//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14 pt 1: A Tale of Three Friends pt 3 
// Story: Gamers in Equestria 
// by Neoandermcd 
//------------------------------//


A Noir Tale pt. 1


Manny’s PoV:

“ ‘Early to bed, early to rise’ as they say.” That was my thought process as our conversation ended that night. Making my way back to Sugar Cube Corner was uneventful, so I went straight to bed. The next morning, I woke up early and left to see the job opportunities that Ponyville had to offer. 

The choices were vast to say the least, ranging from gardner, cook, waiter, repairman, smith, courier, and other such options. Needless to say I looked into the jobs, but none seemed to garner any real interest. If I had to be practical though, I would choose cook, but my meager skills in the culinary art mostly revolve around meat products. Last time I checked, ponies don’t eat meat.

The first day was done and over with as I went back to Sugar Cube Corner. The Cakes noticed my distress, and when I explained it to them, they suggested that I should try over in Canterlot. They told me that Canterlot holds a variety of creatures in the city and that I might have better luck over there.

With a thanks, I went to bed and woke up early once more. Getting over to Canterlot wasn’t hard, as I just turned invisible and rode the train over there. With no bits and not wanting to mooch off of anyone, I figured this was a better alternative than running all the way there or stealing bits to buy a ticket. 

Exiting off of the train, I made my way out of the train station and took in the sights. Canterlot was more refined than the rural town of Ponyville. The streets were light grey cobble stone with streetlamps neatly placed in even intervals. The surrounding buildings matched the theme of the city quite well as the structures were cleaned cut and placed to give the city symmetry. The noble stallions and mares walked to their destination in well crafted designers clothes. They would only make the briefest of stops to either talk to one another or to look at some new wares that the merchants displayed in their stores.

Truth be told, if I wasn’t so desperate for a job--that could compliment my cooking skill--, I would have sucked it up and got one back in Ponyville. Most rich people I’ve ever met were either snobs, spoiled brats, or huge jackasses that didn’t deserve the riches that they held. I was being optimistic though--courtesy of Ben and Bj--hoping that ponies were going to be different than us humans.

That, and if this didn’t work out, I still had the opportunity to get a job back in Ponyville. So I really had nothing to lose. Adjusting my tie and making sure my suit looked presentable, I then set out to see if anyone was hiring.

~Hours later: about mid day~

A loud groan of annoyance escaped my lips as I sat on a park bench. Each interview went about something like this; they took a glance at me, raised their heads and huffed me away. Only a scarce few actually gave me the time of day, but still told me to leave after they were done humouring me.

My optimism was shot to pieces at how cruel ponies were compared to what my two pony loving friends said. Reaching into my coat pocket, I brought out a cigarette and lit it. Taking a puff from the cancer stick, I let it sit there in the corner of my mouth while I stared off into space. 

‘I don’t know why I’m so surprised. Where there is good there has to be evil. And where there is kindness, there is cruelty.’ I thought to myself.

The growl of my stomach brought me back to the here-and-now. Reaching into my coat I pulled out some rolled up churros, courtesy of Pinkie. How she knew I would need these later, I’ll never know, nor do I really want to. Eating them in a few large bites and a quick toss into a nearby trashcan, I set off towards the West District in hopes of finding a job.

I didn’t even make it two blocks away until the feeling of being watched washed over me once more. 

‘Okay this is getting really annoying.’ At first I thought it was just me being paranoid since most of the ‘noble’ ponies would give me either disdainful looks or looks of complete disgust. But after the first hour I caught a glimpse of my stalker before he ran off.

With a casual glance over the shoulder I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. 

‘Well then Mr. Stalker, prepare to meet your maker.’ With a devilish grin, I turned down an alleyway and sprinted as fast as I could. Turning a corner sharply I caught sight of my would-be stalker chasing after me. This went on for a few minutes until a dead end presented itself. Just before the stalker came around the corner, I activated my Cloak and Dagger wristwatch and turned invisible.

Just as planned, my stalker walked into the lion’s den after me. His worn-out, off-tan overcoat hid everything noteworthy except for his height, which was about a little bit lower than my chest. He walked around the area slowly, while keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings. After a few moments he felt it safe enough to let his guard down as he searched the area for any clues of my whereabouts.

‘Scrolling’ between my weapons, I equipped my L’Etranger, decloaked and lit up another cancer stick. The click of my lighter caught my guest’s attention as he turned around in surprise. Before he could make any other sudden movement, I fired a warning shot near his right foot. 
“I wouldn’t do anything if I were you.” I said while releasing a cloud of smoke.

My guest didn’t say anything, and merely held up their hands in submission. “Good. Now why are you following me?” I asked.

He didn’t answer right away, causing the atmosphere around us to become tense. Movement from his hand caused me to cock the lever and aim at his head. We both stood there in silence as the tension grew thicker. He didn’t dare move in fear of the deadly weapon before him. It took me a moment to realize that my stalker was only moving their hand to the hood of their cloak to show that they meant no harm. Lowering my gun a bit, I nodded in understanding. 

With the threat of being shot out of the way, they continued and revealed a young Earth bound mare with short blonde hair and magenta eyes. She would have been quite the looker if it wasn’t for the dark bags under her eyes, accompanied by bloodshot eyes, and finished with a nasty bruise on her right cheek. So shocked from her appearance I didn’t even react as she reached into her coat and pulled out a badge. 

“I’m with the Stalliongrad police and I need your help.”

~Half an hour later~

We sat outside of a cafe. There was little to no conversation--the only thing I got from her was her name--as we made our way out from the alleyway. Lighting up another cigarette--wow this’ll be my tenth in a few hours--, I took a puff and blew a cloud of smoke towards the sky.

Trace Back sat across from me as she chugged a few dozen cups of coffee. I became a little concerned for her well being after her fifth cup--though to be honest, I can’t really say the cigarettes are much better--, but I continued to wait for her to speak. Every now and again, she would look over her surroundings as if she was expecting to get jumped at a moment’s notice.

After a few more minutes my patience had reach its limit.

“You said you needed help, but why are you asking for my assistance? And what help do you need?” I asked, hoping that if I began the conversation she would finally speak up.

Setting her cup down, she stared intently at the empty cup as her eyes scrunched up in concentration. Her luscious lips formed words as she softly spoke to herself. Her eyes lit up as she reached into her coat pocket, brought out a manila folder, and slid it over towards me. 

Curious, I opened it to see several case files. Each one had the same MO: they all had committed suicide in some back alley surrounded with empty pill bottles and a dagger in their hand. Looking over each case carefully, I took notice of the name ‘Gram’. Which, in all honesty, wasn’t hard as the name was highlighted, underlined, and circled in bright colors.

Looking in the back of the file, I saw a picture of the mysterious Gram. His face was flat yet held an air of authority not unlike that of a military personal. He had a strong chin with a mixture of light and dark grey hair that was kept short. Gram was an alias that he went by, his real name was Kolt Miner. Supposedly, the heir to the Colt Mining industry--the third largest coal mining corporation in Equestria--had a few misdemeanors on his record, but other than that nothing noteworthy.

Shifting through the file some more, I came upon a few records detailing the failed attempt at a drug bust. Each time there were little-to-no signs of drug trafficking or manufacturing in the area. When asked, all of the employees denied any such activities. Not only that, but the lead witnesses were found a week later, dead. It didn’t take a genius to see foul play in the works.

Closing the folder, I pushed it back to her and took a sip from my glass of water. Meeting halfway, she grabbed the folder and put it back into her cloak. 

“As you can see, we are dealing with a mastermind.” She said as she took a sip from another cup of coffee.

“Or a pasty.” I replied.

She spat her drink all over the table, and shot me with a  hateful glare after recovering. I didn’t allow her the chance to retort as I pressed on.

“I didn’t read anything that actually stated proof. So do forgive me for not believing you.” Putting out my now finished death stick, I flicked it out of view and finished the rest of my water. “From what I read here,” I continued, “all you have is speculation and the word of a few ponies at best. It’s a miracle that you were able to get warrants to do a drug search with such faulty evidence.” I said with a shake of my head.

Her face was a very deep red as she was merely seconds away from exploding. Than, all of a sudden, all of that anger vanished and was replaced with regret. Tears began to stream down her face.

“You’re right.” She admitted softly. “I know we don’t have a case, or any evidence at all. I know I might just be pulling theories out of thin air, but I can’t stop now. My gut is screaming at me that I’m right. Not only that but…” She trailed off.

“My...My partner is in the hospital because of me.” She choked. “For following me. For believing in me.” She finished quietly.

Wiping the tears away, she got up and left some bits on the table. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” With that said, she turned and left. 

With a stretch of my limbs, I followed her action and got up, though going the opposite direction. ‘Cliche story about drugs, murder, and a desperate cop: Check.’ I thought as I brought out my cigarette case. Lighting yet another cancer stick, I closed the case and looked in its reflection. I could see two silhouettes following after Trace and a big blurry one following after yours truly. 

‘Cliche moment where a bunch of thugs chase after both parties to make sure they stay quiet: Check.’ Rounding the corner I soon saw an alleyway to the right of me. Just as I entered the alleyway I caught a glimpse of my stalker. He was big--easily the same height as Big Mac--, bulging muscles,and had long brown hair that shrouded his eyes. His T-shirt was a simple black while his pants were a worn out blue. As soon as sight between us was lost, I changed my class. With a practiced hand, I was now the Scout. My refined stance was now substituted with a low crouch. My ski mask was replaced with a simple hat and dog tags around my neck. The need to run instead of smoke came over me, but I soon solved that. Without even a second thought I ran.

Three seconds.

That’s all it took for me to get to the first intersection. Using the wall, I kept my momentum up and ran off to the right. Before my stalker could even turn the corner I was gone. I couldn’t even tell if he was attempting to chase after me, nor did I care. The feeling of the wind rushing past my face was euphoric. I was so lost in my--technically the Scout’s-- bliss that I forgot my goal. Using the walls as platforms, I jumped back and forth between both sides and easily made it up to the rooftops. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop now, I began my search for Trace. It took longer than I hoped, but I soon found her with two ponies following after her.

One was a pegasus female with dark blue wings and light green hair. She had dark green cargo pants with a black belt going around her waist, a simple matching dark blue tank top and black gloves on both of her hands. The other was an Earth pony as well though much smaller compared to the other one. His mane was a rich magenta with a simple dark green shirt, a black vest, and matching black jeans.

They followed a few feet behind her, but didn’t really show any care in hiding that fact. Granted, that was thanks to the populace as they merely turned a blind eye to the ‘commoners’, leaving Trace on her own. I kept an even pace with them as I jumped from roof to roof, only receiving a few raised brows from some pegasi.

The chase didn’t last much longer as the two finally cornered Trace down a side road. The area they trapped her in was a roundabout landscape that lead no where. The buildings--though not as prestigious as the houses near the cage--still held an air of finance as they were equally sculpted with an artistic quality similarly to the area I arrived in.

Resting on top of a roof for the moment I could see them conversing about something, but the distance was too much, and I was unable to hear a word of it. Without warning Trace drew out a standard police baton and held it threateningly towards the pair. The stallion drew out a short sword from within his sleeve while the mare got into a low stance with her wings spread out to take flight.

Reaching into hammerspace--or what the guys have told me to call my backpack--I brought out my trusty Sandman. Sure it lowers my health a bit, but the stun effect has saved my life more times than I could count. With my bat in my right hand and baseball in the left, I took aim and prepared myself for the upcoming fight.

I already knew that Trace wasn’t going to be much help in this upcoming fight. Her stance was weak and easily breakable, and it didn’t help that her body was shaking. From fear or exhaustion, I could not tell. She appeared to be the brains of her group while relying on her partner to be the brawns. The pair before her were in sync with one another as they made simple little gesture to plan their attack. The stallion took a step towards Trace while the mare angled off to the right. From up above I could see what they were going to do. A simple, yet effective pincer maneuver as the stallion would charge her directly while the female would get her from the side. 

I could also see that the female was the biggest threat to me. She was probably much faster than me;  her natural pegasi ability made her lighter than the other races. Sure, I was fast on land, but compared to pegasi, I was relatively slow. With that thought in mind, I took aim at the mare. My plan was simple: Stun the mare, take out the stallion, and hopefully finish him off before the mare could recover.

They charged, just as I anticipated. The stallion brought his blade down upon Trace, but she was able to hold him off. The mare came from the right, ready to sweep Trace off of her feet. Though, she would find herself without the chance. Taking aim I tossed the ball in the air and hit it right towards her. Without even confirming the shot hit, I lept from the roof and at the last minute jumped to soften the blow. With a roll, I quickly sprinted towards the stallion.

A loud bonk sound confirmed my hit held true, but my attention was solely on the male. Crossing the gap in seconds, I brought my bat to bare and swung with all my strength towards his left side. The blow connected, causing him to grunt in pain and slide a few feet away. Taking a glance, I could see the mare on the ground moaning in pain while clutching her head.

Turning my attention back to the male, I charged just as he shook off the blow. He was surprised, to say the least as I brought my bat up again and swung towards his right side. He was ready this time as his blade skillfully deflected my bat. He attempted an upward slash, though I easily danced around the attack and quickly struck his right side once more. A low crack echoed out as he cried out in pain, clutching his right side.

Distracted by the pain, I struck him in the gut with the tip of my bat which caused him to clutch his now bruised stomach. Fighting to regain his breath, he fell to one knee and coughed as his blade clattered to the ground. Spinning my bat, I smacked him with the heel of it, and watched as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Turning my attention to the mare, I barely reacted in time as I rolled out of the way. Scolding myself at how long it took me, I barely dodge her second blow as she zoomed past me. Her face was that of absolute rage as she circled around and dive bombed towards my position. Attempting to make it harder on her, I ran away, making sure to not stay in one spot for even a moment. My attempt proved futile as she easily kept pace, each blow barely missing me by the skin of my teeth.

As time went on, I notice her attacks were becoming more and more reckless with each second, as she started to throw her body weight into her strikes. Getting used to the time intervals of her attack, I waited for the right moment to counterattack. Diving to the ground once more, I dodge her attack and charged towards her with my bat raised in the air. As soon as I saw her smug smile, I knew that I made a horrible mistake. With acrobatic dexterity, she leapt into a handstand and used the force to spring herself into a flying kick. Her first kick didn’t even register, but her followup did as I was sent tumbling to the ground.

Quickly shaking the stars from my eyes, I rolled out of the way just in the nick of time as her heel came down towards my chest. Getting up, I ran once more while she chased after me. We fell into our dance once more; me dodging while she continued her assault. 

This went on for a few minutes until a ping sound echoed through my headset. Instinctively my hand gripped a new baseball and wasting no time, I fired it towards her. She was just looping around when the ball soared towards her. With cat-like reflexes, she caught it, spun, and threw it back towards me. A batter’s instinct took hold of me as I got myself into a batter’s stance. Waiting for the ball to come to me, I took a swing and sent it back towards her at a much faster speed. Surprised, she attempted to dodge it, but failed as it smacked her and stunned her once more. 

Wasting no time I ran over towards where she was going to land, got into a stance once more, and smacked her in the gut which sent her flying towards one of the homes. The blow not only knocked the wind out of her, but caused her to slump to the ground unconscious.

Taking in a deep breath of air, I fell to the ground and let my sore body rest for a moment. 

“Look out!” Trace cried out as the universe had other plans for me. Listening to her I rolled out of the way just as a huge, meaty fist crushed the area I was at a moment ago. The giant stallion from before decided to interrupt my rest period. His hair moved from the pressure of his blow which allowed me to see his gold colored eyes drilling holes into my skull.

With a bellowing war cry, he charged towards me recklessly. To tired to continue from the previous fight, I waited for the right moment to use my final trump card.

‘Now!’ I thought as I activated the Scout’s home run taunt. Pointing towards an invisible crowd, I got into a batter stance, and waited a few seconds. Just as he was about to pounce on me, I swung. My bat connected with his midsection, the blow taking the air out of his lungs. Without any respite, he was sent flying towards the upper part of a building where he left a huge, man- size dent in the wall, leaving a small crater in the cobblestones, and joining his allies in unconsciousness.

Completely exhausted, I fell to the ground and wiped away the sweat that had formed on my brow. Trace looked at me mouth agape as she tried to process all that had just happened. Resting for a few more minutes, I attempted to stand only to fall back to the ground. Trace was by my side and offered to help me up, acting as a crutch for my sore body. Accepting her offer, we quickly made our escape before any nosy citizens in the vicinity could report what happened.

Miles away now, we rested on a park bench as we each regained our breaths. As soon as we did, I immediately changed class back to the Spy and lit a cigarette. With a few puffs, I sighed deeply and sunk into the wooden bench.

My relaxation didn’t last long. “Why?” She asked me confused.

“Going to have to be more specific, dear.” I replied back.

“Why did you save me? I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful, but I don’t understand.” She said as she tried to shake the cobwebs that prevented her from thinking clearly.

Without even hesitating I said, “Because I felt like it.” She stared at me as if I was crazy, but I paid her no mind. “Just like I feel like helping, because I can.”

Her eyes open wide in utter confusion. “Wait, what?” She cried out utterly lost now. “I thought you said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove anything and that you weren’t going to help.”

“Actually, I believe I only said the evidence bit. Not the ‘I wasn’t going to help you’ part.” I said as I put my cigarette out. “It appears your lack of sleep is affecting you more than you think, as you jumped to conclusions.” 

She attempted to respond, “But-You-And-!”

“I mean if you don’t want my help, you just have to say so.” I said casually while flicking her on the forehead.

“NO!” She cried out quickly, but soon apologized for her abrupt response. “I mean, no. Please, I could really use some help.”

Standing up, I offered my hand to help her up. Taking it, she hoisted herself up and stood in front of me. 

“Off we go then, yes?” I asked while gesturing towards the train station.

“You don’t need to do anything before we go?” She asked. “I heard that you and your friends arrived here. Won’t they be worried about you if you don’t tell them where you’re going?”

“Nah.” I waved dismissively and headed towards the train station. I got a good head start before she caught up with me, “They’re busy doing their own thing right now so I don’t need to go bother them about it. Besides, I’m a big kid and I can take care of myself.” I said with a cheeky smile.

“That’s not what I meant.” She mumbled.

“I know.” I responded though she squeaked in embarrassment as she thought I didn’t hear her. “But like I said: They’re doing their own thing and I don’t want them to get distracted.” With a hesitant nod of agreement, Trace let it go.

‘Besides if this kind of illegal stuff is really going on, I don’t want them to see what I’m going to do about it.’ I thought grimly as we arrived at the train station. Purchasing some tickets, we took our seats and headed off to the bustling city of Stalliongrad.

It took about a days worth of travel to reach Stalliongrad. During the ride, we slept and talked about the general mechanisms of the city. Simply put, it was a dog-eat-dog world. The strong ruled while the weak followed. Corruption was as common as were drugs, murder, prostitution, slavery,and other horrendous crimes.

One of the reasons why Trace wasn’t able to get anywhere in the case was because the higher ups were preventing her from questioning anyone. Not only that, but she believes that the raids they attempt were all staged to make the police force less credible. It’s one of the reasons why she came looking for an outsider such as myself to assist. With no laws--technically-- preventing me from investigating, I could gather proof and insight she normally couldn’t.

It was midday when we arrived and I was not surprised at the scene before me. Old buildings littered the area as if they held together by loose boards. A few dozen ponies roamed the streets, all wearing filthy and ruined clothing. Merchants in shoddy stands cried out to sell whatever wares they could get their hooves on. A few fights could be seen here and there as ponies of different shapes and sizes smacked one another in a mad frenzy. Children ran about as they stole whatever food they could grab as adults chased after them. Mares in very revealing clothings stood on the corner of every street as some attempted to seduce passerby while others begged.

I knew what I was expecting, but the scene before me was still hard to grasp. “It gets better the further we go in.” Trace said with a hint of sadness. She led me down a different road and I made sure to follow close behind.

True to her word, the further we made our way to the heart of the city the more civilized it became. The buildings were made out of red bricks with wooden roofs and chimneys sticking out from the top. Ponies roaming the street here wore faded clothings rather than the filthy rags of those near the train station. This lead me to believe that this area was the residence of the blue collar workers as the ponies who walked by looked physically fit.

The general mood of the area was contempt rather than misery in the previous one. I noticed that some of them had bags under their eyes, indicating either long hours or multiple jobs. I also noticed that a few police officers roamed the streets which caused Trace to lean awfully close into me to hide her face.

We got a few suspicious looks, but we were soon ignored as I placed my arm around her shoulder making us appear to be lovers rather than...employer and employee. If you catch my drift. Even got a few nods of approval from some citizens passing by.

We spent the next half hour walking in the same district leading me to believe that our goal was somewhere in here. The further we went the more I noticed that the housing began to become less common as more and more factories took their place.

Even though the factories were spewing a ton of fumes into the air, the air still had a clean smell to it. Not only that, but the clouds were a clear white rather than a polluted black. That’s when I noticed it. My mouth nearly dropped as I gazed at the oddity above me. Up high in the sky was another factory entirely made out of clouds. I could see pegasi and even some unicorns up above as the pegasi would fly around the sky gathering what ever fumes they could get and gather it into a blackish greenish looking cloud. They would then lead it towards the factory building and come back out a few minutes later with a natural white cloud in its place.

Trace giggled at my expression. “Why are you so surprised? You act as if you’ve never been to or even seen a weather factory before.” She teased while lightly pushing me. Giving her a questioning look, she realized that I was being serious. “Wait, you’ve never have?” She questioned.

“Yeah I never have. Sure, I’ve heard of Cloudsdale and other things like ‘weather factory’, but I never thought they were being serious.” I replied back.

Trace looked at me with a raised brow. “That’s not possible. That’s like, elementary-level field trip.”

“Well I’m not really native, nor was I born here.”

“Really? So what was the weather like there?”

“It varied from place to place, the seasons just as much. During spring it either rained or it was sunny, summer it was always sunny, fall it was sunny but cooler, and winter it was usually cold. Granted, that was just where I was from. In some places it always snowed or rained or had lots of sun. Not only that, but sometimes it would rain during the summer or snow in spring.”

It was her turned to have her jaw drop and looked at me profoundly. “Where the hay did you come from?” She asked after a few moments.

“Way out west.” I answered and elaborated, “A mid size town consisted only of earth ponies.”

She gave me an odd look, but didn’t really question me about that much. “I guess that makes sense. It’s odd that you guys didn’t have ONE unicorn. Sure pegasi have a harder time adapting to their environment, but it’s unheard of for a new colony moving away to not at least bring a family or two.”

With a shrug, I lit a cigarette and took a puff. “Way before my time to be able to give you an accurate answer.” With that said and done we dropped the topic and moved on.

About twenty minutes later, we finally arrived at our destination. A factory that easily loomed over all the others within a few miles. Ponies of all shapes and sizes were moving multiple materials to their destination that ranged from metal, coal, wood, and even herbs. There were five parts to the factory. The central hub that housed and handled the materials being brought in. Each section handled a different material. Herbs, wood, metal, coal, and the hub in the center.

At face value, there was nothing suspicious about the place except the extra security that patrolled the perimeter. The only other thing worth noting was the logo of a black coal being struck by a steel pickaxe on the front of the central hub.

I couldn’t help, but laugh as the image reminded me of Ben. Getting an odd look from Trace I just told her, “It’s an inside joke.”

Shaking her head, she reached into her coat and brought out a familiar manilla folder. “When we attempted our raid we first searched the herb wing of the plant and came up with nothing.” She began while skimming through the folder until she got to the right page and offered it to me.

Taking the folder I looked at the images and once more saw nothing suspicious within the photos that they took. “After that we went over to the metal wing of the industry and again, found nothing.” She said while flipping the page to show me some more photos.

“You didn’t check the other two?” I asked while I looked over the other images.

“At the time it didn’t make sense since the drugs that they are manufacturing and selling require a high concentration of heat to soften it up so that it is easier to break down.” She explained.

“I don’t follow. What is the drug made of? What does it do?”

“The actual drug name is Jennamite, street name ‘Jen’ or ‘Jenny’. It causes the user  to experience heavy hallucinations. It comes from a crystal that grows out east in Gem Fido. The crystal is normally as hard as diamond, but when there’s a high concentration of heat place on the gem it softens it up which allows it to be smashed into tinier pieces that can then be consumed.”

“Okay that explains the metal factory, but not the-” I began, only to stop as I put two and two together. “Unless they were to use the light from some sort of green house over there.”

“Yup. How did you know that the process didn’t require a lot of heat, but just enough?” She asked.

“Lucky guess.” I replied back smoothly.

“At any rate, that’s all the information I have.” She said.

Looking over the factory once more, I devised the best way to sneak in. However I was still missing one vital piece of information. “You wouldn't happen to have a recent shipping file in there would you?” I asked.

With a tilt of her head she thought about it for a few seconds. With a hesitant nod she began to skim through her folder once more. Coming to a stop on a particular page she handed the folder to me once more.

“Here it is.” She said while looking at it over my shoulder. “Though I don’t see why this is important.”

Looking over the page, I nodded and handed back to her. “Where's the fun in that.” I said with a cheeky grin.

She scowled at me and was ready to retort until I interrupted her. “This is where we’re going to have to split up for a bit. I’m assuming you’re going to go back to the station to do paperwork or something, correct?” I asked.

“Uh, well...not exactly.” She said nervously while twiddling her thumbs.

I just looked at her with a raised brow, or what constitutes as one considering I was wearing a mask.

“It’s-It’s not as bad as you think it is, but well-” She stammered out while her face turned a shade of red. “I may have been put on house arrest.” She said in a low whisper.

“Sorry was that ‘may’ or ‘am’ on house arrest?” I asked.

“Heh, heh, heh.” She laughed awkwardly while lightly tapping her head.

“What are you stupid! Do you know how much trouble you can get into if you’re not at home?” I cried out.

“Of course I do! I’ve been in charge of some parolees before so I know how it works and what the consequences are.” She cried back. “But this is much bigger than that. I simply couldn’t turn a blind eye while this operation kept going on right in front of my eyes.”

“Alright, alright. Geez, you don’t need to remind me. I suppose, I jumped the gun a little on that one, so my bad.” I said apologetically.

“Jumped the what?” She asked confused.

“Just an expression from back home” I replied back quickly.

“So that still leaves the problem of regrouping though.” I said changing the subject.

“Hmmm...Oh! We could meet up at the Lucky Clover. It’s a bar not to far from here and it’s pretty big so it won’t be easy for others to spot us or listen in on us.” She suggested.

“It’ll have to do. We can meet up there later tonight once I’m done snooping around here.” I said while lifting my watch up.

“Right, I’ll see you the-” She began to say though I was already cloaked and out of earshot to hear anything else.

~Hours later~

Getting in was a joke.

Granted, being invisible helps, but that still doesn’t justify the poor lack of security. I would have assumed that such a big corporation would have an advanced security system of some sort, unless you counted the unicorns, as they would ‘scan’ any pony they saw. Other than that, there were only patrols of ponies walking around, making sure no one was in a place that they weren’t suppose to be.

The only real hindrance to my progress was my watch, seeing as I had to let it charge before I could continue on. Waiting in an closed office for my watch to recharge, I snooped around the drawers. With a dejected sigh, I closed the drawers.

‘Man, there isn’t even a bit to take.’ I thought, looking at my watch. With my Cloak and Dagger fully charged, I peeked around the corner to see if anyone was there. With no one in the immediate area, I pressed on.

The main headquarters was what I expected it to be, a place filled with dozen upon dozen of small cubicles with a huge storage room filled to the brim with delivery reports. Ponies of various kind were rushing through the moderately sized office space to either deliver their invoices or get permission/other forms to help lessen their workload.

Sticking close to the walls and corners, I made my way through. Climbing up some stairs, I reached the tenth floor, opting to let my watch recharge before pressing on.

“Man, this isn’t going so well.” I mumbled quietly. So far my search had been unfruitful. None of the other building held any secrets nor were there any suspicious individuals as of yet. With that in mind, I figured that there had to be something--hell, anything--here, but alas I’ve found nothing of the sort to confirm that.

“God, the anxiety is killing me.” I groaned while leaning against the wall.

‘That, or I need a cigarette. It has been quite a while.’ I thought.

“Get outta my way!” Yelled out a male voice followed by the cry from a female.

Glancing at my watch to check the charge level, I made my way out the door, though had to quickly jump back in as a stallion almost barreled into me. The only features that I could see was that he was easily as tall as I was and a bit on the bulkier side. He was wearing a dark brown jacket with matching pants and had a slicked back black mane.

The sound of a door slamming echoed out only for the same door to slam back open. “Dammit, Quick Feet! Where’s my mail?” He roared and slammed his door once more.

“R-right away, Hard Lead!” Cried out a high pitched voice from the other end of the hall.

Slinking back into the stairwell, a young pegasus with white wings, a simple white shirt, and tan pants flew down the stairs.

“I do believe this would be considered a ‘lucky break’.” I said as I made my way down the stairs. Waiting downstairs I peeked around the corner and waited for Quick Feet to return. True to his name he, was already running back within two minutes.

Decloaking, I waited around the corner with the Eternal Reward in my hand. Years of reflexes of backstabbing were the only thing that helped me get him as he ran through the door. Instead of outright killing him I used the back of the handle,in the hopes of knocking him out. Luck was on my side once more as Quick Feet fell to the floor unconscious, but that wasn’t the only thing. In the bottom right corner of my vision I could see an image of myself covered by the image of Quick Feet.

“I’m really glad that worked.” I said, though my voice was no longer mine. Picking up Quick Feet I than carried him to a nearby closet and shoved him in there. 

“Would have been a shame to kill someone innocent just to get to my real targets.” I said while closing and locking the door.

Making my way back to the stairwell, I picked up the mail that was scattered all over the ground. One letter stood out amongst them all. Opening it, I couldn’t help but smile at the contents within it.

Trouble, boss. That girl hired a mercenary or something. Don’t let your guard down. Right now we’re working on a way to bust out and head back to headquarters.

                                                                N.S.

‘So Trace was right.’ I thought while putting the letter back into its envelope.

‘Though there’s still no actually evidence to prove any of this. I guess I’m going to have to hope that a little black book is around.’ I mused while making my way upstairs.

Black book. Just like it sounds, it’s usually a small, leather-bound book that crime organizations use to not only keep track of their transactions with one another, but also holds details of how the crime works as well as any dirty little secret of those being blackmailed.

Reaching Hard Lead’s office, I composed myself and got into character. ‘Show time.’ I thought and entered the room.

Entering the room I made it appear as if I tripped. “Wahh!” I cried out and “caught” myself.

The room itself was rather dull: simple white walls with brown carpets, a large brown desk, a few filing cabinets and a bookcase. The bookcase was full of books though they were littered with a light coating of dust. The desk where Hard Lead sat was covered with papers in hazardous piles that threatened to fall off his desk.

Hard Lead himself had a few scars on his neck and one above his left eye. He also had a gruffed five o’clock shadow with dull grey eyes. 

“Faust help me, how do you trip over nothing!?” He yelled with a scowl.

Eeping in fear, I stood in front of him, shaking in fear. “S-sorry S-sir.” I said.

“And what took you so damn long!?” He cried, holding his hand out.

Hesitantly handing it over, I shrunk back after he ripped it from my hands. “W-well you see Sir, one of the letters was opene-.” I tried to say before he glared at me.

“Someone went through my mail?” He asked, dangerously calm.

“I-It appears so.” I said while hesitantly making my way over towards his side.

Shuffling through the letters, I brought up the one that had been ‘opened’. “This one, huh?” He said while looking at the senders address.

“It wasn’t you, was it?” He asked while glaring at me. Eeping while falling on my ass, I shook my head from side to side quickly. “HA, HA, HA!” He laughed while shaking his head.

“‘Course it wasn’t you. You don’t have the guts for that kind of stunt.” He said and read the letter.

Getting up quickly while holding my knife behind my back, I got into position behind him.

“This is troubling, I better let the boss know.” Lead mumbled to himself.

“Quick Feet! Run a message to the bos-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as the hilt of my knife hit him in the back. His face hit the table hard, knocking all the paper on his desk to the floor.

“Ah geez, look at the mess you made.” I said as my voice took on a deeper tone. My peripheral vision had an image of Hard Lead overlapping an image of my own.

Picking him up, I began to maneuver him under his desk. “Let’s get you someplace where no one will se-” I began to say, only to see him looking right at me.

“GAH!” I cried out and promptly dropped him. Without a second thought, I brought my knife to bare and aimed it at him. A few tense seconds later, I realized something. “Is he...still asleep?”

Carefully stepping closer to him, I poked his cheek a few times to double check. Sure enough he was still knocked out cold. 

“Dude...that’s creepy.” I said. Reaching for a drawer, I grabbed a piece of paper and a roll of tape. Tapping the paper in front of his eyes, I then placed the same note he was reading in his hand and shoved him under his desk. Looking around the office, I grabbed an empty box and put anything remotely heavy into it.

Carrying the box out of the office, I started looking around the cubicles. Looking down the aisles, I spotted my next victim. He was a young earth pony buck, about twenty or so, with a short brown mane and a red business shirt. He wore black pants, brown shoes, and had gold colored eyes. He wore a big dumb grin on his face and had a spring in his step as he made his way downstairs.

“Hey, you!” I cried out to him.

He immediately stopped, looked around, and dumbly pointed at himself. “Me, Sir?” He asked.

“No I’m talking to the other dumbshit behind you!” I yelled sarcastically while standing a few inches in front of him.

“S-sorry sir!” He cried out and continued. “It’s just that I’m off and I have a dat-I mean ‘important meeting’ to attend to.”

“Boy, be glad I’m in a good mood because I know you just lied to me.” I growled at him, causing him to gulp in fear.

“All I need you to do is one little thing and then you can be on your way, sounds good?” I asked menacingly.

He just nodded his head. “Yes sir. Anything at all and I’m your guy.”

“I need you to carry this to the boss’s office for me.” I said while handing him the box.

“Uh.” He said, not sure of what to say.

“Did I stutter? Get moving!” I roared and shoved him.

He yipped in panic and quickly made his way to our destination.

Seven flight of stairs later and we were near the top of the building. The very top floor was way different to the previous ones. This floor held a few rooms with tinted glass and a waiting area. It led me to believe this floor not only held Kolt’s office, but it also held rooms for business meetings or sale reports.

“Well, well, well. Look who’s here.” Came a female voice, full of vice.

She was a female unicorn with a light pink mane with matching eyes that wore a simple baby blue dress. She was sitting behind a desk, leading me to believe that she was Kolt’s secretary. Glancing at her name plate, I finally acknowledged her. 

“Sharp Tack.” I grunted at her. “The boss ain’t here yet, right?”

“No.” She said professionally. “And you would know that he’s running late if you actually read those memos I leave you.” She spat out.

“Oh so thats what those chicken scratches are for. Imagine that.” I said, blowing her off. 

“You! Go put those in Kolt’s office near his desk. Not on it or away from it, but near it. You got me?” I asked the stallion with a glare.

“Yes, sir. Right away!” He cried out and carefully entered Kolt’s office.

“You seem...off Lead. What’s wrong with you?” She asked suspiciously.

“Oh, and here I thought you didn’t care about me.” I responded back with a smug grin.

“The day that happens is the day Tartarus freezes over.” She spat back.

“If you must know, I’m merely in a great mood.” I said, light heartedly. The door to Kolt’s office opened as the stallion from before came out. Closing the door carefully he then bowed to me and ran off after I yelled at him for good measure.

“I’m guessing it has something to do with that box, yes?” She asked.

“Yeah, something like that.” I said while making my way into his office. “Let the boss know I’m waiting for him.”

“Just don’t make a mess or touch his booze! You don’t want a repeat of what happened last time.” She cried out and went back to work.

“Yeah, yeah.” I said blowing her off once more.

Closing the door behind me, I took a glance around the room. Kolt’s office was very spacious, easily a small apartment. The carpet was a silky smooth grey while the walls were a shiny steel. Many assorted paintings adorned the walls. One wall held rows upon rows of books while another held a cabinet full of liquor. A large brown desk sat in the very center with a very expensive looking black chair while a few nice black chairs were placed in front. In one corner of the room sat a small black piano with a vinyl player and record off to the side. Behind his desk was a balcony that allowed Kolt to see every inch of his property. Wasting no time, I went outside, dropped my disguise, and lit up a cigarette.

“Oh that’s the stuff.” I cried out in joy while taking a deep intake of my cancer stick.

Leaning against the railing, I then kept my eyes on the door. “And now we play the waiting game.”

~Hours later~

The moon was just beginning to rise while the sun began to set. It’s hard to believe what my friends told me: that two ‘alicorns’ raise and lower the moon and sun respectively. Then again this is a place full of unicorns and pegasi.

The sound of the door being open brought me out of my daze. Cloaking, I hid outside and glanced through the window. “What is it that was so important, Lead?” Gram called out. My assumption of him was correct, as his voice gave off an air of authority. Looking around the room carefully, he called back outside, “Tack, you said Lead was in here, but I don’t see him.”

“Maybe he’s out in the patio, drunk. Wouldn’t be the first time.” Tack called back.

Closing the door behind him, he looked towards his liquor cabinet. With an eased pace he made his way over towards his desk and reached underneath it.

“If you’re looking for those dangerous knives of yours, I have them right here.” I said while decloaking.

Turning around he gave me a once over while slowly reaching out to his chair.

“These are pretty dangerous you know.” I said casually while examining his knives. “Not only are they sharpened, but coated with poison. If I had to hazard a guess they either slowly kill any unwanted guest or will paralyze them for quite a long time.” I continued while carefully wrapping them back up in their cloth.

“Powerful paralysis. Got it from a shaman over in the Zebra Isles.” He responded evenly.

“Capture then question them, I like your style.” I nodded while carefully tossing him his knives.

He caught them and hooked them on to his belt. Walking over towards his bar--while keeping one eye on me--he then began to grab some glasses. “Can I offer you a drink Mr.?” He asked while pouring himself one.

“Spy. And no thank you, I’ll stick with my cigarettes if you don’t mind.” I said while lighting one up.

Taking a swish of his drink he walked back to his desk and leaned on it. “So to what do I owe the pleasure then, Spy?” He asked.

“I’m here to offer my services.” I offered while leaning against the glass doors. “If my sources are correct, you’re going to need them.”

“Oh?” He said casually while taking another sip of his drink. “And do you have any proof of this?” He asked as he set his drink on his table.

“If a Mr. Hard Lead would wake up-” I began to say only for the door to slam open.

“Boss, trouble! Some schmuck-” Hard Lead began to say until he saw me. “Who the hell are you?” He cried out as he reached into his coat for a dagger.

“Lead, don’t.” Kolt said as he held his hand up. Lead unhappily agreed and walked over towards his boss’ side. “Now, you were saying.”

“Three of our...employees-” He began.

“I already know that your ‘employees’ were trying to get to a Miss Trace Back, so please spare the hidden messages.” I said while releasing a cloud of smoke.

“Why you litt-” Lead began only for Kolt to stop him once more.

“Continue.” Kolt simply said.

“Like I was saying: Team Shade was caught after they got into a fight with a mercenary that Trace hired. They described the merc as a scrawny looking kid that wielded a-”

“A wooden bat.” I said as I put my cigarette out and entered the room. Going towards one of the paintings I continued. “He also used a baseball that when it hit someone caused them to be unable to do anything. He was rather fast and not only has good reflexes, but a good amount of strength, correct?”

“It sounds like you know him.” Lead snorted.

“Yes we’ve crossed paths before. They were never pleasant.”

“Please enlighten us. Or is that charged information?” Kolt asked as he sat down in his chair.

“As a sign of good faith it shall be free of charge.” I said while sitting on a bench near the piano.

“The boy goes by the name of Scout, Red Scout, and he is just as his name implies. He’s a scout. However I should elaborate a bit more before I continue. You see there were two mercenary groups: Reliable Excavation Demolition - or Red for short - and Builders League United -Blu -that fought over everything their contractors wanted. Be it gold, jewels, land and anything inbetween we fought for our employers, so long as the money was good. Recently though both of our employers died of food poisoning - done by an outside force - which lead us both seeking new employers. The Reds have alway believe in ‘justice’ so perhaps that’s why they decided to take up this job.”

“How many?” Kolt asked.

“Sir, you can’t seriously believe him.” Lead cried out.

“Nine. Each one highly skilled and extremely dangerous.” I responded, completely ignoring Lead’s outburst.

“And what is it that you want in return for your services, bits? Jewels? Whores?” He asked.

“Si-” Lead tried to say, but quickly shut his mouth as Kolt glared at him.

“Normally I’d charge a high price, but not only will this affect the Blu’s morals, but screw over the Reds. So I’m willingly to do it for cheap.” I said while looking at the back of my right hand.

“Why?” Kolt asked.

“Like I implied: there’s bad blood between us.”

“How much?”

“Depends. Do you want her dead or alive?”

“Alive.”

“Hmmm. How about twenty five hundred up front and twenty five hundred afterwards.”

“Five thousand bits! Are you insane?” Lead shouted.

“I am many things, my good sir, but insane is not one of them.” I said cooly. “That title belongs to our doctor.” I add with a light laugh.

“Lead.” Kolt said with a nod of his head.

“Sir, with all due respect, I don’t tru-” Lead began, but shut his mouth once more as Kolt glared at him.

“This cop has been a pain in my ass for too long now and seeing that you and your group haven’t been able to doing a thing about it yet, I’m willing to give him a chance.” Kolt began. “Know this Spy: Don’t fuck with me. Got it?” He finished with a cold glare.

“Naturally.” I said with curt nod.

“Lead, make the arrangements.” Kolt said while pulling up some files.

Lead thought to say otherwise, but soon rethought that. “Right away, Kolt.” He said and gestured for me to follow.

Making my out the door, I barely crossed the threshold before I remembered something. “You should remember those words you told me because it applies both ways.” I said.

He didn’t say anything though I know my message was heard as clear as day. Well, technically night, I suppose.

Leading me to one of the business rooms, he then began to scribble out some locations. “The first location is where you’ll find your first payment, though it’ll take us about an hour or so to gather the money and place it there. The second one is where you’ll drop her off alive. The final location is where you’ll find the rest of the payment, though until we get confirmation it won’t show up. Got that?” He asked while passing the paper over towards me.

“Seems simple enough.” I nodded.

“Now get out.” He growled. “And make sure your on time!”

Heading towards the door I stopped at the very entrance and glanced back at him. “Just know this: what your boss said to me applies to you as well.” His response was to simply snort and wave me off.

Making my way out of the building - much to the confusion of the guards - I took a glance at the paper he gave me. “Well then, I have some time to kill.” I said while lighting up a cigarette. “Let’s go see if they’re going to leave my payment or not.”