> Tales of a Hidden World: Book 1
>  by Braininthejar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, you think feeling guilty can change anything?”

Pin shuddered. He’d expected a quick death, not moralizing. He looked Squall in the eyes. “No, I don’t think it can change anything. But it can stop more of the same from happening ever again.”

The pegasus smiled with sadness, his stance relaxing. “You’re so wrong, it’s almost funny.”

***

ONE MONTH BEFORE…

“Give me the usual,” said Pin as he approached the counter. The Strawberry Jam pub was full of patrons, as was usual at this hour, the working class of Manehattan relaxing after a busy day of catering to the needs of the wealthy. 

“Me too,” said Smarts, Pin’s companion, as he stopped next to him. 

The crowd had parted to let them through, perhaps instinctively recognising that standing in their way would be unwise. They were two young stallions, one a grey unicorn, the other a minty green earth pony, their cutie marks covered by the dark coats they were wearing - a universal sign that they had something to hide. They both made an effort to look classy, with mixed results. Pin was wearing a very nice fedora that would make him look cool if it was ever designed to be worn over a horn; as it was it had to be tilted back slightly, spoiling the whole effect. Smarts, meanwhile, was wearing dark sunglasses, which now rested on his forehead, as wearing them in the dimly lit pub would have made him effectively blind.

As the bartender, a pudgy pink stallion with thinning mane, turned to get his order, Pin looked around the room. He recognised several regulars in the room. The couple new faces he could see, an old unicorn stallion, a pair of tourists and a griffon messenger who just stopped for a quick coffee, were watching the two of them with curiosity. Deciding to ignore them, he turned towards the barmare walking among the tables and sent her a smile. To his surprise, she didn’t return it, instead looking back at him with a frightened expression.

“Here you go,” said the bartender, putting a pair of salt licks on the bar, along with a pair of full glasses. Pin noticed that he too wasn’t wearing his usual smile.

“Something’s the matter, Jam?” asked Smarts. “You don’t look like your usual happy self.”

The bartender squinted at him, then reared and leaned forward, putting his front hooves on the bar. He spoke in a low voice, putting emphasis on every word. “Candy’s boys were here. They want a cut too. Isn’t protection what I’m paying you for, guys?”

Pin was about to comment on the tone in which he was spoken to when the full meaning of the words hit him. His nostrils flared and he instinctively dug his front hoof into the floor. “They did what? Here?” 

Smarts looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. “They know it’s our turf. They usually go only up to Daisy street. That’s full 4 blocks from here.”

Pin leaned towards Jam, stopping face to face with him, completely forgetting his order for the moment. “You sure it was them?”

“Candy Wrap and Candy Floss,” sighed the bartender in irritation. “You think I don’t know them?”

“In person? The gall of some ponies…” Pin clenched his jaw, teeth grinding. “And when did they say they’d be back?”

“Three days from now, at sunset.” Having got rid of some steam, Jam was now speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. “They said you guys don’t rule here anymore.”

Pin’s horn flashed briefly. Something small and sharp flew out of his coat and embedded itself in the bar between the glasses, vibrating slightly - a thick metal needle.

“Well then, we’ll have to prove them wrong, won’t we?” whispered the unicorn. He looked over his shoulder, but none of the patrons seemed to have noticed the small projectile. With a touch of telekinesis he pulled it out of the wood and back into his inner pocket. Then he pocketed the salt lick and emptied his glass with one swig. “Business as usual, until further notice,” he said to the bartender before turning and leaving. Smarts smiled apologetically before finishing his drink and following suit, catching up with his companion just as he was walking out of the door.

“The boss won’t be happy when he hears that,” he said in a cheerful tone. Pin resisted the urge to dope slap him.

“Have you been snorting pixie dust or what? This is serious! It’s practically a declaration of war!”

Smarts lowered his head, the sunglasses falling over his eyes. “I know it’s serious. 8-ball will be furious.” He hesitated. “Actually… could you be the one to tell him? There is one more thing I need to do in town this evening.”

Pin stopped, sighed and rolled his eyes. “That new girlfriend of yours, isn’t it? I can smell the perfumes all over you…” He sniffed at the earth pony, his nose catching one more scent. “How can you drink cider with salt licks? It makes me sick just thinking of it.”

“So can I?” smiled Smarts.

“Just go.” Pin nodded in irritation before galloping off down the street.

***

The penthouse of the Sunny Side hotel was alive with the sound of conversation. Pin exited the elevator and looked around the room. There were three ponies inside, gathered around the pool table that gave The Pool gang its name. The two playing were Fish, a scrawny pegasus with sea-weed green mane and light blue coat, and Chip, a large, brown earth pony stallion with a short blond mane that resembled a packet of fries - the reason for his nickname. It was Chip’s turn to play now and he was leaning over the table, the horseshoe on his cutie mark swaying slightly from side to side as he prepared to strike.

The third pony was a round, chocolate brown unicorn with an 8-ball cutie mark, the one Pin had to talk to. Pin pulled the coat and hat off, throwing them onto a nearby rack, and approached the table.

“Boss, there’s trouble brewing.”

8-ball stopped whatever he was saying to Fish and turned with a sour expression. “So I heard. Squall’s been here an hour ago.”

“What did he say?” asked Pin.

“He said that somepony’s seen Fudge selling pixie dust just two blocks north from here.”

“Then it gets worse,” answered Pin. He passed the pool table and reflexively picked up a couple of darts, launching them one by one into a nearby dartboard. “They showed up in Jam’s pub demanding protection money.”

Chip spoiled the strike, nearly tearing the fabric. 8-ball’s eyes widened. Fish whistled. “That’s more than just getting on our turf. They want a fight,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I thought they played by the rules,” added Chip. “They got rid of Gumdrop after what she did.”

“They did,” answered 8-ball in a tense voice. “But now they got greedy and careless. I don’t care if they sell that stuff to rich idiots on their side of the city. But trying to challenge us like that…” He turned sharply towards the table. “Fish, take wing. Chip, go downstairs and get a couple messenger colts. I want everypony here in an hour. Pin, where’s Smarts? Wasn’t he with you?”

Pin removed the darts from the board and started throwing again. “Meeting his sweetie. Should I go look for him?”

8-ball paused, then noded. “Do it. I can’t have absences now. We need discipline.”
***

Pin walked through the brightly lit streets of Manehattan. He was wearing his hat and coat again; he knew his cutie mark, a metal pin across crosshairs, was quite memorable, and he didn’t like the idea of dyeing his coat to make a fake one like some of his friends did.

Despite the hour the streets were still crowded. Manehattan was a city that never slept and the evening air was filled with the sound of hooves and the voices of ponies. The rich attending high profile events, the poor trying to use the last occasion to earn a bit or two, the tourists amazed by silliest things, their cameras clicking. As it often happened when he walked the streets, Pin couldn’t help but think of how different the city must have looked to each of those ponies. Some of them could go their entire lives without witnessing a crime. For the tourists, Manehattan would be just like it was shown in the guidebooks and travel agency, a center of the fashion world and a city of modern wonders. Perhaps they were better off not knowing what was lurking just behind the facade…

Breaking his train of thought, the unicorn refocused on the task at hoof. He had already tried three restaurants to no effect. Where else could Smarts have gone? He mentally revised the map of the surrounding streets, thinking of all the places his friend liked. Unless he decided for one of the expensive places. He could afford it after all, if only from time to time. Between smuggling and racketeering they were all pretty well off…

Pin stopped as his peripheral vision caught something familiar. He turned his head and saw an old unicorn stallion. After a moment he remembered seeing him among the patrons at Jam’s. Was he a tourist too? Just at that moment the old pony started limping away, and from behind him Pin caught a glimpse of a minty green mane. He looked at what turned out to be a window of a cafe and slapped himself mentally for not remembering it earlier. Quickly he went towards the door.

There was Smarts, sitting at one of the tables. He was wearing a vest rather than the coat he had worn earlier, exposing the four-leaf clover on his rump. He was also wearing a rather silly grin that went surprisingly well with his sunglasses. 

And opposite him…

Pin groaned inwardly. The girl was a tan earth pony with a brown mane styled into something that might have been her idea of stereotypical Manehatten hairstyle, but in fact was some 40 years late. She was covered in a beige dress that almost matched her coat and was longer than Manehattan mares would wear. In fact it looked like all she was missing was a bonnet. She was sitting there with a dopey grin that matched Smarts’.

“And then the boss said ‘Smarts, dear boy, there’s a great future ahead of you.’” said Smarts, apparently in the middle of some story.
“Why do they call you Smarts?” interrupted the girl. “I’d expect them to call you Lucky.”

Smarts chuckled. “Well, even if I’m actually named Lucky Break, calling me Lucky would make the luck go away, wouldn’t it? They had to come up with something else.”

“Why Smarts then?” asked the girl curiously.

Smarts looked at her with mock annoyance “What, you don’t think I’m smart? I only make a fool of myself in your presence.”

The mare blushed. “Sorry, or course you are. That’s why you’re such a good salesman.”

“There is actually a story behind the nickname,” said Smarts. “You see, it’s my cutie mark.”

“The girl gave him a confused look. “Your cutie mark? But what does it have to do with…”

“Well, some of my colleagues have bad sense of humor,” answered Smarts, shrugging. “When I first got the job, one of them started calling me ‘Clover the Smartass’. I was really lucky they shortened it later.”

“Well, duh. That’s a girl’s name and… well, that was very mean of them,” said the girl. 

“Ouch.” Something stung Smarts in the ear. Shaking his head he noticed a tiny piece of grit falling out of his mane and onto the table. He knew what that meant. He looked around until he noticed Pin standing near the entrance, looking at him intently.

“Argh,” he said, shrinking visibly on his stool. “I’m very sorry, darling. I just remembered I promised to help a friend at the office. I’ll make it up to you, I promise!”

Pin turned to leave, not willing to witness the rest of the conversation. He stood outside and waited until Smarts showed at the door, walking at a brisk pace until he almost collided with another pedestrian, at which point he stopped and pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Boss wants to see everypony,” answered Pin. “There’s more trouble brewing.”

They headed for the hotel, moving at a brisk pace. 

“More Candy’s boys?” asked Smarts as he did his best to keep up with his friend. 

“Yes,” answered Pin, still moving forward. After a couple more steps, he glared sideways at the earth pony. “That girl. Where did you get her?” 
"Mcintosh Hills. She came here to learn engineering. She's smarter than she looks," answered Smarts. "Her name's..."

"I don't care what her name is, Smarts," interrupted Pin. "I heard you talking to her. You know the rules. How much did you tell her?"

Smarts rolled his eyes. "You think I'm stupid? I didn't tell her anything. She thinks I'm a salesman, using my charisma to get my boss new clients."

"Technically true..." nodded Pin, sighing. "Listen there, Smarts. If you..."

He ground to a halt. "Did you see what I just saw?"

The earth pony hesitated. "Was that Candy Floss and Chocolate Candy..."

"Entering Silver Horseshoe," finished Pin. He made a 90 degrees turn and trotted towards the bar, his coat billowing as he used his magic to check the contents of his pockets.

***

He entered the bar just in time to hear a bottle breaking. All the guests turned to look towards Candy Floss, a pink pegasus with a white afro that was responsible for her nickname, wearing a short black dress designed for somepony more enticing. She was  leaning over the bar, right in the face of a terrified owner.

"How clumsy of me," she hissed in theatrical whisper. "Now, as I was saying..."

"If you don't have the manners to be here, Flossy, you should stay at home," said Pin, walking into the center of the room.

Smarts went past him to the left hof end of the bar. "Once cider to go?" he asked the owner. The pony, white and thin with a neatly trimmed moustache,  pushed a bottle his way with a shaking hoof.

The mare turned towards him with a cat-like smile. "Oh, look who's decided to visit. Does 8-ball think that the two of you can do the bouncer job here?" She turned towards the stallion at the bar. "You've really been paying them too much for such lousy protection."

Pin's horn glowed with faint silver light. "Lady..." he paused and turned towards the room which was quickly getting empty, except for a couple curious fools and some ponies too old to leave in a hurry. "Apologies to all ladies for that. Anyway, I think I'll have to ask you to leave. Now."

Candy Floss stepped back, an expression of mock fear on her muzzle. "Oh no, you brute would hit a girl? Whatever shall I do?" She extended her righ hoof and scraped it in an arc in front of herself. There was a glint of metal as a small curved blade screwed to the underside of her horseshoe emerged from under her hoof. Beside her Chocolate Candy, a coal black earth pony with a bowler hat, who had up to that point stayed silent, moved in to stand by her side. He didn't seem armed, but he glared daggers at Pin all the same.

"So, guess it's a failure of communication then," said Smarts, standing next to his friend. "You guys really think you can take the Pool Club in a fair fight?"

Candy Floss responded with a smile that he really didn't like. "Whoever said about fair, kid? You thought we'd come here without a backup plan?"

There was a loud thump at the door. Pin turned to see another earth pony, creme with a short yellow mane and a striped red and white shirt on his bulky chest. He was even bigger than Chip and his cutie mark was a horseshoe with a red outline.

Candy Floss grinned. "We'll show you Pool Club guys that it takes more than just balls to rule the city."

Pin turned, trying to keep all three ponies in his field of vision simultaneously. He realized that the new guy must have been standing near the entrance since they walked in – he was one of those big guys you tend to overlook until they move.

Smarts turned stood with his back to Candy Floss, facing the newcomer. He smiled from over his sunglasses. "You would be... let me guess... Hard Candy?"

The huge earth pony reared, clapping his front hooves together before bringing them both down onto the floor. The horseshoes, thicker and heavier than necessary, left prints in the floor. "Close," he grinned. "It's Jawbreaker."

Candy Floss opened the blade on her other front hoof, then hopped into the air and spread her wings. Smarts grabbed the bottle of cider in his teeth and threw it up over his back before bucking it hard, sending the weighted piece of glass square into the mare's face. It connected with a dull thud.

The other two ponies charged. Pin's horn flashed as he pulled a metal needle from inside his coat and sent it into Jawbreaker's shoulder, while bucking with his hind legs at the approaching Chocolate Candy. He heard the satisfying thump from behind him that told him he hit, but just then he realized, a second too late, that his projectile did little to slow the larger earth pony down. A heavy front hoof connected with his face, throwing him against the bar. 

"I'm gonna..." He tried to stand up, reaching for another needle. Jawbreaker moved towards him to finish the job, but before he could reach him, Smarts broke a chair over his head. More angered than hurt at the blow, he turned towards the smaller earth pony and tried to crush him.

Pin looked for other opponents. Chocolate Candy was still getting up after the buck in the chest he had taken. Candy Floss had recovered from the blow to the head, though her muzzle was bloodied and her features an image of fury. She flew straight at Smarts. Straining to focus despite his swimming vision, Pin managed to shoot the needle through her wing. She swayed off course, colliding with a wall near the coat racks, causing a large mirror on the wall to fall down and shatter.

Pin jumped to his hooves to help his friend, just in time to hear a grunt of pain. Smarts was backed into a corner, but his opponent had ceased pushing at him. Instead Jawbreaker was standing in an odd position, as if trying to fight, keep his balance and keep one of his front hooves off the ground at the same time. With Chocolate Candy preparing to rejoin the fight, Pin wasted no time. He pulled a salt lick out of his pocket and shattered it against the floor, then launched the small bits of salt into Chocolate's eyes. Then he charged Jawbreaker from behind, knocking him from his odd balancing position into a full face plant before pulling another needle and shooting it down, pinning the earth pony's ear to the wooden floor. Then he reached with his magic, pulling two large bits of the broken mirror towards himself and levitating them menacingly.

"Enough of this!" he growled, glaring at the two still standing candies in turn. After a moment of intense screaming, Chocolate Candy was now keeping his distance, wincing in pain and rubbing his face as he tried to get rid of the rest of the salt. Candy Floss had already gotten up and tried to fly. She was standing on rigid legs, holding the injured wing close to her body, daring not to pull the needle out with her teeth. All the spectators had already left, except for the owner and a couple of waiters, all huddled behind available cover.

Pin spoke through clenched teeth, doing his best not to slur – he was still feeling the effects of the blow to the head. "That's enough. We can continue if you like, but then you’ll all die. Do you want to die?" One glass shard lowered itself dangerously close to Jawbreaker's eye.

There was a moment of hesitation. Then Candy Floss spat some blood onto the floor. “Fair enough. We’re leaving.”

She walked to the door, as nonchalantly as she could manage under the circumstances. Chocolate Candy followed her, muttering curses under his breath. 

Pin leaned closer to Jawbreaker. “I’m going to remove that needle now and let you go. You can wear an earring in the hole if you like. But if I see you here again… Candy will find your head in her bedroom. Do we have an understanding?”

The huge pony nodded, as much as he could without causing himself more pain. Pin pulled the thick needle free, wiping it against Jawbreaker’s coat before putting it away inside his pocket, then stepped back, giving him the space to get up. Jawbreaker stood up and limped away in a hurry, constantly keeping one front hoof in the air.

“Good,” nodded Pin as he saw him disappear through the door.”We’d be poor protection if we turned this fine establishment into a murder scene, wouldn’t we?”

Smarts nodded. The owner, still hiding behind the counter, nodded vigorously. It was obvious from his face that he wanted them out as soon as possible.

“We’ll be leaving for tonight,” said Pin, trying to bow and almost falling over. Smarts rushed to hold him up. 

“You ok?” he asked in a worried voice. 

“No,” answered Pin. He then looked his companion in the eyes. “Are my pupils even?”

The earth pony squinted. “I… think so. Half your face is swelling, so it’s hard to tell.”

“I should live then. What did you do to the big guy?”

Smarts smirked. “Nothing. He tried to stomp me and stepped into glass from a bottle Candy Floss knocked over when we entered.”

“You lucky bastard.”

***

Pin was sitting on the sofa in the hotel penthouse, a bag of ice pressed to his face. Behind him Fish and Chip were playing pool. 8-ball, Smarts and Squall, a light blue pegasus with navy blue mane and a stormcloud cutie mark were sitting around the table.

“So…” started 8-ball. “Either this will halt them or we will have an open war.”

“I couldn’t let them have their way. This is no city for the weak,” answered Pin, looking his boss in the eye. 

8-bit chuckled. “Of course not. You taught them a lesson. And we would likely have had a war anyway. Just when I began to think of retiring.”

It was Pin’s turn to chuckle. “You always said you can’t retire from this job.” 

“No,” said 8-ball, reaching for a glass of water to wash his mouth from the salt lick he was having. “But you can quit being the boss, IF you find somepony competent to replace you. I could run the hotel instead and leave the headaches to one of you guys. What do you think?”

“I think we should strike first and strike hard,” said Squall. “If there’s going to be a war, we can’t let them have the first blow.”   


“Typical pegasus thinking,” said Smarts. “Can’t we just get along? We did for so many years.”

“Candy is a pegasus, Smarts,” said 8-ball. “It may turn out that Squall is right. So just in case, we need to learn as much as possible about them. How many there are, do they have any new muscle, where do they sleep, where do they smuggle… or brew pixie dust. This will be your job until further notice.”

“Oh, almost forgot,” he continued. “Pin, you’re supposed to be big and scary. You can’t walk the streets with a huge black eye. Find something to cover it with. Smarts’ sunglasses maybe? He could have your hat in return. It would fit him better than you anyway.”

Pin turned towards Smarts, only to see him flinch away.

“No way are you taking my glasses! They’re expensive and you get into brawls. Buy your own.”

Pin chuckled, then winced in pain. “Eh, it’s weeks like this that make me regret I didn’t become a doctor like my mother wanted.”

Smarts raised an eyebrow. “You, a doctor? Seriously?”

Pin glared at him. “What’s so weird about it? Half of my family does acupuncture. Where do you think I learned to be so precise with my horn?”

“So why didn’t you become one?” asked Smarts. 

Pin smiled. “Bad company.”

8-ball shook his head as he watched them all laugh at the joke. He wished he still had that youthful enthusiasm for everything.
> 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.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Nothing? What do you mean? said Fish.

They were sitting in one of the back rooms at the hotel’s ground floor, Pin and Fish drinking coffee at a table, while Chip was walking around the room, periodically stopping to check the door and the windows.

Pin leaned over the table. “They didn’t find anything beyond some blood and broken glass. They’re investigating the matter of course, but as far as Manehattan police is concerned, it’s not even a murder case yet.”

“But they were there moments after you left, weren’t they?” asked Fish. “Bodies don’t just disappear… And it couldn’t have been Candy’s boys. If they had so many more around, they wouldn’t have retreated.”

“So we have a third player, or what?” asked Chip, taking a break in his pacing.

“It looks like it,” answered Pin. “But what would they have to gain from taking the bodies? And how did they learn there would be any?”

Fish stared into his eyes. “They might have had a crystal ball. Or a pony on the inside. Which brings me to the next problem. You’ve surely heard the rumors.”

Pin glared at him over the table. “Heard? I was there when Squall started throwing accusations. He didn’t repeat them among other members, but I’ve seen how everypony has been watching each other since.”

“Yes,” sighed Fish. “The thing is, Squall might be a jerk, but that doesn’t make him wrong. They did know you were coming. If we fight blind and they don’t…”

“Nopony’s seen Jingles since yesterday,” said Chip. “Dunno if they got her or she ran away.”

“If that’s what you wanted to talk about, I already know it’s a mess,” said Pin.

Fish leaned forward, his expression grim. “They think it’s Smarts.”

“What?” Pin shook his head. “Smarts isn’t stupid. Or disloyal. I know him better than anypony.”

“He was late for the fight… yes, I know, Lighter sent him,” said Fish. “But everypony else either killed somepony or got hurt trying. Smarts wasn’t even dirty. And then there is this girl of his.”

“He met her three months ago,” said Pin. “On a business trip to Macintosh Hills. Then last month it turned out she came here to study. I guess she actually moved here because of him. Nothing out of the ordinary, far as I can tell.”
“His absences are out of the ordinary,” continued Fish. “Isn’t he supposed to help you looking for Candy’s hideout? He keeps disappearing when he should be doing his job.” 

“I’ll be sure to tell him that,” answered Pin.

Fish shook his head. “Actually, you should take a closer look at it. I’m not your boss to order you around, but the guys are talking. I heard Mallet say that for him to keep disappearing like that, the girl must be quite… an eye candy.”

Pin slammed his front hooves on the table so hard he nearly flipped it. “He said what!?”

Fish’s expression didn’t change. “Just go and make sure he’s being stupid and nothing else. Then give him a talk on work ethics. For his own good. While there’s still time.”

***

Pin was standing on the street corner opposite the cafe, waiting for Smarts and his girl to leave. Rain was dripping off the rim of his hat, further contributing to his foul mood. Fortunately, the weather made many city ponies wear clothes, which prevented him from being painfully conspicuous. 

Why am I even doing this? he asked himself for the eighth time. I could have just asked him. No, that wouldn’t be enough. I need to prove to the Pool Club that he is trustworthy, but that means I need to break his trust. He won’t be happy when I’m done...

His eye caught movement of mint green hair in the cafe window. He took a step back, standing just far enough that he could see his target without peering comically from behind the corner. There they were, leaving the cafe, walking down the street. Pin followed them in a distance. At one point he saw Smarts look behind him nervously. He managed to hide behind another passerby at the last moment. Feeling guilty, he looked around the crowd, making sure there was nopony else tailing the two earth ponies. Satisfied at not seeing any of Candy’s around, he returned to his task. 

Finally, the pair stopped in front of an unassuming house a couple blocks off the center. Pin hid in the nearest alley as they stood at the doorstep and kissed, then disappeared in the shadows when they finally separated. He waited for Smarts to pass him, hugging the shadows. Then he emerged back onto the street, this time making no effort to hide, just another passerby in the rain. He looked up at the house, hoping that the flat the girl was occupying was one at the front. A minute passed. Then a light appeared in one of the second floor windows.

Bingo.

***

“She’s gone to work, sir, I think.”

Pin looked down at the messenger colt before him. The boy was a blank flank earth pony, currently without the tell-tale hotel boy uniform. He was also wearing a saddle with bags and a leash attached to it, with a big, shaggy dog on the other end of it. 

“How long was she away yesterday?” asked Pin.

The boy’s face scrunched in thought. “Nine hours. But then she went out again. She was barely at home.” 

The unicorn smiled. “Thank you. Here’s a bit. That’s all I needed.”

The boy beamed, catching the coin in his mouth and stuffing it into his bag. Then he almost fell when the dog decided to walk away, dragging him along.

Pin watched on in amusement. “Whose dog is it anyway?”

The boy struggled with the leash and finally managed to stop. “I’m walking it for Mr Smarts.”

Pin paled a little. “Not a word to Mr Smarts about what you were doing for me, understand? Not a word to anypony.”

The boy nodded, as much as he was able to, now holding the leash in his teeth, somehow managing to give the dog the desired direction.

Pin removed his hat and wiped his brow with a handkerchief before replacing the hat. It never stays on quite straight. I should just buy one with a horn hole…when did Smarts get a dog?

Looking around to make sure nopony was watching him, then up to check for any fliers among the rooftops, Pin walked between the buildings. Soon he located the back entrance to the house. Luck was with him, as the door turned out to be unlocked; somepony couldn’t be bothered to fiddle with the keys while taking out the trash. 

Silently, the unicorn ascended the stairs, counting the doors to make sure he got the right one. When he found what he was looking for, he stopped and listened, looking for any hint of trouble. A moment passed. Nothing. No nosy neighbours, no dog ready to inform the entire house of his presence. Satisfied, he lowered his head, pointing the horn at the lock. There was a flash of pale blue magic and a soft click. Slowly, wary of a possible ambush, Pin opened the door and entered, briefly thankful for a cheap lock that gave up so easily; his supply of needles contained some lockpicks too, but any waste of time increased the chance of him being found out. 

The flat was very small, just as he expected: a single room with one window, the opposite wall serving as a kitchen, plus a small bathroom. To Pin’s relief, there weren’t any house pets to react to his presence. 

He walked around, checking the drawers and the cupboards. There wasn’t much there and what was there was very tidy, all in its proper place. For a moment the unicorn stood, puzzled. This didn’t look like an apartment that was actually used.

Finally, his search uncovered a single folder with documents. He skimmed through its contents, rent payments, university papers… He paused to look at a pair of photos in the folder. The first was her face, rather plain by Manehattan standards.

What does he see in her? Must be the famous ‘rustic charm’. And what’s this? 

The second picture was a square of dark blue covered with white lines. 

Her cutie mark. It’s… a blueprint of an apple? Figures.

Smiling to himself, Pin flipped another paper. The next one was a letter inquiring about a possibility of transfer to Canterlot University.

Pin’s hoof stopped mid-move. He turned his head, looking around, all the pieces that had seemed suspicious until now suddenly falling into place.

She isn’t super tidy. She’s preparing to leave.

He closed the folder, putting it back into place, then stepped back out of the apartment, taking care to leave everything as it had been. Finally he closed the door, repeating his spell to lock it. He then ran down the stairs, momentarily forgetting about being silent, at least until he heard one of the door behind him being unlocked; he managed to clear the last corner and disappear in the back alley a second before the landlady’s curious muzzle poked into the corridor.

***

Pin walked quickly through the busy streets. He moved as fast as he could without galloping; he didn’t want to draw that much attention to himself. All the time his thoughts raced. He needed to make sure, but if Smarts really was that stupid…

You’re supposed to be smart. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? he thought, shaking his head.

He stopped to avoid a carriage going across his path. On reflex, he used the moment to look around; he didn’t think Candy’s goons would attack him in a busy street, but there could be somepony tailing him…

You!

There was nopony in his arc of sight, but as he turned his head, he briefly caught a reflection in a store window. An old and wrinkled unicorn stallion with grey coat and a goatee, a swinging bell for his cutie mark.

With his way free, Pin moved forward. He kept looking for reflective surfaces to confirm that he was being followed. Now that he knew what to look for, he was much harder to sneak up upon. Soon he caught the reflection of the old pony again. And again.

Wait… how is he doing that?

Pin stopped, confused. Apart from those moments when he stopped to take a look, he was moving at a brisk pace. But each time he caught a glimpse of the old unicorn, he was just standing there or slowly waddling. And even if he kept moving after him, he looked too old to keep the pace.

Is he really teleporting?

Pin started looking more carefully, searching for anything that would suggest a flash of light, his ears swiveling in search for unfamiliar sounds. When the busy street made his efforts futile, he started watching other ponies, surely they’d react to something as unusual as teleportation. And yet he could see no reaction, ponies just walking by, each absorbed by his or her own matters. 

Finally he went off course, walking between the buildings and through the winding back alleys, using a shortcut he knew to double back - a trick that should bring him behind anypony who was following him.

He wasn’t really that surprised to find the alley empty.

***

It was just before lunch when he got to the hotel. Walking through the front door into the main hall, he looked around, taking note of who was present. Snappy Service the receptionist smiled at him. A pair of pegasus colts wearing the red hotel uniforms perked up at his entrance, hoping to earn a couple extra bits by running errands. He dashed their hopes by shaking his head and walked straight towards the elevator.

The sign above the door indicated that the elevator was two floors above and coming down. Pin waited impatiently, and for a moment he even considered turning around and using the stairs. When the door finally opened, it revealed a pair of ponies. One was a mare dressed in lace and fluffy wool with feathers. The other one was Lighter. As he saw Pin, he gently brushed the girl aside and approached him. 

“Hey, you look worried.”

Pin leaned aside to nod to the mare. “Hi Rosie. Is Smarts in?”

She shook her head. “Haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

Scowling, Pin turned back towards the pudgy unicorn. “You look worried too. What’s the news?”

Lighter turned aside, leading Pin away from the counter, eyes darting left and right nervously. “The news,“ he whispered tensely, “is that Squall’s gone nuts. Don’t go up to the penthouse. He’s there with 8-ball now. They’ve been shouting at each other for the last fifteen minutes.”

Pin closed his eyes and took a slow, deliberate breath. “What exactly happened?”

“You know they got Billy Club?” said Lighter. Pin nodded. The news had reached him the day before, through his contact in the police station.

“Well, Squall said we need to send another message. One all the Candies will understand. So he and his wing boys went flying together and managed to catch Fudge selling pixie dust on our turf again. The idiot should have stayed low… So, once they caught him, Squall asked him if he’s ever seen a phoenix…”

“He what?” Pin’s hair stood on end when his imagination momentarily outpaced the story.

Lighter shook visibly. “They took him to a high roof, sprinkled the stuff he was selling all over him and…”

Pin put a hoof on his shoulder. “Spare me the rest. No wonder the boss is angry. What does Monthly Pay say?”

“Oh, he didn’t need to say anything. We actually had police here this morning. They tried to act all scary, but they have no proof… so far.”

Pin sighed. “This is madness. What did Squall want to achieve? Turn the entire city against us? Anyway, thanks for the warning. See you around.”

He walked past Lighter and towards the elevator. However, instead of going all the way up, he chose the third floor, where some of the gang members had their apartments. He walked along the corridor until he found Smarts’ room and then stopped, closing his eyes.

I could just go to the reception desk and ask for the spare key… no, I can’t do it openly like that. I guess there is no helping it…

He bowed and touched his horn to the lock.

It took him only three minutes to find what he was looking for.

***

Several hours later, Smarts returned to his room. He frowned as he found the door unlocked. Walking in slowly, he looked around, taking in details, his ears swiveling in search of suspicious noises. He then spun on the spot, aiming a punch behind the door. Pin intercepted it with his own hoof before pushing the earth pony away, his magic slamming the door shut.

“Oh, it’s you,” said Smarts, tension leaving his body. “What are you doing here?”

Pin did not match his relaxed stance, but continued glaring at him. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you. There’s something I found that I need to ask you about.”

The tone of his voice made the earth pony tense up again. He instinctively looked aside towards the room, only to catch Pin’s gaze following his. His eyes widened in realisation.

“You’ve been searching my room!” he hissed.

“Yes I was,” said Pin. “You’ve been behaving strangely and some of the boys were starting to get suspicious.” He started walking slowly, pushing into Smarts’ personal space as he talked, making him step back. “I stood up to Squall when he suspected you, I defended you from Fish… but I needed to make sure everything is ok, for your sake. And what do I find?”

His horn started glowing and various objects rose from their hiding places in the room.

“A packed suitcase. A pair of tickets to Las Pegasus for tomorrow. Not many reasons to go there if you can’t fly, unless you have lot’s of bits to spend on gambling or...“ He pulled a colorful folder out of a desk drawer, waving it in front of Smarts’ face before ripping it in half. 

“And what a wedding it would have been. I wonder where you were headed next? Canterlot perhaps? Or maybe to visit her family? Were you intending to attend our funerals on your honeymoon!?”

Smarts tried to push against Pin, a retort on his lips. The unicorn was faster, grabbing him in a telekinetic grip and pushing him off, making him fall backwards against the cluttered desk. A flower pot flew off the window and across the room, hitting the wall above Smarts and showering him with dirt.

“Do you know how it hurts!?” hissed Pin through clenched teeth. “To find out that they were right? That my best friend is a traitor?!”

Smarts finally managed to get back on his hooves and faced Pin. The sunglasses slid onto his nose, revealing his angry eyes. “I’m not the traitor Squall’s looking for! I didn’t do anything!”

Pin stopped and stared into his eyes, breathing heavily.”Oh really!? You didn’t do anything? What about all that stuff you were supposed to do? Like gathering intel our lives depend on? A task that our boss entrusted to you and me? I thought we were friends, Smarts. We shared our laughs, we shared our food. We helped each other when the times were bad and shared our triumphs when we got ahead in life. And now that we are at war and lives are at stake, you run like a rat from a sinking ship, leaving your friends to die?!”

“I didn’t stop working!” shouted Smarts. “I still have some things I wanted to check… and it’s not my life I’m concerned about saving…”

Pin stared at him silently, raising a hoof as if to punch him, then sliding it over his own face instead. “Of course… you’re concerned about the girl…”

Smarts seemed to rapidly lose steam, slumping down onto the floor. He looked sadly at Pin. 

“Last week, when Swallow Chaser was attacked… his son was there, did you know that? He barely escaped. That’s when I started to think… if something happened to her…”

“True love…” Pin smiled, a thin smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “So noble of you… let’s put that to the test.”

Smarts blinked in surprise, looking at Pin in slight confusion. “What do you mean?”

The unicorn stepped back towards the door, his horn glowing softly as pieces of the broken flower pot started picking themselves up and flying off to the dust bin. Magic washed through the earth pony’s mane, clearing away the pieces of earth.

“You want to protect your girlfriend from harm that might happen to her because of you. The solution is simple. She has to leave Manehattan, for her own good. This way you’ll remain loyal to everypony and she will be safe.”

Smarts looked up at Pin’s face. “You want me to leave her. But… she loves me too. She won’t leave without me.”

Pin shrugged. “Then lie to her. Make her break up with you. Break her heart if you have to. Figure something up, talking is what you do for a job.”

Smarts stood up, staring at Pin with a shocked expression. “You want me to lie to her?”

Pin stared right back at him, nothing but disdain in his gaze. “It’s not like you’ve been truthful to her up to this point, were you? The bottom line is, if you love her, you will never see her again. Make her go away so far, that she will never again be threatened by the life you live.”

“So…” said Smarts “I’m to abandon the love of my life, break her heart and never see her again... or else?”

“Or else,” responded Pin, his eyes narrowing dangerously “I’ll tell Squall that you betrayed the Pool Club for some country hick. Then Candy’s boys getting to her will be the least of your worries.”

The words stunned Smarts. The earth pony seemed to shrink, standing still and 
rapidly growing pale. “You… wouldn’t…”

Pin rushed forward, stopping muzzle to muzzle with him. “I wouldn’t what?! Do my duty as a member of the Pool? Do my job gathering intel? Put my comrades, who risked their lives fighting at my side, before any other concerns?”

The unicorn exhaled slowly, looking into the earth pony’s eyes. “Make no mistake, Smarts. I should have told them already. It should have been 8-ball or Squall waiting for you here. I’m only giving you this chance because I’m your friend. Do not waste it.”

He stepped back, his magic opening the door. “I’ll be watching you to make sure that you don’t.”

***

And so he did, standing in the street as late evening pedestrians passed him by, looking at an entrance to the nightclub where Smarts was sitting. The air was chilly and damp, heralding a night rain. Soon the wait started becoming increasingly unpleasant. Pin regretted not getting a coffee when he had a chance; he wasn’t getting sleepy, but it would be great to have something to warm himself up with. 

As minutes stretched into quarter hours, he began doubting if the girl would show up. Perhaps the note Smarts left her would be enough? Then it occurred to him that Smarts might try to pull something off. The employees of the nightclub were not gang members, Pin couldn’t tell them to keep an eye on Smarts. If he was bold enough, he might have disappeared through the back door, hoping that the Pool Club would be too busy fighting for survival to look for him.

No, he decided. He might risk his own life, but he won’t risk the girl’s.

And there she was, finally, walking down the street, a hooded cape thrown over her dress to protect her against the evening chill. Pin pretended to be walking away, so as not to draw attention to himself by just standing there, but kept observing her in the corner of his eye. She looked worried, slightly shaken, but more confused than sad. Pin observed as she tried in vain to enter the club, the bouncer at the door stopping her despite her attempts to argue.

Then Smarts emerged through the door. Pin raised an eyebrow. The stallion was wearing a tuxedo and sunglasses, and was flanked by two mares, which Pin instantly recognized as girls under his care. He stumbled slightly, as if intoxicated. Perhaps he was or perhaps he couldn’t see anything with the glasses. Pin could guess the reason why he kept them on - It would probably spoil the whole effect if she could see his eyes.

A carriage moved down the street, obscuring the view. Pin was standing far enough that he couldn’t hear the whole conversation, but the light above the entrance allowed him to see plenty of details; Smart’s overplayed intoxication, his girls’ growing distaste at what they were taking part in, the mare’s growing desperation as she tried to reason with her now ex-boyfriend. There were accusations, pleas, lies. Smarts looked more and more desperate too, his speech becoming louder and louder as the mare tried to get through to him. Finally he reared and slammed his front hooves into the pavement in front of her, causing several bystanders to turn their heads curiously. 

“Get it into your thick head!” he shouted. “I never loved you! I was testing you because I had a customer from Las Pegasus willing to pay! He cancelled this morning, said he saw your photo I sent him and he has no need for a country hick! You’re too plain to be worth any bits! Now, get out of my sight and stop wasting my time!”

That had the desired effect. She ran away crying. Pin watched her go before turning back to look at Smarts. The stallion was standing in the street, breathing heavily, the two girls at his sides inching away from him. It almost looked like a stage being cleared after an act has ended; Smarts standing in the middle, the night club’s light like a spotlight on him, the street around him rapidly getting empty as the passers-by who had heard the conversation all quickened their pace. Smarts said something to the girls, causing them to turn and return to the nightclub. Then he raised his head and Pin was quite sure of that despite the glasses, looked straight into his eyes, before turning around and trotting down the street in the opposite direction to his mare.

“A sordid affair, that. It’s like a bad opera,” sounded a raspy voice on Pin’s right.

Pin jumped, startled and turned around. Beside him, the old unicorn stallion was standing, looking in the direction where Smarts had disappeared. “The only way it could be more cliche is if she was carrying his child…”

Pin pushed face to face with him, a single needle flying out of his coat and stopping with its tip on the old pony’s throat. “You… who are you, and why are you tailing us?” he hissed, using the sharp projectile to guide the unicorn out of the street and into the nearest alley.

He stopped when he realised that the pony didn’t budge; he just stood there, allowing the pressure of the tip to pierce his skin, a drop of blood appearing on his coat. 

“That hurts, you know,” he said to Pin, looking down. “I’m still using that throat, if you don’t mind. Unless... you’d like to give me yours in exchange?”

Pin withdrew the needle, turning slightly pale. “I asked you a question.”

The old pony raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, I’m a very old pony, here to organize the matters of my approaching death. In the meantime, I’m spending my time watching… I’m mostly disappointed.”

“Watching… you expect me to believe that?” asked Pin.

The old pony smiled. “You remind me of myself, when I was young. It’s depressing, really, how little has changed since then. Despite all that ‘good princess Celestia’ has done.”

“Listen, you…” started Pin, grabbing the unicorn with telekinesis and pushing him in front of himself as he walked. He grunted with effort, for some reason the frail-looking pony proved surprisingly difficult to shift. He noted some ponies looking at him in surprise, then walking away quickly. “I’ve had a rough day. So unless you stop rambling and give me a straight answer here, I’m going to…”

“What exactly?” asked the old pony with a deadpan expression. “Push harder, until something snaps? Stab me? Would it make your day better if I died on your hooves here in the street? I can if you want to. Also, if you push me any further into that alley, that messenger colt will miss you.”

Right on cue Pin heard a sound of small wings flapping. He looked aside and realized his error, his head snapping back as he instinctively braced himself, expecting to be sucker-punched. Instead, he found the space in front of him conspicuously empty, the unicorn gone the moment he got out of his line of sight. Nopony else seemed to have noticed anything, Pin had pushed the old pony just far enough into the alley for the corner of the building to obscure the view of passers-by. 

Swearing under his breath, he turned towards the approaching pegasus - a small boy from the hotel staff, now wearing only a beret instead of the red jacket he would wear at work.

The boy was visibly in a hurry and out of breath, apparently having found Pin after a bout of frantic flying. Pin was about to ask him if he saw the unicorn he was talking to, but hesitated at the sight of his expression.

“You were looking for me? What’s going on?”

The colt stopped in the air and then landed, gasping for breath. Finally he managed to choke out, ”Mr Pin… the hotel… has been attacked!” 
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The building was covered with a curtain of rain, the weather team above fighting to contain the fire in the penthouse. Underneath, a group of gawkers had formed, standing just outside the rain and watching as a pair of police ponies tried in vain to secure the crime scene despite all the water. Pin hastened his pace, walking past the hotel to get to the back entrance, but still he managed to steal a glance at the victim the police was surrounding - a crashed body of a griffon with what looked like a broken half of a pool cue pierced through his neck.

There was nopony on the ground floor. Pin resisted the instinct to run towards the elevator and ran up the stairs instead. When he got to the penthouse, he found the door unlocked. Inside there was still smoke, but that didn’t make him miss a body on the floor, a unicorn girl he recognised as Rosemary, a pool of blood beneath her slashed throat. He heard a spell charging up and instinctively ducked, before realising that it wasn’t aimed at him - a pair of unicorns wearing fire brigade uniforms were finishing their job there, hitting the remaining fire spots with ice spells. They seemed focused on their job, ignoring the wrecked furniture, as well as two more bodies that somepony had pulled away from the fire and left in the middle of the floor, both pegasi that Pin did not recognise. He choked when the sight of their injuries added to the effect of the smoke; It was quite obvious that the paramedics would be no help to those two.

“Hey!” he shouted towards the firefighters, throwing caution to the wind. “Was there anypony else here? I’m looking for a brown earth pony!” 

One of the unicorns turned towards him. “Nopony left here. There’s been some injured, but they’ve already been taken downstairs. Talk to the paramedics.”

Swearing under his breath, Pin ran downstairs. He needed to know what happened, but he also knew he couldn’t afford to talk to anypony downstairs.

Too many ponies there ready to ask me questions. The last thing I need is being questioned by the police now. What do I do?

He snuck out outside, taking a longer route to return to the crowd from the street. He could see that the body had already been taken and the police officers were now trying to question anypony around, starting with the hotel staff. The gawkers were mostly gone now, most of the remaining crowd composed of the hotel guests waiting for a chance to return inside and collect their belongings. There were also a couple reporters taking photos of the chalk outline on the pavement as it rapidly washed away.

Pushing the hat down against his horn, Pin walked among the ponies, looking for a face he would recognize. Finally, luck smiled at him and he managed to catch a white-coated hotel maid just as she was leaving the scene, the police done questioning her for the moment.

“Hey… Daisy,” he whispered, at the last moment remembering her name. “Where is everypony? Where is 8-ball?” 
The girl turned to him and stared for a moment before finally recognizing him. He started walking away with her, leading her away from the crowd. 


“I… don’t know. Squall’s been here with Lightning Bolt and Thundercloud, but they left. He said he’d be at Myrtle’s. I think 8-ball was gone by the time the police arrived.”

Pin absorbed the information. “Was he injured? The firefighters said they saw somepony injured.” 

The mare looked at him. “I don’t know… Golf Club was wounded, some broken glass I think… I saw him getting bandaged, but I lost sight of him later. I don’t know about the boss…”

Pin stopped walking. “Ok, now listen. I need you to stay here for a while longer. I know it’s been a rough evening, but chaos could cost us lives right now. I’ll go get in touch with Squall. You stay here and tell any of the boys that show up to meet us at Myrtle’s, ok? Will you be able to do it?”

She nodded, but there wasn’t much spirit to it. Pin wished he had somepony better for the task. He reached with his magic inside the coat and produced five bits, handing them to the mare. “Thank you. I need to go now.”

***

Pin picked his way through the night alleys. After the delay caused by the need to move some clouds over the fire, the night downpour had finally started. The unicorn used the conditions to cover his movements, avoiding the light of the street lamps to pass through the city unnoticed.

I’m trying to regroup with the rest of the Pool, but it feels like retreat, he thought angrily. 

The attack on the hotel was clearly meant to be a psychological attack as much as it was a strike against 8-ball himself. They couldn’t stay there with the police snooping around, which meant they had to abandon what had until now been the seat of their power. Pin hoped the Candies would not be organized enough to search the streets and pick off any stragglers, but he continued skulking through the shadows all the same.

Finally, he approached a large house. There was a pub on the front of it, but the lights were out and the sign on the door was turned to ‘closed’. Pin walked around the house and up to the back entrance. He rapped on the hard wood, then waited until the eye slit opened.

“Password,” whispered somepony from the inside.

“Swordfish,” answered Pin, sighing. There was a sound of grinding metal as the door was unlocked.

Pin walked inside, nodding to the familiar old mare as he removed his hat. “Evening, Myrtle.”

“Evening, Pin. They’re inside,” she responded, pointing her head towards the living room. 

The place was large, not very different from the pub that served as the front. Right now it was filled with the sound of multiple voices, mostly male. Heads turned as Pin entered the room. There were twelve ponies already in the room: Squall and his two goons, Fish, Chip, Mallet, three of Smarts’ girls, a brawny zebra stallion named Swirl and, to Pin’s great relief, both Smarts and 8-ball. The boss had some bandages around his neck and chest, partially covered by his vest, but he didn’t seem in much discomfort, or was at least strong enough to act tough while his gang was watching. These weren’t the only injuries in the group; Lightning Bolt and Thundercloud had some cuts and bruises and Fish was nursing an injured wing. 

“I see, almost everypony’s here already,” sighed Pin. “What’s the situation?” 

“They found the moment when most of us were away and tried to take out the boss,” answered Squall immediately. “Luckily they underestimated him. He killed two and held the rest back until my boys could come and help. The bad news is, they set the place on fire and now it’s swarming with police.”

“They killed Rosemary too,” deadpanned Pin. “What about Golf Club?” 

“In hospital,” answered 8-ball, taking initiative before Squall could open his mouth again. “So far he’s both a victim and a potential suspect, so they’re working on getting him back on his hooves while the police is trying to keep him safe. We’ll be working on getting him out once he recovers. But first we need to decide how to reorganize. We also need to get the hotel re-opened as soon as possible, to show we’re still in business.”

“I didn’t expect them to go that far, to act so openly,” said Pin.

“They’re getting desperate,” said Storm Cloud, looking up from his table. “Squall’s strategy is working. They are getting scared. Some of their ponies have been quitting too.”

“So, Squall, is that what you wanted?” asked Pin, looking at Squall, who responded with a glare. 


“We could have fought, or just given them our turf. You’d rather this conflict was one-sided?” he said, flaring his wings.

Just then Lighter appeared in the door, panting slightly. He looked around the group before focusing on 8-ball. “Good to see you alive, boss. What did I miss?”

“Finally,” said 8-ball. “We need to talk. Pin, Squall, Lighter, Fish, follow me upstairs.” 

The group started reshuffling as the stallions left their places and started making their way to the door. Pin turned towards the bathroom door instead.

“Give me a second, guys. You can brief Lighter in in the meantime.”

The bathroom was composed of several stalls, mirroring the one in the pub on the other side of the wall. Pin entered, but did not use the facility, instead waiting for the sound of approaching hooves. He wasn’t disappointed. 

Smarts entered the bathroom, stopping in front of Pin. “I’ve done as you asked,” he said. “Are you happy now?”

“Do I look like I’m happy?” answered Pin. “Do you think I did it for fun, or something?”

“So, our deal?” asked the earth pony.

“I won’t tell anypony,” answered Pin. “Though I expect Squall might ask. This attack required knowledge of when we’d be away. I can bet my hat we will spend the meeting arguing over who might be the traitor. You said you were doing your job. Anything new to report that I could tell the boss?”

Smarts turned towards the mirror. “I’m working on finding the traitor. I think I can find who it is before he strikes again. Proving it might be another matter.”

“What do you have in mind?” asked Pin.

“A traitor needs to contact the enemy from time to time. He could send a message, of course, but that’s a solid proof with just one slip-up. I think he will show up somewhere where he shouldn’t be, sooner or later. The problem is tailing a suspect through the city.”

“That’s why you bought a dog,” said Pin.

Smarts nodded, then turned to face Pin again. “I want you to know… I still want out.”

Pin’s expression grew grim. “You know it doesn’t work like this.”

“I know,” said Smarts. “But it’s up to the boss to set the rules. Things might change. You might be the boss one day.”

Pin shook his head. “Or I might be dead tomorrow. There’s a war we have to win. Concentrate on that. Then we can argue about whether miracles exist.”

***

Just as he had expected, a large part of the meeting was spent on pointless arguing. Finally, after receiving their orders on coordinating the counter attack and repairs respectively, Squall and Fish left the room. Lighter and Pin were left facing 8-ball over the table.

“It’s your turn now,” the earth pony spoke. “What’s your report?”

Lighter swallowed the piece of chocolate he was chewing on. “Well, for starters, Squall was right about one thing. We did push them. The word on the street’s they’re having problems recruiting. Many of Manehattan’s hired muscle have gone into hiding. They’re not taking sides ‘til this blows over. There’ve been some desertions too. On the other hoof, the core of the gang is a family. Those will fight all the fiercer.”

“And have you had any luck locating Candy?” asked 8-ball.

“None so far, I’m afraid,” answered Lighter, reaching for another piece of chocolate. “The ponies who know stuff are harder and harder to find, either hiding or…”

8-ball exhaled angrily before turning to Pin. “How about you? Any luck?”

Pin reached inside his coat and retrieved a small stack of papers. “I have a list of the guys they should still have, give or take five. I think I’ve narrowed the number of ponies who would be trusted with the pixie dust supply down to four, excluding the leadership of the gang.”

He slid the piece of paper towards 8-ball. It was covered with a number of pony names, colored lines connecting them into a web. Five names were circled, one of them already crossed out.

8-ball looked down on the paper. “So, these are the guys we should be hunting… Candy Wrap?” He pointed at the crossed out name.


“Sadly,” answered Pin. “If we’d known earlier… we should have been trying to get him alive from the start. Now that they’re on their guard, the others won’t be that easy to locate. Fortunately, they need to keep doing their job. They can’t just stay in hiding like Candy does.”

“Remember though,” said 8-ball, “just capturing one is not enough. We must learn the location of the lab before they have the time to pack it up and relocate it. Keep up the good work.”

***

Pin walked past the cafe and turned left, walking between two houses. He trotted deeper into the alley. There was a door there, an entrance to a small shop, too poor to afford a place with a main street front. It was also a place where one of Pin’s informants worked.

The unicorn looked left and right before pressing on the door. It opened inwards, a small bell on top of the doorframe announcing his presence. The inside was dimly lit and claustrophobic, the walls lined with curiosities - rare books, weird souvenirs from around the world and exotic brands of tea and coffee, all treasures for the right ponies, if only they knew to find them here.

Pin walked in slowly, looking around. “Eyeglass?” he called. There was a sound of shuffling hooves between the shelves. 

But not the one Pin had been waiting for. He had spent some time in the shop in the past, talking to the elderly shopkeeper. Enough to get used to his uneven walk caused by a bad hind leg. He tensed and waited. As the pony’s head emerged from between the shelves, Pin was already in motion, hitting the heavy piece of furniture with all his weight just as he recognised the face of one of the Candy thugs. The bookcase fell over the gangster, pushing over another one behind him and filling the air with swirling dust.

Pin saw movement to his right. He turned away just as a pie thrown over the counter slammed into his face. Fortunately he was hit from the side, the custard only covering his right eye. He moved back and bucked with his hind legs slamming the door shut in the face of the third attacker, then ran straight through the shop towards the back door. The pony behind the counter tried to pounce at him, attacking from his blind side. They collided, but Pin maintained enough momentum to go head first through the door, rolling back to his hooves and shaking off pieces of broken wood, and his opponent dropped off as he hit the more solid door frame. 

The door opened to a corridor. Pin threw a single needle, not even trying to hit his enemy but forcing him to duck behind the door frame. He then ran along the corridor, skidding into a turn as his hooves lost footing on the wooden floor, shouts and sound of pursuit behind him.

Finally he burst through another door, ending up in an alley. He ran right, taking the longer route that would take him away from the way he had come there. He took another turn, taking a second to focus his magic and pull a large trash bin behind him, blocking the way. A deep red beam from the enemy’s horn zipped past his ear, hitting a wall and causing an explosion of sparks. It was a stun spell only, but Pin knew he would be done for if he let himself be caught.

How many are there? he thought, shaking the custard off his face. As if to answer there was a shout high above him and then a roar in front. He skidded to a halt as he saw a black bull blocking his way. The massive creature had a gold nose ring and was wearing a fedora just like his.

“I don’t have time for this,” grumbled Pin under his breath, before charging straight at the bull. The huge thug grinned, lowering his horns. Pin waited till the last moment before pouncing, kicking down with his front hooves against the bull’s head. Even as the hat crumpled under his horseshoes, he felt the heavy head jerking upwards, the tips of the horns scratching against his barrel as the move added to his own momentum, launching him over the bull’s head. He flew clear over him and landed with a heavy thud, his back protesting as he forced himself to roll back to his hooves, a shout of a pursuing pegasus still above him. Fortunately, the bull was too big to easily turn in the narrow alley. Pin kept running until he emerged into a busy street, hoping his pursuers would not attack him in plain sight.

As he tried his best to disappear into the crowd he saw several ponies giving him odd looks. As soon as he finished catching his breath, he pulled out a hanky and started wiping the custard off his face. Still his appearance betrayed the recent struggle; his hat was stained white, his long coat covered with dust from the shop and dirty from his landing in the alley. He could feel several bruises already forming from the multiple impacts he’d suffered and there was something warm trickling across his withers, thankfully covered by the collar.

Ugh… that guy who rammed into me must’ve had a hoofblade. Good thing he missed the neck…I need to get that patched up.

Stopping in front of a news stand, Pin considered his options.

The nearest safe house is four blocks from here. I should get there with little trouble... I think I can stitch that myself… Eyeglass is probably dead. Also, they were waiting for me… one, two, I think the unicorn was the one I hit with the door. That makes five of them. And they tried to kill me, not catch me. Blinded me and went straight for the throat… didn’t they know who I am? Or did they not care? Perhaps they thought they didn’t need to ask me any questions… They already know all they need.

Pin looked up and around himself. Was he being watched? If the enemy knew of his every move then the safe house could be another trap. Perhaps he should take a longer route to a different destination? 

As his quick search didn’t result in finding any enemies, Pin relaxed slightly. Around him the ponies continued going about their business, too absorbed in whatever they were doing to notice the oddities of his looks. As he turned to move away, Pin looked along the street and sighed. 

I’ve spent weeks watching every shadow, fighting for my life and they… just walk around as if nothing has happened. Perhaps I got it all wrong… would it be better to be like one of them, blind to all the evil that keeps happening? Don’t they all read newspapers, or what?

Touched with a sudden thought, he turned around and faced the news stand.

***

“Nothing.”

Pin was sitting in a secluded corner of a pub, opposite a scared-looking white unicorn. His clothes had been hastily cleaned, but there was still a rip under his collar and an edge of a bandage could be seen peeking over it. He looked down on the newspapers spread over the table.

“Sports. Upper crust gossip. A new airship built. Musical reviews. And nothing about the dead griffon thrown through the penthouse window of Sunny Side hotel. Or anything else that has happened recently. Just what is going on here, Pencil Pusher? Can you tell me?”

The other unicorn seemed to shrink in his seat. “We… don’t know either. The boss wanted an article on that ever since that Swallow Chaser guy got attacked… but…”

Pin leaned closer. “But what? It’s been weeks since then.”

“Well…” said Pencil Pusher, wiping his brow. “Some notes got misplaced, then photos. The boss got angry. A couple guys got fired. I tried to stay out of it… I thought it was you guys’ doing. Then there was this fight in the street, but the police didn’t let us see anything interesting. And then, when this hotel business happened…”

He paused, looking around the pub to make sure nopony was listening.

“The whole, ready article disappeared. And then, the boss came back from his office, all shaken. He told us to stop looking and make something else quickly instead. He hasn’t sent anypony on the topic since then.”

“Did he have visitors?” asked Pin, his eyes narrowing. “An elderly unicorn stallion perhaps?”

“No,” said Pencil Pusher. “Nopony came in and nopony got out. But… I talked to his secretary later that evening. She said there was a bag of bits on the boss’ desk, and a letter. She didn’t get to see what was in it.”

For a moment the table was silent, Pin absorbing the information. Finally he breathed out slowly. “And the papers I wanted from you? Have you got them?”

The unicorn stared at him for a moment before catching himself and hastily reaching into his bags. “Oh, yes, yes, there you are. It took me four days to find and copy everything without anypony noticing…” He looked up at Pin. “You do have the bits?”

Pin shook his head in bemusement before reaching for a bag of coins. “Of course I do. There you go. Now go. We’ve never seen each other.” 

***

Pin knocked on the door and waited.

“Enter,” called 8-ball’s voice from the inside.

Opening the door Pin entered a small office. 8-ball was standing near the desk, a glass of cider standing on the desktop beside him.

The earth pony turned towards him. He was already free of the bandages, but he looked tired, as if the last weeks aged him. “Afternoon, Pin. Take a seat. Or not. Celestia, I hate this office. I’ll be back to the hotel as soon as we can do it safely. I heard the renovation crew has done some extra quick job?”

“Unicorn magic to clean things up, pegasi air transport and earth pony craft,” said Pin, smiling faintly. “It will be good to live in by tomorrow. But that’s not what I’m here to report, sir. I think I found it.”

At that 8-ball raised an eyebrow, his usual energy instantly starting to return. “Oh? Please do tell.”

Pin approached the desk and put a stack of paper on top of it, starting with a map of Manehattan, various shapes marked on it in red and blue. 

“I have spent the last weeks tracking their movements. This is the list of hideouts I managed to compile. And this is where the officers we were looking for would usually appear,” he said, levitating a needle to point at several locations in turn.

8-ball nodded. “They surround the industrial district, the Candies’ traditional seat of power. But Lighter already searched there. Their old factory is abandoned… or did he mess up?”

Pin smiled. “I don’t think he did. Because the factory isn’t there. Between me and Smarts, we have friends everywhere. I’ve been calling in some favours, getting information from various…”

“Get to the point, will you?” interrupted 8-ball impatiently.

Pin smiled sheepishly. “Of course, of course. Here,” he pointed his needle at the map. “An old building recently bought through an affiliated third party. They thought they could hide it and nearly did. I only found out when I had enough papers to cross-reference.”

8-ball’s other eyebrow went up his forehead. “That’s… just opposite their old place.”

“Convenient, isn’t it?” said Pin, putting the needle back inside his coat. “They can keep everything going by the same routes without much disruption, they have a decoy right at their front door and a good vantage point to see if anypony’s snooping about.” 

8-ball fell silent, staring at the map, the gears in his head turning. Finally he smiled. “You’re right. You did find it. Now we can deal them a blow that will decide this war…” he suddenly paused, his smile disappearing.

Pin looked at him. “Except we need a way to get this done without walking straight into an ambush and we still haven’t figured out...”

“Who the traitor is,” finished 8-ball. “Much as I’d like Squall to be wrong, the evidence is overwhelming. There is somepony telling them where we’re going and where best to strike us. We were incredibly lucky they didn’t get you last time. Or Lighter.”

“He was attacked?” asked Pin.

“Right at the door of Jam’s pub. A hidden blade for a passerby. Good thing he had a heavy wallet. It stopped the blade.” 8-bit smirked for a moment, but then looked at Pin with a somber expression. “We can’t afford to wait. And we can’t afford half-measures either. We don’t know how well defended it is. We’ll call the boys without telling them the purpose and then go for the attack.”

Pin stared back at him in surprise. “With a turncoat among our ranks?” 

8-ball’s jaw clenched. “We have no choice. This is the best we can do. He’ll have no time to warn them. That means, he will either reveal himself during the fight or, if we strike hard enough, pretend to be loyal in hope of ending with the winners. Then we can fish him out later.”

Pin walked around the office, turning back to 8-ball just in time to see him empty the glass of cider with a single swig. “You do know if he shows his true colors, it’s your back he will stab first?”

8-ball put the empty glass on the desk. “Mine or Squall’s. I’m the leader, but he’s our best brawler. Despite all the fights he’s been through the Candies haven’t as much as scratched him yet. If they can take him out, our boys might start breaking.”

Pin looked at him for a moment, then sighed heavily. “Ok, this is crazy. But I get that we have no better options. What do you want me to do?”

“Send the kids with orders to everypony tomorrow evening, tell them to go to northern warehouse, no other explanation. Then I want you to watch my back, obviously.”

“And what about… the other force?” asked Pin suddenly.

8-ball grabbed a bottle with his teeth and poured himself another glass of cider. “The other force? Oh, right. You mean whoever is scaring the newspapers into keeping a lid on the whole mess?”

“Yes,” said Pin. “We still don’t know who it is, but they seem to know more about us than they should and we don’t know how much influence they have. I don’t like the idea of any additional surprises.”

The older gangster smiled. “There shouldn’t be any. There are lots of ponies who would like to stop the story from becoming public.It’s bad for business, you see. Manehattan, the city of wonders. Come for our tourist attractions, stay with a knife in the back? How would that sound? What is happening is not at all surprising. But scary as it might seem… if it were as you fear, they’d have already taken action. If they haven’t, that means they’re not going to. You think the cops don’t know who is really fighting? But it’s the same for them. This war will blow over and then it will be back to business as usual. It may be a matter of life and death for us, but in the scope of the city? It doesn’t matter who rules Manehattan. There is always one gang or another. No point getting your hooves dirty trying to change that.”

***

Pin opened the warehouse side door, letting Swirl inside. 

He had spent two hours already, waiting with 8-ball for the others to show up. The first was Squall with Thundercloud and Lightning Bolt, their wings bringing them to the warehouse a good half an hour before their ground-bound companions. This was fortunate, as Squall reiterated Pin’s doubts for the plan in much less polite manner. The next member of the Pool, Mallet, arrived just after 8-ball and Squall finished butting heads. 

Since then, three more gang members arrived: Fish and Chip, the former still unable to fly from the wing injury, and now Swirl. 8-ball would introduce them to the plan as they arrived, repeating himself over and over in the process. Pin tuned him out and started to mentally count those present.

Squall’s boys are here… me and the boss, Fish and Chip, Swirl… Golf Club’s still in hospital… That leaves… Lighter and Smarts. There aren’t many of us left… I hope we will be able to pull this off.

For the fifth time this evening he let his magic flow through the coat he was wearing, checking the position of every needle and knife he had prepared. He didn’t want to weigh himself down with saddle bags, but now it seemed like it was almost the same . He even had a length of pipe in case he needed to apply some blunt trauma at range. 

None of the others was so heavily armed. Since the order didn’t call for any weapons, they came armed only with their usual stuff and were only now picking extra gear from the contents of the warehouse. There were some knives to wield in the mouth, a pipe or a club and various variations of hoofblades. 8-ball was actually wearing a piece of chainmail under his vest - while most fighters would go for the throat, protecting the upper chest from a surprise stab could be worth the extra weight. Swirl took no weapons beyond his heavy horseshoes. He didn’t really need to either, he was second in strength only to Chip and his bite was quite infamous among the local brawlers.

A soft knock on the door pulled Pin out of his musings. He opened the eye slit. At first he didn’t see anypony. He instinctively moved his face away in case somepony tries to stab his eye through the slit, but nothing happened. It was only a moment later that he heard a timid voice from below.

“A message to Mr Pin…”

Sighing, he unbolted the door and opened them a bit. There was a small earth pony, a chocolate flaxen blank in a red baseball cap. a set of bags thrown over his back.

“What are you doing here so late?” asked Pin. The colt wasn’t wearing the Sunny Side colors and either way neither side had yet stooped to harming children, but still Pin didn’t think it was entirely safe for a kid to roam that part of the city past sunset.

The colt looked up at him. “Mr Smarts sent me with a message.”

This made Pin pause for a second. “Wait a minute… you’re the one I sent to him. With a message to come here immediately. Why isn’t he here yet?”

He didn’t raise his voice much, but just the change in his expression was enough to startle the boy.

“I don’t know, I’m just a messenger,” he said. Then he stared at Pin expectantly.

The unicorn shook his head. “Ok, what is the message?”

“He said…” the colt focused to remember. “It will be the one that knows.”

“Why would he play puzzles at such a moment… Is that all he said?”

The colt turned around, reaching for his bags. “He also said to give you those.” He retrieved a folded pair of sunglasses. As soon as Pin freed his mouth by grabbing the glasses with telekinesis, he added, “He said they’re for you, cause he knows you always wanted to have them.”

Pin looked at the glasses in confusion before putting them in the inner chest pocket of his coat. “Did you know where he is now?” he asked.

“Nope. He ran somewhere as soon as he was done talking to me,” said the colt.

“Ok, kid,” said Pin. “Here’s your bit. No go back home and get some sleep.”

He shut the door and slowly returned to the warehouse proper. The one who knows… what is the meaning of this…

“Who was that? asked Squall immediately, turning away from the discussion he was having with Fish.

“Chocolate Muffins,” answered Pin. “He brought me a report from… one of my informers,” he said, almost biting his tongue at the last moment. He could only imagine Squall’s reaction to the news that Smarts wasn’t coming. And it would likely be Muffins to bear the brunt of the pegasus’ anger.

“We can wait no longer,” said Squall turning towards the warehouse. “It’s time we moved.”

“We don’t have everypony yet,” said Mallet. “Shouldn’t we wait for them?”

“They all received the message, didn’t they?” answered Squall. “If they’re not here right now, then either the Candies got them first, or they’re not trustworthy. The longer we wait, the lower our chances of catching the enemy by surprise.”

8-ball rose from his seat. “What do you think, Fish, Pin?”

“He’s right, boss,” answered Pin. “We really can’t afford to wait any longer.”

“No argument here,” added Fish.

“Then it’s decided,” said 8-ball. “We’re moving out. “Squall, you take your boys and cover us from the air. Chip, Swirl, you take front. Pin, rearguard. The rest with me.”

Pin knew what it meant. He wasn’t really there to guard the rear, but to have a clear view of everypony else. He walked behind the rest of the group, trying to stay focused on observation despite the thoughts rushing through his head.

If it’s one of Squall’s boys, we’ll know soon… no. If it was one of them, they’d have set Squall up to die long ago. So, somepony on the ground. If any of them moves against the boss, I’ll have a split second to take him down. Smarts… what did you mean? Or perhaps… he left me the glasses. Could he be running away? No. He wouldn’t know we’re going to battle. Unless… Could he have been the traitor all along? No, it’s not like him. But if he were… I’d be watching my gang walk into a trap and say nothing. Should I… 

At this moment the group started crossing the street and Pin was rapidly reminded what he was supposed to be doing. They were already in the industrial part of the city. That meant the streets were almost empty at this hour - except for a few businesses working night shifts, the surrounding buildings were cold and dark, only a lonely light here and there marking the presence of a night guard. As Thundercloud lowered his flight to give them a warning, the whole group hugged the nearest wall, avoiding the lights of the sparse street lamps until a lonely police patrol passed the nearest crossing.

So far, so good… No enemies in sight, it seems…

A pegasus flew overhead and Pin recognised Squall’s light coat. He made a single gesture with his wing before turning around - there was somepony approaching from the left on the next intersection.

The team scattered, hiding in the shadows, all listening to the sound of approaching hooves. It was a single pony. He slowed down as he approached the intersection, finally stopping in the very middle, looking around nervously. Pin recognized the chubby silhouette just as Squall dove down towards it.

“Lighter! What are you doing here?” The pegasus hissed loudly. 

The others started emerging from their hiding spots, approaching the unicorn. 

Lighter looked up at Squall. “What do you mean, what I’m doing here? This is where I was supposed to meet you guys!”

Confused stares followed. 8-ball was the first to regain his composure. “You were supposed to meet us at the northern warehouse. It was an hour ago. We didn’t tell anypony we were going here.”

The pudgy unicorn stared at his boss. “The kid you sent to me told me to come here. He said you’d discovered where the Candies are making pixie dust and you’ll be coming to strike at them…” he paused, looking at his comrades eyes widening in surprise.

“We didn’t send that message,” growled Squall. “It was supposed to be a secret. Nopony was supposed to know until the last moment. Who was the messanger?”

Lighter squinted. “One of the hotel kids. A pegasus… lilac with blue mane?”

“Sea Foam,” said Pin. “That’s who I sent. But that’s not the message he was supposed to give. Somepony’s playing with us.”

“Well, out of the guys we have left, there is only one who isn’t here, is he?” said Squall, looking around angrily. The rest followed suit, all except 8-ball, who looked towards Squall instead. 

“And what would he have gained by getting Lighter fashionably late like that?” he said with a smirk. 

Squall stopped, his anger suddenly halted as he couldn’t find an answer to the question. Finally he landed, stomping angrily into the ground. “We’ll ask him when we find him. And Sea Foam too. But whatever the answer, this mission is a failure. They know we’re coming.”

“It seems so,” said Pin, walking into the center of the group. “We tried to keep it a secret until we were ready, but somepony knew in advance. That means the Candies got a warning as soon as the orders were received. If Lighter hadn’t received different orders, we’d have walked straight into a trap.”

“So… asked Mallet shaking his head… what’s really going on?”

“Good question,” said Pin. “I think Lighter here has been set up as a distraction. But also I’m beginning to notice some pieces I overlooked before.”

The one that knows… You've set him up, Smarts. You somehow learned what we were doing and tricked him into coming here. But why? Is he really the traitor? If so, why didn’t you just tell me?

Nine pairs of ears turned towards Pin with interest. He paused for a moment before looking at Lighter. “Let’s throw accusations for a moment, the way Squall so likes to do. Lighter, you were the one responsible for gathering intelligence on the industrial district. You didn’t find the factory, that’s understandable. You didn’t have the best ponies to work with.”

He was answered by a lone chuckle among the group. All of the ponies assigned to Lighter had since deserted the Pool.

“But that means nopony thinks twice about you doing stuff so close to the enemy territory. You’re just doing your job.”

Lighter seemed to grow slightly, his face turning red. “Are you going anywhere with this?” he asked.

“Yes, Pin, are you going anywhere with this?” asked Squall. “He’s fought at our side.”

“And been completely ineffective, if I remember, right up to the point where the tide of battle turned and we got close to capturing an important enemy, whose knowledge could have won us the war right then and there - then he shot him dead in an instant.”

Lighter was now entirely red. He actually looked like he was about to catch fire. “It was an accident!” he shouted.

“Yes, it was. Unless you knew the guy well enough to know what he’d carry in his pockets,” answered Pin.

8-ball looked from one of his officers to the other. “Wrap was an actual Candy, a family member. You really think he’d kill him if he were a spy?”

Pin looked at his boss. “Who knows? Candy isn’t famous for being a lenient boss. And Candy Wrap was supposed to ambush us and totally underestimated his opponents. You really think he would have lived long if he allowed to get himself captured?

“And finally,” continued Pin “the day the hotel was attacked. I met you in the lobby just hours before. You warned me not to bother the boss. And then, after the attack, you were the last to show up. You knew 8-ball and Squall had an argument. Nopony would go upstairs without a good reason. And no pegasi to guard the penthouse from an aerial attack. When I asked Smarts afterwards, he told me he was close to discovering the traitor. He wasn’t in the shape to do it then, his personal life left him quite distraught… but strong perfumes can be tracked by smell many hours longer than a pony smell could.”

For a moment there was silence. Pin smiled smugly towards Lighter, all the while hoping fervently that he was right, that Smarts had really done his job and that he had read all the clues correctly. 

Then Lighter’s eyes widened. “Rosie… the sow…”

The others formed a half circle around him, drawing weapons. Lighter stepped back, considering his chances, his horn starting to glow. It must have been obvious to him that he would not be able to outrun pegasi pursuers in an empty street. Pin’s smile became genuine, his bluff paying off in full.

8-ball spat his club out, grabbing it awkwardly with his front leg to free his mouth to speak. “You are my oldest officer, Lighter. Why did you do that? Did you think the Candies would pay you better? That you’d get a better position? You think Candy would put a turncoat above her family?”

Lighter slowly went from red to pale, the gravity of his situation sinking in with 8-ball’s words. His moustache twitched as he tried to formulate a response.

Then there was a sound of multiple hooves on the cobbled street, the Pool members too absorbed with the situation to notice them in time. From the dark sky above the light of the street lamps Candy Floss dove down, flanked by a trio of gryphons. 

Lighter grinned wildly, his horn charging for a shot.

“What can I say? I really like my sweets.”
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within seconds everything was chaos. Pin caught sight of Squall leaping into the air, narrowly avoiding the two gryphons falling down on him, he heard a scream from Lightning Bolt when the third gryphon landed on his back. Instinctively he pushed to the right and into 8-ball, taking him out of the way of Lighter’s shot. The orange stream of magic missed his face by inches, setting his fedora on fire.

Rolling over 8-ball, Pin landed back on his legs. He shook the burning hat off his head, then shot a needle at Lighter, but the chubby unicorn was already moving backwards, looking for some cover to shoot from - the needle caught him in the shoulder, but failed to do much lasting damage. 

Just great, Pin! he thought angrily. So smart of you to start a scene in the middle of enemy turf!

He saw a shadow above; Cotton Candy had been attacking with the gryphons, but Lighter’s shot got in her way. She was now hovering above 8-ball, waiting for another opportunity. There was a long blade attached to the cannon of her right front leg, too long to walk with but great for stabbing with all her weight if she could fall down on her prey. Pin shot a needle at her, hoping to bring her down to the ground, but she swatted the projectile aside with her wing. She was about to dive down at Pin when a gryphon sent flying by Squall’s kick collided with her side. Pin tried to use the opening, but just then Lighter shot at him, forcing him to duck. 

All around, ponies struggled with one another. 8-ball had managed to recover his club and was now teaming up with Fish, trying to get a large black gryphon off Lightning Bolt’s back. Swirl rolled by, blinded by custard and wrestling with a dark earth pony, his teeth clamped hard on his enemy’s ear. Chip was on his rear legs, exchanging vicious blows with an enemy zebra. Thunderbolt flew towards an enemy unicorn, but got hit at the last moment, the concussive blast of force sending him flying across the battlefield. The unicorn focused for another shot, but that made him a standing target for a second - Pin put an end to his casting by sending a long needle through the pony’s eye.

There aren’t that many of them, we just need to organize.

Pin pulled out a knife and swung it across the side of an earth pony Mallet was fighting with. There wasn’t much force behind the blow, but the pain proved enough of a distraction; the pony flinched away and turned, too late realising that this set him up for a croquet mallet to the face. Turning his attention up, Pin saw Squall trying to fight two gryphons at once. However, after the initial successful kick, he couldn’t land another one, the two predators covering each other while taking quick swipes at the pegasus, hoping to get him tired in a war of attrition. Pin threw the knife, catching the wing of one of the griffons. As the thug swayed in the air, Squall grabbed his other wing in his teeth and spun him around, before slamming him like an oversized sap into his companion. 

Pin returned his attention to the ground. The tide of the fight seemed to be turning. The unicorn turned around, trying to find the most pressing target. He was about to take care of Lighter, when suddenly he saw Candy Floss staring at him. The pegasus was standing over Thunder Cloud, her blade red with his blood. Pin had just enough time to register that she must have struck while Thunder Cloud was still incapacitated from the shot he took, when Candy Floss pounced at him. She flew straight at him at ground level, the blade on her leg set to go straight through his heart.

Pin shot a needle. It went through her ear, but she didn’t even seem to notice. He started a dodge, but wasn’t quick enough, only managing to shift slightly to the left. They collided and he fell backwards, the blade sliding off-centre with a grinding noise and tearing a bleeding gash under his left foreleg. Candy Floss landed on top of and face to face with him. She grinned at him, all the while struggling to free her blade from his coat. “This time I’ ve got you, Pin!”

“No,” he grunted, struggling with his hooves to keep her blade trapped, his magic searching frantically for something to use as a weapon. Sudden pain of rolling over something metallic told him that the tear in his coat had caused him to drop some things from his pockets. This particular item was a pipe. Pin shifted and bit into Candy Floss’ shoulder, preventing her from pulling away. Then his magic swung the pipe, slamming it into her temple. Repeatedly. For a moment there was nothing else, just her angry screams and swatting wings and the rhythmic thumping of metal against bone, until suddenly Pin realised that the latter was the only sound left.

With a grunt of pain, he rolled over, pushing the body off him. Around him the night was growing silent again. He could see Chip standing over him. He too was grunting with pain, but he could stand on his own. Not everypony was so lucky.

As he got up, instantly dropping the bloodied pipe to reach for a roll of bandages, Pin was welcomed by a rather sorry sight. Of all the Pool, only Mallet, Squall and Fish didn’t seem to have any fresh injuries. 8-ball was leaning against Fish, his eyes slightly misty and his neck red from the chin to the collar, where a griffon’s claws had caught him. Swirl and Chip bore various cuts from their enemies’ weapons. Lightning Bolt and Thundercloud did not move, sprawled among the other bodies littering the street. Pin took only a moment to examine them and confirm his fears before moving to ensure that his boss would see another day. 

Squall had been standing over the body of Lighter. He flew up to get a better look of the situation before landing in the middle of the group. 

“We need to get out of here, fast,” he said. “We were lucky there were only so many of them. We won’t get lucky again.”

“No,” said Pin, turning away from 8-ball and pulling off his coat to see to his injury now. “Luck has nothing to do with it. Look at them.” He pointed around the crossing. “Gryphon, gryphon, gryphon, zebra. Only three ponies among them and only one actual Candy. Their main force is elsewhere. These guys were just here to hide and close the trap behind us. They moved when it turned out we would not go further. Floss must have gotten impatient. The rest of the gang is probably waiting at the factory to make sure we don’t get past them to destroy it. They wouldn’t abandon it to pursue us, unless they’re sure they can get us all…”

Pin paused, staring into space. 

They moved there as soon as they were warned we’re coming. Because Lighter told them. Smarts, you…

The night was suddenly illuminated by a pillar of lilac flame. Everypony turned to look at it, staring as the flame rose and then faded.

Pin was the first to regain control. “Squall!” he barked. “Get the boss out of here. Go to the hotel.”

He threw the coat over his freshly bandaged chest, wincing as several needles fell out of the pierced pocket. “I’ll go and see what’s happened.” He then ran down the street, ignoring the pain of his injury, leaving the baffled Squall behind.

***

The factory building looked like a warzone. The brick structure had little that could still burn once the initial inferno subsided, but the blast had shattered all the windows, covering the courtyard with broken glass. Pin looked around, searching for enemies. He had already seen several ponies moving around the block, but they were mostly security guards from neighbouring businesses, now running frantically to make sure no burning debris landed among the property they were guarding. The fire brigade hadn’t arrived yet, though Pin suspected they’d be here any minute. 

This left the possibility of Candies waiting in the courtyard. Pin almost expected one to jump out at him screaming, but nothing happened. Carefully, levitating a single needle to defend himself with, he trotted towards the gate. It was half-opened and obviously charred from the inside. Holding his breath, Pin poked his head inside. He instantly regretted the decision. 

It took him a moment to calm his breath. Once he could focus again, he pulled the door open, releasing some of the smoke. Then braced himself and walked inside. 

Whatever had been standing in the main hall before turned into unrecognizable mess of charred chunks. The other things were all too recognizable. Pin stumbled among the burned bodies, counting them and trying to take note of every unusual coloring or visible cutie mark. This explained the lack of guards outside. Nopony would like to be caught and forced to explain this kind of mess. Suddenly Pin stopped. He moved closer to the centre of the room, to one particular body. There was little left of it that wasn’t blackened, but the built suggested one significantly older than the others, and the few feathers that were left had an unmistakable bubblegum pink color.

“Yes, that’s Candy…” sounded a voice somewhere above Pin. The unicorn turned to see a familiar silhouette of an earth pony standing atop the nearby stairs. 

“We got her, Pin. The war is over,” said Smarts with a smile. Then he swayed and tumbled forward, falling all the way down before the surprised Pin could catch him.

“Smarts!” Pin ran towards the earth pony, almost stumbling over a body in the way. “Are you alright…” he shouted and just as he did he realized what stupid a question it was. There was a red trail marking Smarts’ way down the stairs, one that couldn’t possibly have resulted from the fall itself.

“Khe... “ coughed Smart’s weakly. He tried to get up, but was obviously failing and after a moment gave up with a shrug, slumping onto the floor. “Stupid ceiling window… I thought the blast wouldn’t reach that far…”

Pin crouched next to Smarts, trying to ascertain his injuries. The earth pony was covered with soot and small cuts, obviously not having been far enough from the explosion. The blood mixed with soot made both his fur and the coat he was wearing a smudged shade of brown. It was only when Pin lit up his horn to get more light that he found the source of the bleeding, two large pieces of glass stuck deep in the earth pony’s back. 

“Damn. Don’t move, Smarts,” he said, reaching for his medical supplies, only to realize that after patching up himself and 8-ball he had barely any left.

“Not enough bandages for that one… is it?” whispered Smarts from the ground.

“No,” answered Pin, shaking his head. “It’s not just the blood loss either. You need a real doctor, not me. I’ll just try to patch it up enough to get you to the hospital.”

“Don’t...bother,” said Smarts, turning his head to look up at Pin.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous,” said Pin, unrolling his last roll of bandage.

Smarts coughed feebly and a drop of blood appeared in the corner of his mouth. “I’ve been… leaking all over the place… I’m past the feeling cold thing… warm and fuzzy. And you’re injured. You can’t carry me…”

Pin tried to turn Squall around, before giving up and using a small knife to cut his coat open and get to the wound. He turned the bandage in the air, thinking of how to secure the shards and stop them from moving around. “There should be some paramedics with the fire brigade. They’ll be here any minute. Keep talking to me.”

Smarts tried to sigh at that, but instead just shook briefly. “As you wish… I’m… was just holding up to see who shows up… should’ve been Squall. I’m lucky it’s you…”

“Lucky?” Pin was trying to stop the bleeding, but even with the shards plugging the wounds, there was still more than he could block with what he had. It was also increasingly obvious to him that the bleeding was worse on the inside. He turned away from his work to look down on Smarts “How is that lucky!? What the hay were you thinking!?”

“I got in just fine… distracted the lab guy and set stuff to blow… but then they turned up early and I couldn’t get to the door… They’d find it… if they saw me.”

“You knew it was here… of course,” said Pin. “The dog could track the drugs too. Why didn’t I think of that… Why didn’t you just tell me? Why make the whole, idiotic ruse?”

“To impress… You wanted the war won so badly… I thought…”  Smarts continued whispering, but he made no efforts to turn his head anymore.

Pin stared down on him. “Impress!? What the… What the hay!? What’s the point of winning the war if you end up dead!?”

Smarts tried to chuckle, but only ended spitting more blood. “What’s… the point… of living… if you can’t be free?”

Pin froze, his eyes widening. He stood like this for good three seconds. Then he leaned in and punched Smarts in the face. “You asshole… You did this on purpose!”

Smarts didn’t even flinch or try to shield himself. “I didn’t…”

“You didn’t!?” Pin screamed, sudden tears welling in his eyes. ”How could you not!? How could you go with this absurd plan and expect to survive!? It was a suicide from the beginning! You can’t tell me you hoped your luck would save you from... all this!”

“I…” Smarts was talking so softly now, Pin had to stop shouting and lean closer to hear him “Didn’t come here to die… just… be free… I hoped… if I’m the big hero… you’d reconsider… but…”

“Your luck ran out at the last moment,” finished Pin.

“No…” said Smarts. “It never… failed me… but there are things… luck won’t solve… no matter how…” He had to stop for a moment, struggling for breath. “I came here… to be free… and… now I am… If that’s how it went… it just means… you’d never let me go.” 

Pin opened his mouth to say otherwise, but the words got stuck in his throat. Would I really? It’s a rule. Nopony leaves, ever. Could I make an exception if I were the boss like he said?

His train of thought stopped rapidly when he saw Smarts’ eyes - empty and unblinking. Swearing loudly, he pushed the earth pony, turning him to give him easy access to his barrell. He took a deep breath and pressed hard. He was answered by the sound of glass cracking. 

Swearing again, Pin slammed his head downwards, pressing it into Smarts’ motionless barrel. He stayed like this, shaking slightly, until the rumble of thunder above told him that the fire brigade had arrived with a storm cloud. 

***

Pin stopped at the door to a small house and knocked hard. Almost immediately the door opened, casting light from the inside on his silhouette. A white mare examined him from head to hoof. “Please come in. The boss is already here.”

Walking inside, Pin saw most  of the team in the waiting room. Only 8-ball and Squall were missing. The white mare returned to her work, helping them with smaller injuries. 

Pin looked around. “Where’s Squall?”

“Flew somewhere as soon as he left the boss with the doctor,” answered Mallet. The rest just nodded.

Pin turned towards the nurse. “8-ball?” he asked.

“The doctor is seeing him now,” answered the mare. 

Sighing, Pin took his coat off, putting it onto a hanger. Underneath his bandage was beginning to leak blood. It had held for a time, but the vigorous movement caused the bleeding to resume, and with no adrenaline left to make him oblivious to pain, Pin would squint each time he took a step.

The nurse started preparing to help him, but by the time she was finished, the door to the doctor’s office opened and out walked 8-ball. Behind him, the doctor said “Remember, you’re paying extra for night service. I should’ve been asleep for hours.”

8-ball stopped to turn and smile at him, only to freeze suddenly when he remembered his injured neck. “Yes, yes, I will,” he said softly before finally noticing Pin. Instantly his cheerful demeanour was gone. “Report,” he said. He was still whispering, as if afraid to move his throat too much. The nurse looked at the two of them and quickly left the waiting room.

“Smarts is dead,” answered Pin. 

There was a moment of awkward silence while 8-ball looked expectantly at Pin. 

Finally something clicked in Pin’s mind. “The factory blew up, killing Candy and her entire crew. There might be two or three Candies left in town. The rest are common thugs. They’ll follow whoever‘s the strongest,” he said.

“So,” said 8-ball. “The war is won then. That means we’ll have the police at the hotel again in the morning. Nothing we couldn’t handle.” He then saw the expression in Pin’s eyes and hesitated a little until his eyes flashed with understanding. “Ah… It’s sad we’ve lost Smarts though. Boys like him don’t appear everyday. Now, go to the doctor and come back to tell me everything once you’re stitched up.”

***

It was still the same night when they got to the hotel. Squall was walking around the lobby. “The little bastard is gone!” he barked towards the group as soon as they entered. “I’ve checked everywhere, but he just disappeared. I’ll bet Smarts had warned him not to show himself after he helped in his little stunt.”

“Smarts is dead,” said Pin. “He died blowing up the pixie dust lab. He killed Candy and most of her clan. The war is over.”

Squall stopped, gaping at Pin in silence. 8-ball pushed past, smiling at them both in turn. “Let us go to the penthouse. The lobby is not the right place for such talks.”

“We’ll have to find the kid anyway…” grumbled Squall under his breath, but he followed the others. What was left of the Pool could fit into the elevator. Though nopony said anything, it was obvious that none of them missed the fact.

Finally they arrived at the penthouse. Just as promised, it had been renovated on time,. Now the apartment bore no signs of the past struggle, except perhaps for being conspicuously empty; there was furniture, quite similar to what they used to have there. But there weren’t yet any signs that the apartment was lived in, all the little details that would give it life. It almost felt like decorations in a theatre. The ponies started taking off their coats, putting them on the hangers by the entrance.

8-ball walked through the room until he reached the new pool table. He walked around it, taking his usual spot at the far end. The rest approached, stopping on both sides of the table with Squall taking his place last, right opposite his boss.

“We have gathered here today,” started 8-ball, still speaking in whisper, “to celebrate our victory in the war as well as to celebrate the memory of the Pool members who died for it and to divide the duties anew for the time when we work to rebuild our strength.”

He was answered with a murmur of approval.

“As most of you already know, It was Pin who discovered the location of the enemy drug lab and the name of the spy in our ranks. He used this knowledge to get us our victory, misinforming the spy to lure the enemy force into the lab while his underling Smarts broke in there in secret to rig it to explode. It was a daring plan, dangerous and requiring utmost care to coordinate. It didn’t go without losses either, three of our number dying in battle this night. But in the end the battle that was supposed to be our end saw the Pool’s power reborn and its enemies crushed.

“For that, I’ve decided to nominate Pin as my official second in command.”

This time the murmur was louder. Pin saw everypony looking from 8-ball to him and back. He saw Squall’s jaw clench and made an effort to keep his from doing the same as he bowed his head to 8-ball. 

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” he said.

8-ball returned his nod before continuing. “You and Squall will now concentrate on recruitment. Find us some new talents to work with. You will also share Lighter’s work among each other for now. Fish, you’ll have to take care of the girls until we find a replacement for Smarts.”

“Yes, sir,” said Fish.

“Now, with that out of the way,” said 8-ball, “our fallen. We weren’t able to recover their bodies, but most of them received or will receive funerals nevertheless. Mallet, I know it’s not your job, but keep an eye on it and keep me informed. We will be there when the time is right. You’ve made a list of names, Fish?”

Fish produced a piece of paper and passed it in his mouth. 8-ball took it and straightened it on the table with his hooves. Then he started reading and after each name the ponies would stomp their hooves once. The list was long, but not overly so. Not everypony who worked for the Pool was a member - many were just hired thugs,  paid little, told less and not expected to be very loyal. This treatment was reserved for the family.

Pin allowed himself to be swallowed by the moment, faces flashing before his eyes as each name was read. It was sad, of course, but it made him feel like a part of the group, allowed him to forget, just for a moment, that he was playing a game with them at 8-ball’s request. 

Then the list reached the current date and the final three names. Pin felt Squall tense up at the names of his brothers in arms. Then the final name came, with all the weight behind it; the one who deserved to be here in his place, the one who didn’t deserve to be a part of this at all.

“Here,” said 8-ball, pushing a glass along the wooded rim of the table.

Pin caught it with his hoof mechanically, only now noticing that the speech had ended. Everypony was now holding glasses full of yellow liquid. The glasses rose into the air and after a moment everypony drank. 

Pin squinted at the taste, slightly more sour than he expected. “That’s not cider,” he said to 8-ball.

8-ball smiled. “No,” he said. “Orange juice. I was looking into expanding the menu at the hotel. We got a whole crate from the Oranges in the negotiations. I should visit them again after things calm down, to settle things. I heard they got a new kid at home, some niece or something. You think I should buy some toys for her when I pay them a visit?”

“No, I think you’ve done enough harm,” said an old raspy voice.

Everypony turned at once. The old, grey unicorn stallion was standing in the corner, beside the dartboard. There had been no flash of teleportation, no sound to herald his arrival; suddenly he was just standing there, looking over the room with disgust.

As one, everypony reached for weapons, with the exception of Pin, who found himself unarmed, his last needles left in the coat, and 8-ball, who tried to grab the pool cue and nearly tore the stitches on his neck.

Squall pounced forward, landing in front of the intruder with his wings wide, intent on keeping him in the corner. “Who are you!? What are you doing here!?” he growled.

The old stallion turned his gaze upon him slowly, almost lazily. “What I should have done weeks ago. I hoped some of you would prove better, but that’s as many second chances as I can give.”

Squall rushed forward, pushing the unicorn onto the wall and putting a hoof blade to his neck. 
“I asked you a question! Who are you!?”

The unicorn looked into his eyes calmly. “A monster like you. That’s one too many.”

And then he took a breath, exhaled and went limp, falling down like a ragdoll and cutting his neck on Squall’s blade as he fell.

Everypony stared in confusion. Squall prodded the body with a hoof. “He’s dead. What’s going on?”

He reflexively wiped the blade on the unicorn’s coat. Then he gasped and stumbled, his eyes widening.

“Move back!” shouted Pin. Everypony stepped away and towards the walls as Squall fell to his knees and then started thrashing on the floor, his mouth opened in a silent scream and his eyes rolling up in their sockets. 

Pin moved towards the coat rack, as quickly as he dared, shaking his coat to get the last couple of needles out. The rest just stared, not sure whether to try to help their comrade or to rush to the exit. 

“Hey!” shouted Swirl, pointing at Squall, his voice suddenly breaking as if he had seen a ghost. “L… look!”

Everypony’s eyes followed his pointing hoof. It took them a moment to realise what they were seeing; Squall’s rump was going blank, his cutie mark fading into nothing. As it disappeared completely, the pegasus’ body went limp.

“What’s... just happened?” asked Mallet.

Swirl kept pointing at the body, saying something frantically in his native language.

8-ball stepped from behind the table, but kept at a distance from the two bodies. “Nobody touch that. I don’t know what magic that was, but I don’t want to find out. Pin, go get me…”

He almost jumped when the body in front of him stirred to life. Squall opened his eyes and took a deep breath before rising up. He opened and closed his wings, and seemed to flex his muscles one by one, looking around with a slightly absent expression.

“Hey, Squall, you ok?” asked Mallet, walking closer. 

“No, don’t touch him!” shouted Swirl. “He’s a…”

Squall’s front leg lashed out in a quick jab and he blurred for a split second. Swirl’s words disappeared in a surprised gurgle as the striking hoof somehow connected with his neck, crushing the larynx.

Squall turned, his face now coldly focused, staring at 8-ball. Mallet tried to swing at him, but Squall just blurred again, the weapon passing through where he was supposed to be standing. Then he appeared right in front of 8-ball and a split second later a small drop of blood appeared out of nowhere in the air between them. As it splashed on the floor, 8-ball gasped and fell, clutching his chest.

The rest attacked all at once. Pin launched three needles, one after another. Squall dodged the first two with little effort. The third was about to hit him in the face, but disappeared as it touched him. Pin looked at Squall in confusion until he heard a body fell - Chip collapsed forward, the end of Pin’s needle visible through the short mane at the base of his skull.

That left Fish and Mallet. As they charged, Squall bucked with his both hind legs, blurring as he did. For a moment he seemed to be in two places at once; somehow his left leg and right leg managed to hit Mallet from opposite directions, one striking the right side of his neck while the other hit his face from the left. There was a soft crack and the earth pony fell like a rag doll. 

As Fish swung his hoof blade, Squall blocked, for the first time in the fight, swatting the attacking limb aside before it could reach him. Fish kept attacking with both front legs, but the other pegasus kept defending with an air of effortlessness, as if he was just rehearsing a well known choreography. Then he struck back at Fish, boxing his ears with his wings and then appearing above him, landing on his back and causing him to face-plant into the carpet. Before Fish could start getting up, a vicious punch hit the back of his neck, the edge of the horseshoe breaking the base of his skull.

Pin stood as though petrified. Even if he had any more needles, seeing one get used to kill Chip drained what remained of his will to fight. To his right, Swirl was just finishing choking to death. 8-ball was dying on the floor in the middle of the room, his eyes still opened wide in surprise. The others were dead already. Squall, or whatever he was now, slowly turned in his direction.

Pin’s shoulders slumped. “Do it,” he said, looking at the ground. “I deserve it.”

The pegasus tilted his head, his emotionless expression suddenly replaced with curiosity. 
“What did you say?” he asked.

Pin kept staring at the ground. “I said I deserve it. You know what happened, what I did. This is why you left me for last, didn’t you? ‘Cause I’m the most despicable of them?”

Seconds passed and the pegasus kept looking at him curiously. Finally, he asked, 
“So, you think feeling guilty can change anything?”

Pin shuddered. He expected a quick death, not moralizing. He looked Squall in the eyes. “No, I don’t think it can change anything. But it can stop more of the same from happening ever again.”

The pegasus smiled with sadness, his stance relaxing. “You’re so wrong, it’s almost funny.”

He folded his wings and stepped back, then looked around the room. One after another, the bodies started disappearing. To his surprise Pin realised that for all its apparent viciousness, the attack had spilled only a few drops of blood. Within seconds the room looked as if the fight had never taken place, the only two ponies left being Pin and whatever Squall was now. 

“You know,” said the pegasus, “if he tried to just run away with his girl, I would have helped them disappear. But I can’t make smart choices for everypony. I’ve seen how that works too. Nothing ever changes. That’s why it’s true, I do despise you. You remind me of my own youth, of what I did while trying to fix the world. But even though it never works, we are compelled to keep trying, aren’t we?” The voice was Squall’s, but not the manner of speech. It was still hard, but much calmer in a way that made the pegasus seem very old.

“Get to the point,” said Pin through clenched teeth.

“Well, if death is your idea of atoning for your deeds, you can do it in a more productive way,” said the pegasus matter-of-factly. He was now standing next to the pool table, a box of pigments that hadn’t been there before standing on the table top. The pegasus looked at the box with focus and Pin could see dots of color appearing on his rump, slowly forming the pattern of a cutie mark, a black storm cloud with yellow lightning across it.

“What do you mean?” asked Pin.

“Serve me,” answered the pegasus. “There are days when even I can’t be in enough places at once. You can make yourself useful. I promise, you will die at the end.”

Pin stared at him. “You’re crazy. Who are you really?”

The pegasus walked up to him, the box of pigments disappearing to wherever it had come from. “I’m the one who’s left to clean up the mess whenever her Celestial Majesty messes up, making sure her clockwork realm keeps working, while staying out of her sight. Have you never looked upon the ponies in the streets, the houses in the clouds, colorful flowers and cheerful faces and thought: Wait, all this beautiful fairy tale, it can’t be real if there are guys like me? Well, I’m the one who makes it possible. So, are you in? Or would you rather die now and call it a day?”

It wasn’t so much the message, but the tone it was spoken in that caused Pin to slump to the floor. He was shaking, his stomach squeezing painfully at the passing adrenaline rush. His mind was still racing, trying to make sense of what was happening around him. All the while the other pony just stood there, looking at him with a curious expression.

Pin didn’t know how much time passed before he finally picked himself up. “I… I’ll try my best,” he said.

The pegasus smiled. “Ok then. We can go when you’re ready. No need to pack, unless there’s something you want.”

Pin looked around the room. He briefly considered walking to his apartment, but discarded the idea. He then moved towards the coat rack. 

The events of the night had costed him most of his needles, making holsters useless. Either way his coat was torn and bloodied; Pin’s brief cleaning effort at the doctor’s home didn’t even get rid of all the soot. 

Looking through other coats, he took the one that was the least damaged, then he took the bits he could find from the others. 

As he was turning to tell his new boss he was ready, Pin was touched with a sudden thought. He reached to his own coat for the sunglasses. After a moment of fumbling he found them in his left inner pocket, the last item that didn’t fall out after Candy Floss’ blade ripped through it. He was about to put them on when he realized that they were damaged, one glass shattered and missing. He made a gesture to throw them away before stopping himself, folding them gently and putting into his pocket.

“I’m ready,” he said.

The pegasus emptied the rest of the coat rack, then put a hoof on Pin’s shoulder. “Good. Now, don’t resist, unless you want me to drop you half way there.”

Pin felt something surrounding him, something that felt nothing like his own magic. There was a brief moment of overwhelming wrongness and then the penthouse disappeared.