Chapter 1: Call Him In
I stared through the highly zoomed-in scope on my black, bolt-action silenced sniper rifle. I do not mean to brag when I say that I have used it to do business for about seven years. It was the weapon I killed first with, and I will one day know if it will be my last. It and I have taken countless lives, on both Earth and Equis, and we were about to take another. I steadied my breathing to a slow rhythm as I noticed my target exit his expensive apartment building and walk onto the streets of the big city known as Manehattan. I felt my finger ease onto the trigger as I watched the unicorn stallion nervously look around whilst he trotted through the busy sidewalks.
His name was Wheeler Dealer, a rich partier that dealt just as much dope as he smoked. Age: 28, species: pony, race: unicorn, gender: male, and he had no family that cared for him anymore. 'Lucky me.'
Recently, he had illegally sold crystal meth to a young mare, she was later found dead after an overdose that was unattended to. Her rather wealthy father knew who she had gotten the drugs from, and was not the slightest bit happy about the situation. Which is why I am on the sixth floor of this building aiming my deadly weapon at this stallion's head. He had found out that someone wanted him dead after a... 'poorly trained' assassin had tried stabbing him in the back. I have no clue what happened, but I suspect that given his current job, I understand that he would not have gone too the authorities to tell them what was going on.
'Good thing he didn't.' I thought to myself as I steadily squeezed the trigger. 'Or else I wouldn't be working on such a wonderful day...'
Filthy Rich sat on his hoof-stitched sofa in his well decorated living room with his stuck up daughter close by. She had become fond of cellphones after the human race came along four long years ago. Filthy Rich was not as happy as the other ponies of Equestria when the two worlds had stumbled onto one another via accidental magic portal. Sure, it increased Barnyard Bargains' business in an unimaginable way, but it also decreased his rather dark side of business as well. Filthy Rich was not rich just because of his family's business, he was rich because of the fact that he used the business to laundry his blood and drug money. For you see, he was the founder and leader of 'The Eclipse.'
He started by having diamond dogs sell illegal substances by digging from town to town, never to be caught underground. But the ponies who supplied him were not enough, so he cut off all communications with them and started working with a large group of changelings that made pounds of any form of drug he wanted and supplied his workers within the day. After that, he needed protection for the dirty drug business he had formed; and a large group of griffon mercenaries known as the 'Heavy Feathers' were willing to work for him at a surprisingly low price.
Now The Eclipse is the largest criminal organization to be in Equestria, ruining lives just to add to Filthy Rich's wealth. It was perfect until the humans came along, and tried to take his business down. With the technology they had, they could find criminals that were a hundred miles away with a few clicks on a keyboard. Not only did the authorities step up, but so did rival criminals. Gangs, mafias, dealers, you name it.
With all of this trouble, Filthy Rich had too step it up just as much. He ordered that his men begin to kill any and all witnesses and liabilities to show they meant business. He started bribing nobles and guards to get out of tight situations. He even had to order the Heavy Feathers to kill off any criminals that dare challenged him. It has been a rough four years for him, and it has been even rougher on the citizens of Equestria. And Filthy Rich could not give less of a damn.
"Daaaaaaaaaad!" Yelled his young, pink daughter. "Have you seen my charger? I can't find it anywhere and my phone's about to die!"
Filthy Rich snapped out of his brain storming about past events and focused on his pride and joy. "No sweetie, I have not. Do you think you need a knew one?" He asked as he stood up and walked over to her.
"No, that would take too long!" She pouted. "It's at seven percent! Just have the maid find it!" She then went back too texting with her stylus pen that ponies had to use in order to interact with touchscreens.
"Yes, sweetie. Mrs. Duster!" He yelled expectantly.
"Yes, Mr. Rich?" Mrs. Duster, one of the best maids Filthy Rich has had in a while, said as she rushed into the room. "What do you need?"
"Would you find Diamond Tiara's phone charger? She can't find it anywhere." Filthy Rich said.
"Yes sir, at once." She said as she hurried off to find the missing charger.
Filthy Rich went to go sit back down just as he heard his cellphone go off.
*Ring Ring*
He looked at number calling him and recognized it. "I'll be in my room if you need me, dear." He said as he rushed into his bedroom where he locked the wooden door behind him. A thousand excited thoughts passed through his head as he flipped open the phone and put his ear to it. "Did they get them? Did they finally get them!?" He almost shouted as he sat down on his large over-priced bed.
"The mission was unsuccessful." Said a neutral voice from the other end. "More of our brothers to watch get turned into stone."
Filthy Rich, for the twenty-seventh time, ground his teeth together and nearly threw his phone against the wall. "Why can't you griffons get your feathers together and get me those damn-"
"I recommend you not talk so much about this on the phone, sir!" Said the voice, this time in a slightly panicking way.
"Forget it, you're only making this harder for the next group we send in, every time your griffons fail the royal guard just bumps up the security!"
"Then what shall we do to acquire what you lust for, sir?"
"I... I need you to..." Filthy Rich had wanted to avoid this option for a very long time, but he had finally run out of plans. If he wanted the most powerful gems in Equestria, he would have to do business with the one thing that had ruined his business... a human... Filthy Rich did not even like uttering the foul word. If there was such a thing as being racist against humans, then consider Filthy Rich the king of racism. He hated humans in every way, he did not even like touching the things they brought to his simple, magical world. Even then he was itching from holding the cellphone in his hooves. But, he had no choice now. "...Call him in..."
"Who, sir?"
"...The Businessman..."
"WHAT!? A-Are you sure!?"
"Now..."
The voice gulped and replied nervously. "Yes, sir."
I sat in a chair that was located inside of a train cart. The train had just left the station, and I was glad it was not delayed. I set my suitcase in my lap and placed a hand on it lovingly. It only took me four minutes to either assemble or dissemble my sniper rifle and pack it into such a small space. Though I was happy about how clean my now finished job was, I kept a straight face. I remembered the poem I wrote for my target that I tossed out the window after the job was done.
'You partied all night,
and dealt drugs all day.
You've done horrible things,
and now you must pay.'
-The Businessman
I understand that you are most likely confused about this, and you should not be. People like me cannot just put adds on TV saying that 'I will murder others for you!' A hitman must leave a calling card, mine is a poem. This results by the news finding the poem and seeing that I wrote it. They then broadcast to the world about the job well-done and let them know who is the best in the business. This, is as free as advertising gets.
After thinking for a moment, I pulled out a cheap cellphone I was using for that job and typed in the number of my employer. After a few rings he picked up.
"Hello?" Said the old stallion.
"It's done." I said with the gruff, stern voice that belonged to me.
"Great! I can't thank you enough for this, your payment will be wired to your account within the hour."
I replied by hanging up just as his sentence was finished.
I pushed the phone back into my pocket and looked out the clear window next to me. I took a long, deep breath as I began day dreaming about what I was going to do when I got home. 'Perhaps a glass of red wine and a warm bath? Maybe have a nice dinner before that? Oh, and how about an expensive cigar before some needed rest? Yes, this is going to be a relaxing day.' I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I began to listen to my surroundings carefully, just in case. Good thing I did, too, because just as I began to get comfy I heard the unforgettable sound of a shotgun being cocked.
I rolled out of my chair and into the walkway of the train cart just as soon as a shotgun blast ripped my seat into pieces. There, behind my seat, was a unicorn stallion with a sawed-off shotgun. He unloaded the second shell in my direction, only for me to jump to the right and dive at him. I slammed a knee into his face and ripped the sawed-off shotgun out of the air. While the unicorn began to hold his face in agony, I blew a nasty hole in his chest, killing him almost instantly.
"Motherfucker!" I ducked just in time for a knife to slice through the air where my neck once was. I spun around and emptied the last two shells into the second unicorn. I dropped the shotgun and caught the falling knife out of the air. Looking down the aisle, I noticed a pegasus flying straight at me with a switchblade in its mouth. I swiftly rolled to the side and reached over to catch the pegasus by the tail with my free hand. I had done this little trick before; it turns out that any and all ponies' tails are like rubber bands when you pull on them. Just as the flying pony sling-shot back my way, I brought the knife up and stabbed him in the stomach. The pegasus flew back until he hit the back of the train cart. I walked down towards him, taking note that all of the citizens had either fled too other carts or hidden under their seats. As I reached the slowly dying pegasus, I stopped and looked him in the eyes. He began to cry and beg for his life, but that just made me angry. I lifted one of my boot covered feet and slammed it into the stallion's mussel, busting his nostrils in the process.
"P-Please!" The pegasus cried as he coughed up some of his own blood. "D-Don-" I cut him off by repeatedly slamming my boot into his face until he stopped making noise. I stared at my handy work for a moment until I heard my cellphone ring.
I pulled it out and flipped it open. "Speak." I said.
"I have a job for you." Said an irritated voice. "Do you except?"
I sighed and decided that I could save my relaxing day for later. "Yes."
"Good, meet me at 507 Apple Pie Lane in Ponyville, 10:00 AM tomorrow. Do not be late."
*Click*
I closed my phone and put it back where it belonged. I then slowly straightened my dark red tie and readjusted my tar black suit. I then walked back over to my suitcase and picked it up. After I walked to the other end of the train cart, I reached up and pulled the emergency brake. The whole train jerked to a stop, right in the middle of a large field. I exited the train and began walking in the opposite direction of Canterlot, far in the northern mountains. I'll reach Ponyville... maybe around two in the morning or so, that should give me enough time to find a hotel and rest for the night. I thought to myself as I marched off towards my next contract.
I awoke the next morning to the sound of pegusi clearing the skies of clouds. I got up and stretched a little. The alarm clock next to the hotel bed read, 7:48 AM. 'Not what I was shooting for, but it works.' I thought to myself as I turned off the alarm set for 8:30 AM. I got up and walked over to the hotel room's bathroom where I went inside and locked the door. I stripped out of my underwear and stepped into the shower. I turned the nob, which released cold water that slowly turned warm.
I took a few extra minutes to calm my nerves from the long walk the other night that went along with the short amount of sleep. I eventually stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. I dried my muscular, yet slim, body off thoroughly and discarded the dirty towel. I put my underwear back on and looked in the mirror too see that I was getting a bit of a shadow on my face. I thought about this for a moment until I remembered that I had checked into a rather high-class hotel. I looked through the cabinets until I found a disposable razor-blade and shaving cream. The shaving cream made it's standard squirting noise when I sprayed some into my hand. After I hand a decent amount, I use my other hand to turn on the sink so that I could rinse my face. I then spread the shaving cream on my face and began cutting away at the pesky beard until it was all gone. I once again rinsed off my face before I threw away the used razor and put away the shaving cream.
I did some more digging until I found some aftershave which I quickly applied. I walked out of the bathroom feeling clean and professional. I looked over to the opened closet to see my suit hanging up with my boots resting below. I had managed to clean off the blood the other night, which is a good thing, considering the maids around here like to look at people's shoes for some reason...
After I had my full suit on and straightened, it was 8:26 AM. 'I have time for some breakfast, it seems.' I exited my room with all of my things. I had only checked in for one night, so I did not want to loose anything. I made my way down to the dinning area of the hotel where I took a seat and waited for some surface. I looked at the menu to see some interesting things until I decided to just have two fried eggs. As I put my menu down, I was confronted by a waitress who was a rather good looking human.
"Hi there! My name is Lisa, and I'll be serving you today. You ready to order?" She said with a smile on her face.
"I'll have a coffee, no sugar, and two fried eggs." I said swiftly as I handed her my menu.
"Coming right up!" She then left my table to do her thing. I began looking around at people and ponies to see what the cat dragged in. 'Ugh, talk about ugly.' I thought as I looked around the room. 'The cat didn't drag anything in, the cat ate something and threw it up!'
"Here's your order, mister!" I heard Lisa say as she set down my plate and drink. "If you need anything else, just ask!" She then walked away.
I looked down at the food and poked it with my fork. I looked underneath both eggs, cut both of them in half, and smelled them. 'Most likely not poisoned.' I then smelled my coffee, stirred it up a little, and tasted it ever so slightly. 'Not poisoned.' I then ate my meal as fast as I felt I needed to. It was pretty good, to be honest. Mostly because it was not poisoned. I wiped my mouth off on a napkin and left a small tip along with my payment. After that was all done with, I exited the building and walked into the calm society of Ponyville. Not so many cars on the new cement streets, ponies and humans walking around peacefully. It was nice. But, this was not for me, I was a busy man who loved his job. I checked my watch to see that it was 9:31 AM. The address was not to far away, it would only take a few minutes to get there. So with that, I began walking towards the address.
There were lots of interesting sites to see in this small settlement. There was a library carved into a tree where I believe the newly crowned princess is currently staying, there was Sugar Cube Corner which was a very colorful bakery disguised as a tasty looking ginger-bread house, and a few other intriguing structures along the way. After I got done walking towards the address, I noticed that the house was rather larger than the others, and had some different things such as a golden gate, a brick driveway, and a swimming pool. I walked up to the gate and pressed a button that was next to it. "I'm here for the job offer." I said into the tiny box before letting go of the button. The golden gate opened for me to proceed on in, which I did.
Before I could knock on the front door, a stallion opened the door accompanied by two bodyguard looking types of griffons. "Greetings, I've been waiting for your arrival." Said the stallion. "Please come in."
'That is a very poor use of a mouth.' I thought as I looked at his forced smile. I entered the mansion anyways, never taking my eyes off of him.
"So if you would just follow me to my office we can-" He stopped talking when a small pink filly trotted into the room and started talking.
"Daaaaaaaad! There's like, no more food in the fridge and-" She then noticed me. "H-Hello handsome!" Her father facehoofed whilst I raised an eyebrow.
"Diamond, would you please leave me alone for a moment? Me and my associate here need too discuss business." He was clearly not happy with her at the moment. In fact, he seemed like he was disappointed.
"Dad! Just because you don't like humans doesn't mean that I shouldn't either!" This got both mine and his attention. "You know how I feel about humans!"
"Not. Now." Said the stallion in a stern voice.
"Especially this one." She said as she shot me a look that made me feel uncomfortable for once in my life.
The stallion looked towards one of the griffons and whispered something to them. The griffon saluted and grabbed the filly. She protested but was subdued and taken out of the room. "Now then, follow me..." He said in an angered tone. I did as he said and followed him to his office where he sat down behind his desk. I stood until he offered for me to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Alright, here's what-"
"So you don't like humans?" I cut him off with a firm tone that meant that I wanted an answer as to what that means. I did not care if he hated me, but I would have a problem if he tried to go against me.
"Well, I'm not fond of them. But I don't hate all of them, or else you wouldn't be here." He said in a cheery tone. I decided to play ball and see if this guy needed a bullet to the brain or not. "Anyways, I understand that you have done a lot of things for a lot of money." He said as he smiled at me. "But you have not done anything of this magnitude!" He said as he leaned in. "I want you to steal..." He let out an evil chuckle. "...The Elements of Harmony..."
"What's the pay?" I asked simply.
He gave me a shocked expression, but shook it off and decided to role with it. "Five-hundred thousand bits!" He said.
"No." I said coldly. "This is an extremely risky job, double the pay or no deal." I spat out so fast that lightning slowed down to listen.
The stallion looked baffled. "Wha-What!? A million bits!? How dare you!? Do you know who I am!?" He shouted.
"Yes, I do." I activated my brain and did something I'm good at, messing with other's heads. "Your name is Filthy Rich, current owner of Barnyard Bargains, leader and founder of The Eclipse, you're also a filthy coward that rarely risks anything. You destroy good people's lives on a daily basis and get away with it all. Now are you going to pay me or am I going to leave?"
Filthy Rich's jaw had long since dropped open. "H-How?"
"I do my research."
"..."
"Well?" I spat out.
"OH! Y-Yes! Consider yourself a millionaire! Now then, get me those Elements and we'll be square." He said with a smile.
I reached into my suit-jacket's pocket and laid a contract on the desk. He read it over and stopped at one point with a bit of nervousness. "S-Says here that you'll murder me horribly if I don't pay you..." He looked at me then back quickly back at the paper when he saw the look I was giving him. After he finished reading, he pulled out a pen and signed it. I then took the contract and the pen from him. I signed my name where it was meant too go and folded the contract up.
"I'll be back within the week, Mr. Rich." I said as put the contract away, stood up, and exited the building.
'Yeah, I'll be back to put a bullet in your skull, you damn liar.'