Tales of a Hidden World: Book 1

by Braininthejar

Chapter 2

THREE WEEKS LATER

Pin exited the elevator and entered the penthouse. The inside was full of ponies. It smelled of coffee, sweat and also faintly of soap - somepony must have brought a bubble pipe. 8-ball, Squall, Fish, Chip and 5 other ponies were standing around the pool table, which was now covered with coffee cups and papers. 8-ball and Squall were standing on the opposite sides of the table, facing each other.

"We can't fully commit without knowing where to strike," said the older pony. "The worst we can do now is give them a fight on equal terms when they have the advantage of numbers."

Squall reared, bringing his front hooves onto the table. "The worst we can do is sit and do nothing! We are down to twenty, about half of them trustworthy! I've been to the hospital to see Swallow Chaser. He'll live, but he'll never fly again. For a guy like him, it's worse than death. And nopony's seen Evening News since yesterday. Probably skipped town, the coward. And..." at this point he noticed Pin entering. "Pin, you're late. And where in Tartarus is Smarts?"

Pin threw his hat onto the rack angrily. "Said he'll be late. Business in town."

Squall's nostrils flared. "Business!? What's more important..."

"His girls," answered Golf Club, a blue-coated earth pony on Squall's right. "Or rather, that one girl. Kid's badly in love," he finished with a smirk.

Squall silenced him with a glare, then turned to face Pin. "You two were supposed to stick together for protection. We can't afford more losses."

"I'm needed here," said Pin slowly, walking forward to the pegasus.

"Then haul his rump here with you," answered Squall. "If the idiot..."

"Enough," said 8-ball from behind the table. He barely rose his voice, but that one word was enough to silence the room. "Pin, do talk to Smarts. He'll bring trouble on himself AND his girl if he acts stupid. Squall, Pin's your equal, just like Fish and Lighter." He nodded towards a chubby yellow unicorn at the far end of the table, who returned the nod. "You don't get to shout at him like he's your underling." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Now, back to the matter at hoof. We can't afford a war of attrition. If we're to win, we have to take down Candy. But for that, we need to find her first."

Fish pointed his hoof at a map of the city now hanging on the wall. There were several colored pins in it and also a couple of darts, thrown by Pin earlier that week when he discussed possible enemy hideouts with his boss. "We know of 4 warehouses and 3 clubs they operate from. But there might be more. We haven't been able to find out where Candy can be."

"We have an obvious HQ right here," said Lighter, swallowing a piece of a donut he was eating. "Nopony will attack this place cause it's in the open. No amount of bribes would keep the police force off their heads is they did."

"And they're scattered all over the city," said Pin, addressing mostly the ponies who weren't present on earlier meetings. "That means we don't know where to strike to hurt them. Sure, they're stretched thin, but they're the ones with advantage of numbers here. And while we check one hideout after another, they know exactly where to look for us."

"What about the pixie dust?" asked 8-ball. "Any new developments?"

"We know they bought ingredients at some point," answered Pin. "That means they brew it here. We managed to catch one of their dealers yesterday, but I didn't have the time to get anything out of him him before the cops showed up. He tried to flee in the confusion and ended up locked up."

"Will there be any trouble?" asked Fish.

Pin shook his head. "Monthly Pay is busy making sure nothing will come of his testimony. All I managed to get out of him was that the lab isn't common knowledge. Only Candy and her few most trusted know."

"So, we can't cut their source of easy bits at the moment?" asked Squall. "Have you checked the old Candy factory?"

"We did," answered Lighter. He had finished eating and was now using his magic to get crumbs off his moustache. "Nothing there but some squatters. Looks like they never came back to it after going out of business."

"That means we still lack key information," said Squall, looking towards Pin.

"He did a good job," said 8-ball. "As did you and Smarts. We'd be stumbling in the dark if not for you. What we need to do is capitalize on that to learn more."

"What we need to do is show some backbone," growled Squall, turning towards the table. "We have had desertions and they haven't. You know why? Because they don't fear us. We need to change it and fast. I'm not saying to attack their clubs. But get one or two of theirs, make an example of them. Show them that messing with us is not a game."

Slowly, 8-ball walked from behind the table and up to Squall, stopping muzzle to muzzle with him. The rest of the penthouse stood silent, awaiting the outcome. The two stallions stood staring at each other, their nostrils flared and their ears flattened backwards. After a moment that lasted an eternity, Squall stepped back and lowered his gaze.

8-ball looked around the group. "While I don't appreciate his tone, Squall is right in that we need to take action. Squall, you will prepare the details and report back to me for approval. Pin and Lighter, keep using your sources. The sooner we know where to strike, the sooner we can end this sad affair. Fish, you're in charge of our home ground."

He looked around the group again. "Pin, you stay for a moment. The rest of you have somewhere to be."

***

As the elevator door closed leaving only the two ponies in the penthouse, 8-ball turned towards Pin. “Have I ever told you how I got my cutie mark?”

The unicorn squinted in thought. “Because you know everything?”

8-ball chuckled, pouring himself a mug of cider from a barrel at the wall. “That’s what many ponies think and I let them, but the thing is, I’m just very good at pool.”

“And you’re telling me that because?” asked Pin.

“Because I’m frustrated and need somepony to talk to,” answered 8-ball. “I don’t have all the answers. And apparently I made a mistake with that comment about hoping to retire. It went straight to Squall’s head.”

He took a swig, emptying the whole mug at once, then set it aside and walked up to Pin. “Squall means well. I see he’s all pumped up for that whole war thing. But he’s too hot-blooded, too aggressive to be the leader. He’d make us too many enemies too fast. That’s why it’s important that you outshine him.”

It took a moment for Pin to finish processing what has just been said. “Me?”

If 8-ball was taken aback by this sudden display of eloquence, he didn’t let it show. Instead he continued his explanation. “I must admit he was right today. We couldn’t afford not to make a move. I hope the cost won’t turn out too high. We don’t have any really good moves available to turn the tide with. Not unless we find something. And you’re better at looking for information than Squall is. When this is all over, I might keep my position. Or I might retire. If I do retire, I’d like somepony competent in my place. Somepony who can lead the Pool in times of peace. Let Squall do his work, but it would be better if he didn’t come out of the war as a great… hero,” he nearly spat out the last word.

Pin shook his head. “You aren’t seriously thinking of me, boss. Why not Lighter or Fish? They’re both older than me.”

“Exactly,” smiled 8-ball. “You’re here, among my most trusted despite your young age, because you’ve got talent. Fish is competent in a manner, but he’s a grunt. He doesn’t have what it takes. And Lighter… he’s had his chance. He used to be the new big thing. Now he just stuffs his muzzle with donuts while his mane slowly gets thinner. It’s too late for him to accomplish great things. But you… you could get us the information that will win the war. And you could prove yourself, perhaps impress me enough that I will think seriously of retiring.”

He tapped Pin on the shoulder and smiled. “So, there are three tasks for you now. Focus on finding us the edge in the war. Don’t let Squall hog all the glory. And... “ 8-ball leaned closer. “Keep an eye on Smarts. He really is smart and lucky too. He’s not somepony we could afford to lose, especially now.”

Pin swallowed loudly. “I’ll work on it, sir.”

8-ball smiled again. “Dismissed.”

Pin bowed briefly to his boss and walked towards the elevator. Is he really putting all his hopes in me, or has he been giving such motivational speeches to everypony? he thought as the small box moved down the shaft. Either way he intended to give his best. If nothing else, his life was on the line as well.

***

“Am I really needed here?” whispered Smarts to Pin as they walked through the street the next evening. They were walking away from the bright and noisy city center, only the street lamps illuminating their way. The group consisted of the two of them, Lighter and three earth pony thugs, Golf Club, Barbell and Mallet. Squall was not in sight, but they knew he and Top View, a girl from his group, were covering them from the air.

“I told you already,” said Pin under his breath. “It’s a show of force. We need numbers. Plus, you never know when there will be trouble. We might need an extra pair of hooves.”

He looked around, his eyes searching for any suspicious movements in the shadows. There was nothing, just a few random ponies walking home. Suddenly his eye caught something familiar, an elderly stallion standing across the street and looking at them curiously.

“Is there something wrong?” asked Smarts. The others visibly tensed at the words.

“That gray unicorn across the street. I keep bumping into him recently.”

Lighter turned his head to get a quick look, spitting out some crumbs. “Too old for police… Smarts, would you be so kind and ask him who he is? Wouldn’t like Mallet to beat up a tourist for no reason.”

The mint green earth pony left the group and moved to cross the street. Lighter used his magic to wipe his mouth. “Remember that, boys. Never overcomplicate your lives. There is a simple solution to almost everything. Now where is Squall? he was supposed to point us to our target.”

They turned left into a narrower street. This part of the city was taken by offices, mostly related to the warehouses located further towards the bay, at this hour there was barely anypony there. A familiar shadow moved above them, dropping a single bit, a signal that their target has been spotted.

The five ponies spread out, looking for places to hide, hugging the corners of the alleys or ducking behind trash bins. There was nopony else in the street. Ten seconds passed, then a minute. Pin suppressed the urge to light up his horn and once again check the contents of his coat. Then he heard the sound of hooves on the pavement.

And there he was, Candy Wrap, one of Candy’s officers, a blue unicorn with a bright yellow mane and matching moustache, which were responsible for his nickname. He walked the street in visible hurry, two other ponies at his sides. Lighter leaned forward and aimed his horn. Golf Club and Mallet tensed in their hiding spots, ready to pounce.

Then there was a loud squawk and a sound of something colliding in the air. Pin looked up just in time to see two shapes falling, entangled in a mess of beating wings - Top View was struggling with a griffon.

“Ambush!” shouted Squall above, but none of the ponies needed that information. From the dark alleys and the front doors of the office houses several Candy’s gangsters charged in. Within seconds the street was in complete chaos, the would-be attackers fighting for their lives as they were ambushed in turn.

Pin looked around, trying to assess the situation. The attack had come from the front and the sides. They weren’t completely cut off yet. He was about to turn and run through the opening when he realized his mistake - the others were already fighting and too busy to follow. He would leave them to die.

Instead he lit up his horn, pulling several needles from inside his coat. They were precise things with little stopping power, not meant for this kind of fight. He learned that quickly as a purple earth pony charged straight at him, simply ignoring two stabs as he went. Pin reared and fell backwards, rolling with the first punch, the edge of a heavy horseshoe skidding painfully over his front leg as he instinctively blocked. Rolling back to his hooves, he shot the last needle at a kick’s range. This time he hit an eye and the earth pony fell down screaming.
Reaching for more projectiles, Pin looked around again. Barbell was on the ground, two ponies on top of him kicking viciously. Golf Club had managed to buck a heavy trash can at Candy Wrap, stunning him for a moment and getting it impaled on his horn. He was now facing his two bodyguards. Mallet was leaning against a wall, bleeding, his opponent already on the ground. Above, another griffon was facing Squall, trying in vain to lock him in a grapple, as Lighter, the only one besides Pin who wasn’t yet locked in combat, was trying and failing to hit him with fire spells from his horn. Two pegasi were flying towards the fight, ready to join the griffon.

Hearing the sound of hooves behind him, Pin turned around, wincing in pain as his left front leg protested. He was briefly relieved to see Smarts dashing towards him. Turning around again, he aimed a needle at one of the enemy pegasi. With a second to aim carefully, he could strike much more precisely; the pegasus swerved wildly as his wing was pierced, missing Squall and colliding with a second floor office window.

Meanwhile, Smarts reached Pin, ran past him and charged against one of the ponies fighting Golf Club. He somehow managed to trip and fall forward, slipping under a swinging hoof-blade and headbutting his enemy in the chest so hard he sent him falling backwards. Golf Club used the opening to bite his other opponent at the bicep and pull him closer, hitting him repeatedly in the neck. Blood started flowing over the pony’s coat; Golf Club’s horseshoe had a serrated edge.

Above them, Squall twisted in the air, narrowly avoiding getting in the way of Lighter’s blast. swearing loudly, he used the momentum of his movement to turn around, bucking an approaching pegasus mare in the face with both his hind legs. He then flew up along the front of the office building, the griffon behind him in pursuit.

Pin turned to look for another target. He picked one of the ponies ganging up on Barbell. The needle hit the side of his neck, just under the jawline. He swayed and started retreating, his neck held rigid at an odd angle trying to limit the pain.

“Somepony take him down!” he heard Candy Wrap shout. The unicorn had just managed to get his horn free from the trash can and immediately used it to shoot a bolt of lightning, sending Golf Club sprawling. Lighter shot at him, but missed again and Candy Wrap fired another bolt in his direction, forcing him to hug cover of the alley corner.

Two ponies charged in Pin’s direction. Smarts, who had been fighting one of them, managed to react in time - he rammed into him, knocking him off course. The other pounced and for a moment Pin could see Barbell’s blood on his hooves. He shot a needle straight at him, beneath the gritted teeth. It went into the stallion’s throat and disappeared, going in all the way with a barely audible wet sound. The pony fell like a puppet with its strings cut.

There was a loud crash as Squall landed among the trash cans, slamming his griffon opponent into the ground. The curved blades attached underneath his front horseshoes were rammed into the griffon’s armpits.

Suddenly, the tide of battle was turned, Candy Wrap finding himself surrounded by enemies with only one pony close enough to support him. He fired at Squall, who leapt into the air over his shot and landed behind him. The unicorn tried to fire again when a needle thrown by Pin ricocheted off his horn, painfully breaking his concentration. He turned on the spot, looking for a route of escape.

A thin beam of fire hit him in the chest, burning through the front of his jacket. He screamed and flailed as the point of impact erupted into a ball of lilac flame, quickly spreading over his fur. The Pool members watched in shock as the stallion fell to the ground and began twitching, a deep smoking hole in his torso.

Squall turned towards Lighter, ignoring the last of the enemies fleeing past him. “Lighter! What in Tartarus was that!?” he growled.

Above the street a couple enemies still circled. Seeing that they had no more support on the ground they quickly flew aside, disappearing among the rooftops. There were shouts in the distance, clearly indicating that the battle had been seen.

Lighter left his cover and trotted up to Candy Wrap’s body. “I… didn’t do that.” he stuttered.

Squall flew right in his face. “You didn’t what? You didn’t shoot him in the chest!? I wanted him alive.”

“Didn’t we come here to kill him?” asked Golf Club, rising shakily from the ground. As he saw Pin’s expression, he coughed and tried to smile. “Don’t worry… It was more shock than burn… so what happened?”

“We did!” shouted Squall, shooting him a glare. “But that was before we were ambushed. They knew we were coming. And he would have known who told them.” He turned towards Lighter again. “And thanks to you, he won’t tell us anything.” He didn’t shout this time. Instead his voice was filled with cold malice.

Lighter’s nostrils flared. “My spell didn’t do that!” he growled, his moustache shaking. “It was supposed to burn him, but I can’t make it that hot!”

“Pixie dust,” said Smarts.

Everypony turned to look at him. The earth pony walked closer to Candy Wrap’s body, getting visibly greener as he took a closer look.

“Pixie dust is highly flammable. That’s why they say never to smoke it. He must have had a packet in his chest pocket. A normal fire would’ve been bad enough, but a fire spell...”

Squall flew forward, punching Smarts’ shoulder with his hoof. “And where have you been?” He stared at the earth pony, then scanned him up and down with his gaze. “You don’t even have blood on your hooves! What were you planning to do today?”

Suddenly, Smarts’ expression hardened and he pushed back at the pegasus. “I’m not a killer, ok!? I talk, negotiate deals! I’m not one of your thugs. And you knew that when you made me come here!”

For a second Squall looked like he was about to hit him. He opened his mouth to say something, but Pin interrupted him.

“Guys, can this wait!? The police will be here any second and Mallet is bleeding badly. I’ve bandaged him as best I could for now, but I can’t stitch him up in the middle of the street.”

Indeed, a sound of a police signal whistle could already be heard in the distance. This seemed to bring everypony back to reality. Squall spat angrily on the ground and looked around. “Barbell?” he asked Lighter, nodding towards the inert shape across the street.

“He’s done for,” answered the unicorn, shaking his head. “Top View?” he asked in turn.

Squall’s jaw clenched. “Ripped throat. Come on, everypony. Let’s get out of here.”

They pushed along the street, Pin and Smarts helping Golf Club and Mallet walk straight. They left five bodies in total sprawled on the pavement - Barbell, Candy Wrap, two ponies stabbed by Pin’s needles and the griffon that Squall killed. Top View’s body must have ended on one of the rooftops or in the alleys. That made four kills for two lost of their own, but each of them knew Candies could afford loses. It was barely a draw and one that could yet cost them much more.

As their breaths started calming down, Pin had a vivid recollection of both his kills, his first kills ever. As the details started to come back to him all at once, he let go of Mallet for a moment and stumbled into a nearby alley, emptying the contents of his stomach among the full trash cans.

Squall rolled his eyes, then turned towards Smarts. He was calmer now, but there was still a threat in his voice, barely hidden beneath the casual tone. “So, Smarts, now that we’re safely away, care to tell us why you were late for the fight?”

“I sent him,” said Lighter from his other side. “Some old geezer was looking at us funny and Pin thought he had seen him before. I told the kid to ask him a question or two.” He then reached into his coat pocket, retrieving a chocolate bar and breaking off a small piece to put into his mouth.

Squall looked at Lighter, then back at Smarts. “Oh yes, you said talking was your job. So, what did you find out?”

Smarts lowered his gaze. “I… lost him.”

Everypony turned their heads to look at him. “You what?” said Squall.

“I lost him. I went to talk to him and he turned away and waddled into an alley. And when I got there, he was gone. But there was no way out of there, certainly not for an old guy like him.”

“You think he teleported?” asked Pin, more to cut in before Squall could explode again than to get an actual answer. “It’s rare, but I’ve heard of unicorns who could do it.”

“You’d think that an old unicorn wizard would have better things to do with his time,” said Lighter between bites of chocolate. “What was his cutie mark?”

Smarts frowned in thought. “A bell, if I saw correctly.”

“A bell?” This seemed to get Squall’s interest. “Fair Chance told me last week an old guy like that won her game.”

“Huh? He caught her cheating or what?” asked Golf Club, speaking up for the first time since they left the place of the fight.

“That’s just it,” answered Squall. “He picked the cup he was supposed to pick - and the ball was there. And she swore his horn didn’t even spark.”

“Perhaps he had an accomplice,” said Pin.

They crossed another street and approached an old warehouse that served as one of their hideouts. Squall approached the door first and knocked on the door: one, two, one. A moment passed and an eye slit in the door opened.

“Come in,” said an old mare’s voice from the inside.

The group entered the warehouse. The walls were surrounded by various boxes, as expected, but the center was left free, except for three tables. Two pegasi were sitting on top of the boxes, looking vigilantly down at those walking in. Myrtle, the elderly mare who opened the door, got out of the way as everypony entered, walking towards the cupboards and coming back with a box of medical supplies. Pin immediately dug into it, picking out things he would need in order to help Mallet; the large pony had walked with them bravely until now, but he was turning slightly pale and he immediately used to occasion to sit down.

Golf Club reached under the table, pulling out a bale of hay. “Anypony hungry?”

“I’ll make some coffee,” said Myrtle. She looked around the group, all but Smarts rising their hooves. “I take it it didn’t go quite as planned?” she said.

“We lost Top View and Barbell,” said Squall. “Killed four of theirs.” He ended at that, not mentioning his assessment of the result, or his suspicions among a larger group.

“Four…” said Myrtle, almost dropping the kettle she was filling with water. “That’s six dead in a single fight. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a fight like this in Manehattan. I bet it will be all over the news tomorrow. What times do we live in?”

“Where're you going, Smarts?” said Squall, turning around. Squall was back at the door, putting on his coat.

“Well, I’m not needed here, am I?” said the earth pony. His sunglasses had slipped onto his eyes - he pushed them back up onto his forehead. “I need to talk to some ponies in town, then go back to the hotel to sleep. I don’t think there will be any more fighting tonight and there’s stuff I need to do.”

Squall’s wings flared angrily before he could control himself. He looked around at the two pegasi in the room, then turned his back on Smarts and walked towards the table where Pin was stitching up Mallet.

“The boss told you to keep an eye on him, didn’t he?” he hissed into Pin’s ear. “See who he sees and what for.”

“As soon as I’m done here,” answered Pin calmly. “Unless you want to be a good fighter short tomorrow.” He could guess where Smarts would be going after a life or death encounter, but he didn’t say it aloud.

Author's Note:

As usual, I'll be grateful for comments, especially if anyone dislikes something.

Comments

[SmokeShadow95]

This is a really good story. I would not be surprised to finda movie about it later in life. The characters are good, the story is good. Its al good.

Just one thing. Myrtle, the old mare that answers teh warehouse door Is she supposed to say "Come in" or "Come is" becuase the story reads the latter

[SmokeShadow95]

I suppose what i like best is the characters. You have all the characters you need to have for a story like this, and some you don't. Thats what makes it good. You have some active mare characters in a gangster type story. You have the aging bosses, the too eager underlings, the young, but promising one. You did good with this story

[Braininthejar]

5417068 Argh... thanks (three people read it before publishing and nobody caught that... )

[Phenoix12]

This story is so far well written (By my lax standards), has good characters, and an interesting story. This story deserves more attention then it's getting.
Sadly I’ve noticed that a lot of good stories seem to get buried and never looked at just based on pure bad luck.

I know it’s discouraging when you work hard on a story for it to hardly get read. Just keep on trucking and trying to find ways to up your readership… I know I am. (Still haven’t found a good way yet)

[Braininthejar]

5417269 I know. I'm really glad that Trick Question's "The Element of Surprise" managed to get noticed. (one of the few situations where I'd really be proud to call "first" )

As for how one can promote himself - I have tried adding my works to groups with little effect. But once I switched to "I comment on your story, you comment on mine" I managed to get the two of you.

[TheMichiganDogman]

I think you meant to put Pincushion in the description, rather than pincusion...

[Bugsydor]

Well, thanks for clueing me in that this existed, Brain. I'm eager to see where you take this.

Also, having luck as a superpower makes for a lot of fun, in my opinion, as long as the person in question remembers to make a bit of his own luck as well.

[Fossil-Dragon-Messiah]

Thx for your comment on Wings of Freedom. Interesting concept. I look forward to seeing it develop

[Lost_Marbles]

Quite an exciting chapter you have here. It would be a shame if someone came and, say, downvoted it and didn't leave a comment. Perhaps if you were to, oh, I don't know, give me a little bit of persuasion I might be able to...

*PFFFF*

OK. Seriously. Good chapter. Really exciting from beginning to end. Particularly when the coin dropped. That is when I knew that shit was about to go down. The tension really built up pretty well.

No amount of bribes would keep the police force off their heads is they did."

Hey! There's a spy typo over there!