clearance to land anywhere,” the pilot informed the two ponies. “I’ll try and set her down but we’ll have to be careful. I don’t think the authorities will appreciate an unknown chopper flying around.”
“That’s okay,” Pinkie Pie said. “I already have a plan to get around that. Thanks for being so helpful Mr. pilot man.”
“Anytime,” the pilot said. “But seriously, where do you want me to land?”
“Oh I’ll be fine. I have this all sorted out.” Pinkie took off her headset.
“Pinkie what are you” Twilight was about to ask but soon realized, by remembering Pinkie’s previous actions, what was about to happen. Pinkie Pie quickly opened the helicopter door and jumped out. She plummeted down with a smile on her face. But just as she was beginning to hit terminal velocity, she was saved by Twilight Sparkle.
“I can’t believe you did that again,” Twilight scolded as she held onto her friend closely.
“Yeah, well I knew I would have a great friend to come and catch me,” Pinkie replied.
A feeling of pride started welling up in Twilight’s chest. She laughed as she remembered just how Pinkie could be. Before they became senators and had responsibilities. Back when they could go on an adventure without having to leave something behind. The days when life was simple and her only title was the ‘Princess of Friendship’. When Twilight had friends and her friends had her. It was so simple it worked perfectly.
Twilight eventually landed on the roof of a skyscraper. She took the time to rest since Pinkie wasn’t exactly a light load to carry. The only thought that comforted Twilight, and made her snicker, was at least Pinkie isn’t fat like Rarity is now. Pinkie on the other hand was more preoccupied with finding her destination. She went over to the edge of the skyscraper and began leaning over the side. She peered over the city looking for the neon sign she had learned to recognize.
“What are you looking for?” Twilight asked, approaching the ledge with Pinkie.
“It’s somewhere,” Pinkie murmured. She pressed her hooves against her face to simulate holding binoculars. “There should be a pink neon sign right about… there!” she pointed into the distance. Twilight squinted her eyes to try and see what Pinkie was seeing, but it was impossible.
As Twilight was about to tell Pinkie how she couldn’t see, Pinkie took it upon herself to try and do the same thing she’s been doing all night. Twilight quickly grabbed her before she could get her whole body over the ledge.
“Let’s not,” Twilight stated lamely. She peered back at the city and this time she did find that pink neon sign Pinkie had mentioned. “Already let’s do this the easy way,” Twilight said as her horn began to glow. Pinkie grinned happily and in a flash they were at the strip club they had been traveling to.
They appeared in the parking lot of the establishment. Twilight’s teleportation spell had landed them right to their destination. She took pride in knowing that she was still the best at magic in the whole kingdom. Her job doesn’t let her exercise her powers as much so it was always exciting getting to do something powerful.
But there was something off about the place she had brought Pinkie and her to. Immediately Twilight could sense something was wrong. Her skin crawled. And her suspicions were correct as soon as she spotted red and blue strobe lights. Everywhere she looked there were cops cars and cops everywhere. They were parked up the street and blocked the entrances to the parking lot and their lights were the brightest thing in the night. Cops, either pony or human, ran around, paying no attention to the two ponies that had appeared out of thin air. There was no doubting that something was seriously wrong.
At first Twilight thought that someone had noticed she was missing. Because she was such a high ranking official it was necessary to always have some sort of escort at all times. So it would make sense that there would be a huge police presence when she was around. The problem was there was no way anyone except Pinkie Pie could know she was coming. And cops shouldn’t even be at a strip club. In fact strip clubs aren’t supposed to exist in Equestria. It was against the law.
Twilight starting looking for someone in charge. A police chief or at least someone that could tell her what was going on. But before she could contact someone, Pinkie began tugging at her tail.
“Um Twilight,” Pinkie’s left leg was shaking violently. “I’m gunna head off for a sec.” Pinkie began to trot off at a brisk pace.
“What?” Twilight exclaimed. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Just to get something to calm myself.” Pinkie looked back but kept walking. “Don’t worry I’ll be back, whenever.”
Twilight observed Pinkie’s walk. She noticed the shaky leg and went through her mental list of Pinkie sense triggers. A shaky leg wasn’t in there. However it was clear to Twilight that Pinkie was relapsing. She knew that the minute Pinkie woke her up. And it was pretty obvious what Pinkie was planning on doing to calm herself.
“Someone!” Twilight shouted, gaining the attention of the nearby police officers. “Stop her!” Twilight pointed to Pinkie who looked back for a second before galloping away. The police officers that weren’t perplexed by the sudden arrival of Princess Twilight Sparkle gave chase to the fleeing mare.
Three pony officers were hot on Pinkie Pie’s trail but she was too fast for them. Pinkie was nearing the outskirts of the police lines. The chase was finally ended when a human officer dove for her. Pinkie tried to dodge him but his long arms were enough to grip the mare and hold on tight. With his training the officer was able to restrain the mare and apply handcuffs. Although the mare proved quite a challenge to restrain and the human officer had to lie on top of her to get Pinkie to stop moving.
The three pony officers who had given chase watched the human officer. “Wait a minute, is that Pinkie Pie?” one of them said.
“Holy shit that is,” the second one pointed out. “Should you really be handcuffing her?”
“Let her go, we’re not supposed to do this I think,” the third officer spoke. The human officer glared at the ponies, annoyed that they were trying to tell him what to do.
“Fuck that,” Twilight said suddenly, appearing from behind the three pony officers. “She’s not supposed to even be here. Handcuff her again. She can be very hard to detain.” When none of the officers would do as she asked, Twilight simply took their handcuffs with her magic and applied them herself. In the end she completely immobilized her friend. To her it was a necessary precaution; to the officers it seemed a bit cruel.
“Anything else, ma’am?” the human officer asked. Twilight was pleased by the formality.
“Just make sure that Maud Pie is notified,” Twilight ordered. “In the mean time lock her in your car. She can’t escape. She’s supposed to be in rehab.”
“Yes ma’am,” the human officer nodded, keeping his formality. He hauled Pinkie away, leaving Twilight with only the three pony officers.
“So it’s true,” one of the officers whispered but Twilight could hear it. “Pinkie Pie really is still in rehab. She’s still hooked as always.” The other officers nodded in agreement.
Twilight’s face contorted into a look of hatred. Pinkie’s condition was supposed to be secret and if word got out that she was still addicted then things would look bad. The lie that was sold was Pinkie had gotten addicted while at a party. Her defense had desperately tried to convince everyone that it wasn’t by her free will. In the end it work but there were a lot of skeptics. If this public stunt went noticed then it would hurt not just Pinkie Pie’s reputation but the entire Equestrian government’s. What would ponies say if an element of harmony had fallen from grace like this? What would they say if it had always been this way and they never knew about it?
Twilight knew the truth and she knew that the truth would only hurt more if it was revealed.
Twilight briskly approached the three pony officers. She got their attention but they didn’t stand at attention like she was used to from her bodyguards. It annoyed her.
“You three stallions better keep your mouths shut,” she said sternly. “Equestria has enough problems and it doesn’t need more. If you’re smart, because you sure as hell ain’t competent, you’ll do as you’re told. Three stallions should have been able to catch a mare any day. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Twilight really put shame onto the officers. “You let a human outshine you. If that ain’t sad I don’t know what is.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Now if you’re good for anything you’ll tell me who’s in charge.”
All three stallions tried to answer at once so nothing was comprehendible. Finally one answered. “The police chief is over there,” he pointed to a human in a dark blue police uniform. “He knows the most. He’s been one of the ones inside.”
“What happened inside?” Twilight asked as the tone of the officer’s voice peaked her interest. He had sounded scared.
“I don’t know,” the pony officer admitted. “We just arrived. But talk to the chief, I hear it’s bad.”
Twilight, worry now filling her heart, went into a fast trot over to the police chief. He was resting against the strip club but when Twilight walked over he immediately snapped to attention.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle?” he peered at the alicorn. “What are you, why are you, what’s going on?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” Twilight replied, trying to sound official yet not feeling it.
“It’s a bit complicated, ma’am,” the police chief said. “Actually we should get you someplace safer. I had no idea you were in town. I’m gunna call you a police escort back to the station.”
Twilight was getting more suspicious by every word. “No!” she yelled startling the police chief. “I can handle myself just fine without a company of soldiers babying me.”
The police chief became nervous. Something was telling him that the princess wasn’t here on official business. He looked around for a bodyguard of some sort that might be escorting the princess but found none. He considered this confirming his suspicions that the princess wasn’t here on official government business. That made the police chief even more nervous.
“That’s fine then. But I have to warn you that this is not a safe place right now,” the police chief grabbed his belt, making sure his gun was in place.
“I know,” Twilight said quickly eyeing an armored car that pulled up. “I want to know what’s going on and I want to know now.” A team of heavily armored humans moved into the car and drove off. Twilight assumed their mission was done here.
“Well I guess I can’t say no because you’re a princess and everything,” the police chief’s brow was saturated with sweat. Twilight grinned in triumph. “But I have to warn you that what you’ll see might be a bit much to handle.”
“Now I have to see,” Twilight stated.
The police chief led her to the front door. They entered and immediately Twilight hated the place. It was dark, dirty, and offensive. Several posters were on the walls, advertising the entertainment. Twilight knew this wasn’t just a place of crime, but of human crime; there is a difference. Its existence offended her. The worst part for her was how the place advertised ponies as sexually standing by at all times. She detested that humans would sink so low as to make ponies their objects of desire.
“You know this place shouldn’t even exist,” she said randomly but it was clear it was directed to the police chief. “Last time I checked strip clubs aren’t exactly legal.”
“I apologize for that,” the police chief said. “The station knew about this place for a while. We understood it was doing things against the law. But understand that it isn’t my fault it hasn’t been removed yet.” Twilight looked at the chief suspiciously. It was hard to believe that the inaction of the Manehattan police department was not the chief’s fault.
“How so?” Twilight asked, trying to hide the venom in her voice. “A raid on this place could have cleared it out in an afternoon.”
The chief laughed, which confused Twilight. “If it were only that easy,” he said and recomposed himself. “No, we cannot make mass arrests like that.”
“Why not?” Twilight asked. “It was done in America. Crime was reduced by twenty five percent due to the actions of Equestria.”
“Mhm,” the police chief just grunted. “Yeah well I sent the form to have this place evicted a couple months ago. Maybe you politicians could get it sorted out.”
“Not my department,” Twilight replied.
They walked down the hall. Twilight walked at a brisk pace eager to see what warranted a police presence. So far she was told nothing and that bothered her. She wasn’t too angry because information was going to be presented eventually. Twilight Sparkle hates it when there is something she doesn’t know and she is withheld from that information.
They arrived at a set of double doors and the police chief took out a set of keys to unlock them. “I warn you that what you’ll see will be horrifying,” the police chief looked at Twilight. “Are you sure you want to see?”
Twilight snorted. “Open this damn door.”
The police chief exhaled and opened the double doors. Twilight stepped through as soon as she could and instantly knew she made a mistake. The scene that greeted her could have been out of a horror movie. Everywhere she looked there was carnage. At the bar ponies were dead and limply hanging over the seats. The V.I.P area had bodies all around it. But the worst was the floor in front of the stage.
The bodies of the dead just piled on top of one another. Each one of them told a story. Some were shot while standing against the wall while others were shot right in the open. Others tried to escape and laid sprawled out over the ground, their front hooves outstretched like they were reaching for something.
Blood covered everywhere possibly. It seeped into the carpeting and dripped down the walls. The bodies especially were covered in it. And strangely enough Twilight found foot prints of blood everywhere. It seemed that whoever did this had no concern with who or what they stepped it. These foot prints went every which way.
Twilight levitated in the air with her wings so she didn’t step in the blood and followed a particular path. This path led to the bar at the other side of the room. Twilight was careful to hover around the corpse and tried not to look at them, a task easier said than done. She got to the edge of the bar and peered over it. Slowly but surely she was able to see over the bar. And the first thing she saw was the severed head of a human girl.
It was too much for Princess Twilight to handle. She turned and flew of the room as fast as she could. The police chief shut the door behind here. Twilight landed and looked at the ground for a long time. No words were exchanged as silence took hold. But eventually Twilight did look up and she did speak.
“I think I’m going to throw up,” she muttered. The fact was she wasn’t feeling good. Her stomach felt weak.
“It’s pretty bad in there,” the police chief remarked. “So far there are fifty seven dead and forty eight wounded.”
Twilight gagged but regained her composure. “There are survivors?”
“Yeah but some are in bad condition.” The police chief grimly stated. “We already evacuated the survivors. We’re getting bodies bags for the dead and a forensic team to investigate. Nobody is allowed in until forensics arrives. Well except for you.”
“How long have you been here?” Twilight asked, slowly regaining her balance and control over herself.
“Barely over half an hour,” the police chief said. “We responded to a call made inside the building and multiple others on the outside. Apparently there were gunmen on the outside as well as the outside.” The police chief took a minute to himself. “They killed two police officers responding to the calls.”
Twilight looked at the police chief. “Do we have witnesses? You mentioned gunmen. Is that just an assumption?” A glimmer of hope and hate shined in her heart.
“Yes but nothing in concrete yet,” the police chief answered. “From what I’ve gathered so far there were multiple shooters. The exact number varies. However we did learn a few things. They wore dark clothing, they were masked, and they wore yellow rubber gloves. Oh and they were all human.”
That last detail rang like a chime in Twilight’s mind. Human. The glimmer of hope and hate shined brighter. Somehow Twilight knew, from the moment she stepped into the club, that humans were behind this. No pony could do this. They aren’t suited to use firearms as effective as humans. But the most obvious reason is no pony would ever do this. They are above this. At least Twilight thinks so.
“Anything else?” she asked, trying to hide a sneaky smile. She didn’t want the police chief to know how glad she was that humans did this. It was the only detail that kept her from breaking down and weeping.
“Well not exactly. There were security cameras running the whole time.” The chief’s words gave Twilight an idea. Back in New Canterlot was her security monitoring room that gave her access to the cameras feeds of anywhere in Equestria. It would be a simple viewing to catch the culprits.
“However,” the police chief continued. “The gunmen thought ahead because they disabled the cameras and deleted the feed.”
“Huh?” Twilight grunted, being torn away from her planning.
“The security system,” the police chief explained. “It’s a closed system, meaning the feeds all went to a computer in the security room. But the gunmen put a bullet through the hard drive so all the feeds are gone forever.”
With that all of Twilight’s hope for her camera idea was dashed away. “Oh,” she put her hoof to her chin. “So we have nothing.”
“Nothing yet,” the police chief said. “Until we get the witnesses to speak and thoroughly inspect the crime scene, you’re right we have nothing.”
“Alright,” Twilight exhaled. She felt the need to act yet she knew there was nothing she could do. The obvious thing to do would be to wait for things to become clearer. People would be notified and this shooting will be all over the news. Action will occur but Twilight knew that the action must go in her favor. Lots of bad could happen but a lot of good could come out of this too. It was a battle between a full blown panic or a hopeful view into the future.
“Princess?” the police chief said. “Would you like me to give you a police escort?”
“Mmmh,” Twilight though for a second. There was one human she knew of that could help her right now. And he was in this city. “Sure,” Twilight agreed. “I need to be somewhere anyways.”
“Shouldn’t you rest,” the police chief asked. He was met with a stony glare. “Alright just saying. But between you and me,” he knelt down next to Twilight and lowered his voice. “How big is this going to be? I’m just saying because last time things changed drastically. I was up for three nights doing paperwork.”
“Last time?” Twilight thought for a second. The Fluttershy assassination. “This might be bigger than last time.”
“I see,” the police chief lowered his head. “Lot of fear went around the station. I guess more will come.” He stood up. “I’ll get you your escort right away.”
Twilight exited the club. It felt nice to leave the place. The air was dirty and pungent inside but outside it was clear and fresh. Twilight’s escort arrived which was a squad car and a human driver. She got in and directed the driver to go to the financial district, in the middle of the city. They set off with little conversation after the directions. The human driver tried to create small talk but Twilight didn’t allow it. She had some things on her mind and she wasn’t going to allow them to be interrupted.
In the back of her mind, Twilight was reminded of human history. Their history was filled with these types of scenes, scenes of extraordinary violence. In fact Twilight had studied human history just for the pleasure of studying another culture. She found things that had brought a smile of intrigue to her face. But she also found things that made her think harder than she ever thought possible. Logic seemed to be void in a lot of human history and Twilight didn’t understand. It was even more frustrating when she tried comparing Equestrian history with human history. All she did was reinforce her belief that Equestria truly was a nation that was a shining beacon of light that needed to help the humans stray away from the path of evil.
She found out that human history is divided by the wars they fight. It was so different from Equestria that she needed an explanation as soon as possible. However she never really got it. All she received were promises that the past will not decide the future. These promises came from human leaders that she had met throughout the years. They all said the same thing, that Equestria will always be the admiration of the human world. Twilight now understood that those promises are broken.
She looked out the window into the human built city and wondered how many more of her kind must die by the hand of the humans. The answer should be none and Twilight made a decision. She would be done with the pleasantries. Equestria must never again suffer at the hands of the human, that is the promise she made to herself.
***
When she arrived at her destination she quickly left the squad car, which on her orders sped away. The building she entered was a tall glass skyscraper. It was one of the taller ones and more elaborate than one of the square ones. Skyscrapers had always existed in Manehattan and when the humans arrived they were improved upon greatly. Now the new architecture is easily more impressive than the old. It was easy to spot an old skyscraper from a new skyscraper. But it wasn’t just the appearance that told the difference but what lied inside. New skyscrapers were mostly owned by humans while the old were owned by ponies. It was almost like a way of telling the two groups apart.
When Twilight entered she immediately headed to the front desk. This wasn’t her first visit. She approached an elderly looking secretary that didn’t hide how she didn’t want to be working at such a late hour.
“I need to speak to Curizno,” Twilight demanded, stamping her hoof on the desk. “Is he here?”
The elderly secretary peered at Twilight. “Do you have an appointment?”
Twilight tried not to lose her composure, but an eye twitch gave it away. “Do you not recognize me? I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle. That alone should get your attention.” But the secretary showed little signs of care. “I’m also in frequent communication with the man.” Twilight continued. “Doesn’t that mean anything?”
The secretary blinked, lamely. “I can’t allow anyone to see Mr. Curizno without an appointment. Besides he doesn’t take visitors at this hour.”
“Uuuuh!” Twilight groaned. “What is this, a doctor’s office?” She turned away and headed for the nearest elevator. “Forget it; I know where he is anyway,” she yelled.
Twilight took the elevator to the thirty sixth floor and went straight down the hallway she arrived in. Taking a left she arrived right in front of a dark wooden door. A golden plaque read ‘The office of Tommaso Curizno’. Twilight banged on the door with his hoof, creating a loud fuss.
“Curizno!” she yelled. “Open this goddamn door!” After a few more hit the door creaked open. An eyeball looked through before the door opened more.
“Twilight?” a voice came from behind the door. The door opened more until Curizno was in plain view. His normally well kept attire was a bit rustled from a day of work. And it was obvious he was exhausted.
“Heya C!” Twilight exclaimed and pushed her way past him, letting herself into his office. “Nice to meet ya again.” All formality had left her voice now.
“Twilight,” Curizno said in disbelief.” Do you have any idea how late it is?”
“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Twilight countered back.
Curizno didn’t have an answer to that. He’s been in his office all day. Lucky for him he didn’t need to answer. His phone on his desk began to ring. “Excuse me I need to answer this,” he told Twilight. Curizno put the receiver to his ear. “Hello,” he said.
“Hey it’s Berry,” a raspy voice came over the line. “Something happened. We need to talk.”
Curizno quickly glanced at Twilight. “Can’t it wait?”
“No it can’t.” Berry growled.
“Well it will have to,” Curizno stated before hanging up. He turned back to Twilight. “Please have a seat.” He nodded to a chair in front of his desk. Twilight sat and reclined back. Curizno also sat down in his chair on the other side of the desk. “So, back to our conversation, you were saying?”
“Do you have something to drink?” Twilight asked suddenly. “I could use some alcohol.”
Curizno raised an eyebrow in confusion before reaching underneath his desk. He did in fact keep some form of alcohol in his office; it helped with negotiations sometimes. He pulled out a semi-expensive bottle of white wine from a cooler under his desk and set it on the table.
“Sorry I don’t have glasses,” Curizno apologized. “Or a bottle opener.”
Twilight glared at him and levitated the bottle to her. With a pop the cork was forced out with Twilight’s magic and she chugged the bottle for a second. She then looked lamely at Curizno for a second before setting the bottle down.
“So,” she looked around at the office. “You seriously have no idea what’s going on?”
“Not a clue,” Curizno shook his head. “I’ve been here all day.”
“You live in this fucking city,” Twilight slammed her hooves on Curizno desk. “Don’t you know what happens here? I thought you owned things.” Her face was only a couple inches away from Curizno’s. He had to recline back to avoid being pressed against her.
“I,” Curizno tried to say through the pressure suddenly placed on him.
“Today,” Twilight said retreating back in her chair. She decided to be a bit softer with this. It was late and she would do this like a princess should. “Today Equestria had another Fluttershy-like incident.”
“Oh,” Curizno was greatly surprised by the news. It was unexpected. “Did somepony else die?”
“Heh,” Twilight giggled. “In a way.”
“Was it another element or an important official?” Curizno asked.
“Pfft, nope,” Twilight answered taking another swig of wine. “I wouldn’t have come to you for that.” She exhaled. “No it’s worst, I think.”
“Worse?” Curizno went over the options in his head for what could count as worse.
“Yeah,” Twilight continued. “This time an attack was carried out on the ponies of Equestrian, in this city, almost less than an hour ago.”
Curizno leaned back in his chair, stunned by the new information. “Impossible,” he murmured. “Where?”
“At a strip club called the Magic Mist,” Twilight told him.
Suddenly Curizno was able to put two and two together. The phone call he had received earlier must’ve been about this. He took pride in knowing that he was the first to find out about this. Because this will change everything in Equestria, it’ll be like what happened to Fluttershy. Immediately Curizno’s mind raced with possibilities. He saw more changes resulting in his favor. More power over Equestria than was thought possible.
“That’s interesting,” Curizno replied.
“Interesting?” Twilight snarled. “Fifty seven dead and forty eight are wounded. And it was at a strip club that shouldn’t even exist.” She looked bitterly at Curizno. “Did you know anything about this?”
“No nothing,” Curizno lied through his teeth. “I never knew there was a strip club in this city.”
“It’s your city,” Twilight shook her head. “This is your headquarters. I expected a man with your influence would know about it.”
“Must have slipped under the radar,” Curizno shrugged.
Twilight regarded Curizno strangely before taking another chug of wine. “I just can’t get the images out of my mind.” Twilight admitted. “I went in to see what was happening. It’s brutal. I though seeing Fluttershy’s lifeless body could prepare me, but it didn’t at all. There was so many bodies all trying to do something. It was beyond bad.” She looked at Curizno. “Thanks for the wine. It’s helping.”
Curizno rubbed his hands together. “Sounds like this was an attack of some sorts. Are the police there? What evidence is there?”
“Nothing so far,” Twilight grunted. “All I could gather was it was done with an excessive amount of guns. Huh guns,” Twilight chuckled. “There are no guns in Equestria. We’re going to have to stop saying that pretty soon.” She took another drink. “Also the shooters were,” Twilight got serious. “Human.”
“Of course they were,” Curizno said. “Ponies aren’t as suited to use firearms as well.”
“That’s exactly what I thought,” Twilight grinned. She swung her head around a bit. “So what now?”
“It’s really too early to say anything,” Curizno said. “We should wait before we discuss action.”
“Action?” Twilight caught that word. Curizno lurched back, fearing he had spoken too soon. “What do you mean by action?”
“Well I mean something will have to be done,” Curizno explained. “I figure this will be like Fluttershy so we’ll have to retaliate.” He looked at Twilight. “And do you really want to go through the Equestrian government to get shit done?”
Twilight thought for a second. Already she could see debates, meetings, speeches, and enough paperwork to last a lifetime. Unfortunately for her she would be one of the head ponies in charge of all of it. So after brief though she decided that Curizno was her only chance to actually make a difference. Maybe they’ll even get revenge on those responsible. Maybe they could actually have their gunmen this time.
“Alright,” Twilight held out her hoof. “It’s a deal.” They shook on it.
“We can get started right away,” Curizno said. “I’m open whenever you need me.”
“I’ll be here tomorrow than,” Twilight said. “I’m actually supposed to be in New Canterlot so I’ll have to go back for tonight.”
“Need a ride?” Curizno offered. “I can get my helicopter pilot to fly you over.”
Twilight shuddered. “No thanks. I’ve had enough of helicopters for a while.” She got off the chair she was on. “But thank you for everything. You humans may be the cause of all of this, but at least you’re doing something about it.”
“Thanks Twilight,” Curizno said but was unsure if he should be thankful. “I’ll see you later, goodnight.”
“Good morning,” Twilight corrected him as she walked out the door, a bit tipsy from the wine.
As soon as she left, Curizno redialed the number that had previously called him. It took a while but someone did answer.
“About fucking time you called me,” the same raspy voice growled. “Had me waiting all fucking night. I’m dying of anticipation right now.”
“It was barely fifteen minutes ago,” Curizno stated calmly. “Just tell me what is troubling Berry right now.”
“Well I don’t know if you’re aware but the Magic Mist was just shot up not too long ago,” Berry said. “Remember the place? It’s where the girls serve you the drinks with little candies on the side.”
“I’m aware,” Curizno had adopted a very formal business-like way of speaking. It was how he behaved when dealing with the type of customer he was dealing with currently. “Actually I was told about it when I had to hang you up. Seems like you were slow today.”
“Yeah well everything went to shit,” Berry complained. “Everypony down here is flipping shit and I’m two seconds from strangling somepony.”
“I’d imagine,” Curizno replied.
“Shit, Lowride was on my case for half an hour. His best girls all died. He was making a killing there.”
“I believe you were too,” Curizno said. “That place was easy money.”
“That place was a shithole,” Berry spat. “Not enough tourists around to keep it going. After a while you just get freeloaders. But I am pissed that some humans would have the audacity to do this. I own these streets.”
“How do you know it was humans?” Curizno asked.
“Are you bullshitting me, C?” Berry laughed. “Like ponies could or would do this. Besides one of my guys recovered enough to tell me what he saw. He said there were four gunmen. One of them actually started going through his pockets. Took everything of value. Damn dirty fucking humans. And they call us animals? They all belong in cages so we can ride them around.”
“Ehem,” Curizno coughed nervously.
“What? Oh, sorry,” Berry apologized. “I’m a little bit unhinged is all. I don’t mean humans like you or anything.” Berry’s tone became very anxious. “I’m talking about the humans living in the poor parts of town, the ones in that homeless shelter or that church. I just don’t like them intruding into our business. It’s fine if they stay on their side but when they cross it’s just”
“Keep your prejudices to yourself!” Curizno snarled, silencing Berry. “I just hope you’ve been able to keep pony and humans from killing each other. Because it sounds like you’ve failed miserably. When I make a deal I expect the other party to be able to uphold their end. Or else.” Curizno’s grip on his phone tightened.
“Of else what?” Berry gulped nervously.
“Or else,” Curizno gritted his teeth and paused. He then exhaled and loosened his grip. “Or else I’ll simply offer my support to someone else. I am a human after all and I may feel a twinge of guilt over our agreement. But I’ll learn to deal with it. Now if you can’t keep the humans in Manehattan under control then I’ll cut our deal off. Would you want that?”
“N-no sir,” Berry stammered.
“Good,” Curizno leaned back. “Now I assume that you’ve been dealing with the problem immediately as it was presented. Remember efficiency is the key to success.”
“I know that,” Berry replied. “Actually I was dealing with it before I called you.”
“Good,” Curizno grinned. “Then I won’t keep you from it any longer. Don’t fuck up.” Curizno slammed the phone down, hanging up.
He sighed. “A human mafia probably should’ve been my first choice. Ponies aren’t as cunning.” He grinned. “Ruthless but not too bright when it comes down to it. Can’t tell when someone is lurking behind their back.”
***
With Curizno’s eerie hang up, Berry was left with an enormous weigh on his shoulders. Everything that he had set up was on the verge of collapse. The club shooting could be the event that sends his efforts into the pit of wasted effort. He had thought Fluttershy’s death was bad. But the club was too close to home. By morning it would be possible that Manehattan would become rooted into a battle. Specie warfare, Berry liked to call it and he wondered how his side would fare.
However, Berry took pride in knowing that he could do something to fight back against the coming storm. Across the room a human was tied up and was the plaything of a couple of Berry’s henchponies. They kicked him and made bad jokes but it wasn’t enough to kill or seriously hurt. A few words needed to be said.
“You damn humans,” Berry growled, putting the phone he had been using back onto the wall. “You just can’t leave us alone can you?” He slowly trotted over to the captive human.
“We were just trying to help,” the human whimpered. “It’s what PAHI has always been about.”
“Oh really?” Berry laughed. He picked a button off the human’s jacket. “Hmph,” he snorted. “Equestria for Equestrians, how truthfully.” He threw the button over his shoulder. “Listen, you’re the PAHI leader. How long once you’re gone will the organization fall apart?”
“Uh,” the PAHI leader grunted. “Not long probably.”
“Good,” Berry nodded. “It must’ve occurred to you a while ago that you wouldn’t be getting out of this place alive. No, you’re too troublesome to keep alive.” Berry began to pace. “I mean the protesting was fine at times. Sometimes it got out of hand, like at that church. The cops were completely justified, you know that? You looked like you were going to kill that human. And I even forgave you for the homeless shelter. But I’ve realized I’ve been too kind.”
“We were just trying to protect you,” the PAHI leader said solemnly.
“Protect us!” Berry screamed at the top of his lungs. “We never asked for protection! We never needed your protection! Ponies can handle your human diseased culture just fine!” Berry took a minute to compose himself. “You know what? I’m not going to get mad. I’ll be quick about this. You don’t know what you’ve done.” He took a few steps back.
“All I’ve done was try and keep Equestria as it was before my people came,” the leader said frantically. “What is wrong about that?”
“It’s simple,” Berry said. “Well not really. But I can explain it.” He lowered his head to the man on the floor. “What you did was kick the bee’s nest. See the club shooting, that I know you are aware about, is the result of your actions. Nopony wants to be hounded down like what your people die. Humans too don’t want to be targeted. So you’re idea was to discriminate against a group and think they wouldn’t fight back?” Berry chuckled. “Stupid, just stupid. You used hatred to fight and unfortunately some humans fought back. Now lots of ponies are dead.”
“We weren’t discriminating,” the leader protested and squirmed. “Our cause was noble. I just wanted to stop you from being corrupted. My kind brought a plague to you but it can be reversed.”
“A plague? Reversed?” Berry raised an eyebrow. “Who was it that brought you here? It wasn’t a human that tied you up. It was that Pegasus above you.” Berry tipped his head to his Pegasus henchpony that smiled back. “Truth is you humans give us ponies too much credit. We aren’t all elements of harmony you know? Some of us could be real assholes. Or just normal ponies that can be tempted by evil or get a bit sad.” Berry shrugged. “Point is it’s almost insulting to think that I’m a gushing heart pacifist just because I’m a pony. It makes my kind look like a bunch of pussies. Understand now?”
“Uh,” the PAHI leader grunted.
Berry leaned in until his nose just brushed against his captive’s ear. “I wouldn’t even consider my kind’s leaders to be noble ponies, and you humans see them everyday making promises to help wherever they can. Think of Celestia. She locked her own sister up for one thousand years and never said a word about it until she came back. Instead she kept her sister’s memory alive by turning her into a pony eating folktale. She turned her sister into a monster. One thousand years of fear, that’s what I call it. Should I go on and tell you how I feel about Princess Twilight and the rest, or should I stop?”
Berry waited. He looked the human dead in the eye and waited. The staring continued until Berry saw what he was waiting for. Usually it was either a twitch or a spark, this time it was just a twitch. In his craft, Berry had learned how to tell if someone understood. One of the rather obvious signs was to watch for a physical sign. The eyes can tell a lot about what someone is thinking. And because of that they are very exploitable.
“I think I understand now,” the PAHI leader finally said.
“Fantastic,” Berry grinned. The Pegasus above the leader aimed a pistol at the human’s head. “I think we’re done here now.”
“Wait,” the leader spoke. “I understand now. Don’t kill me!”
“You clearly don’t,” Berry growled, irritated. “I already told you that you wouldn’t be leaving alive and I thought you understood that.” He turned around and began walking away. “You humans are so stupid. Probably why our species will never get along.” He stop in the doorway and looked at the Pegasus holding the gun to the PAHI leader’s head. “Don’t make a mess,” he instructed. The Pegasus just nodded.
Berry left the room and shut the door behind him. The leader looked at the Pegasus before the end. It was a shame the Pegasus didn’t follow Berry’s orders. Brain matter got everywhere.