> MAFIA: Manticore Prime City
>  by TwinSwords79
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1: Let's Start At The Beginning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Prime City International Airport


The sounds of airplanes taking off and landing filled the atmosphere in the big town of Manticore Prime City. Everyone was smiling and hugging each other after they came back from long journeys or are visiting from far away.

A particular purple 23-year-old dragon came off of a plane with a suitcase, Spike Dragan, An average college student who left Manticore to go get his education in another state. He wore an open light brown leather jacket, a white t-shirt, black cargo pants, and brown work boots.

After shielding his face from the shining sun that glistened his scales, he examined the surroundings of the airport. He noticed that apparently, his flight picked a special day, he saw ponies, griffins, and other dragons running up to other passengers and hugging them very tightly, maybe because the huge civil war finally came to an end.

There was a lot of bloodshed that happened in the war zone, Spike read about it in the local paper or watched the news while eating his dinner. His twin-sister Barbara was involved in the war too, she was discharged after she got shot in the chest, but she survived.

Spike walked past security with his suitcase and hailed a cab to go to Barb's house to meet her, hopefully, she'd let him stay with her for a little while before he gets a place of his own.







[A Few Minutes Later] - Barbara's House


Spike walked in through the door and sure enough, his sister was waiting for him. 

"Spikey!" yelled Barb, running over to him and bringing him into a tight hug, Spike slightly blushed a little, considering his sis was wearing her undergarments and her tight hug was making her D-cups squish onto his chest.

"Barb, it's good to see you again," Spike said with a smile. "Maybe you can put some clothes on?"

Barb let go of her brother. "Hey, it's 98 degrees outside and the A/C is not working so well.... in fact, I'm surprised you're wearing your jacket!"

"But uh, you know we're cold-blooded, right? We don't need A/C to stay cool." Spike picked up his suitcase again and walked into the living room, sitting down on a couch, Barb continued the conversation.

"You always question things, brother...I thought college would straighten you out a little."

"Sadly it didn't..." Spike replied with a slight smirk, he looked around the house and saw everything was neatly put away. "So, uh...Sis."

"Yeah?" 

"I was just wondering...could I maybe stay here before I could afford my place?"

Barb beamed a little. "Of course! I would be glad to have you stay here." 

Spike smiled. "Thank-"

Barb cut him off a little. "But....you need a job."

"A job?"

"Yeah, I'm happy you're gonna stay here but I want you to get a job, I don't want to live with a bum, Spikey."

"What kind of job?"

Barb sat down in a chair near the sofa. "Any job, as long as you're working I wouldn't mind."

"Alright..." Spike sat up and slightly stretched. "I'll go look around town and see what I can find."

"Alright, come back fast, OK?"

Spike went to the door and opened it but before he went out he turned his head and spoke with a smirk. "OK, 'Mom' "







[30 Minutes Later] - Streets of Manticore


Spike looked around town looking for a job he can have, but every place he went into he was turned down because he was a dragon, "Only ponies can work here" they usually said. 

He kept looking around then noticed a taxi co. building near him, luckily on the door, it said: "Drivers Wanted". Spike began to think, he knew he wouldn't get that much but at least he'll be making decent money until he finds a better job. 

The purple dragon walks into the small building and was greeted by a yellow pegasus mare with a black mane, she was wearing some type of office worker attire. 

She looked at him with a smile. "Hello sir, I'm Yellow Cab, how may I help you?"

"Yellow Cab?" Spike thought. "That's either a coincidence that's her name and she works here or it's on purpose...Either way, it's funny."

Spike sat down in a chair opposite her desk. "Um, yeah. I saw you had a 'Drivers Wanted' sign on the door, I was wondering if I could get a job here."

"Ah, OK..." She took out an application paper and put it on her desk in front of Spike along with a pen."Sign these, please."

Spike signed everything on the application and gave it to the mare who looked it over. "Spike Dragan, huh?"

"Yeah, that's me."

Yellow Cab nodded and began to put Spike's info onto her computer. "Do you have any identification, Mr. Dragan?"

"Yeah." Spike searched his pocket and took out his I.D. and Driver's License and placed them on the desk. "Here."

"Thanks." Yellow looked at both of his I.D.s and nodded. "OK then, that's everything, I'll give you a car and you can start right away."

"Thank you so much," Spike said with a big smile on his face.





Spike started working the next day immediately; Barb was thrilled that he got a job when he got home. Spike was car number 13, he's gotten a lot of passengers and took them all to their respective destinations for 10 bits a week.

After a few weeks of working, Spike stopped his Cab one day and got on his Taxi dispatch radio. "This is Spike Dragan, Car 13, I'm going on my break."

"OK, Be back on the road in an hour." Yellow Cab responded from the radio. 

Spike placed the radio down and got out, leaning on his car he took out a plastic bag full of colorful gems and he began to eat. He thought about his life as a cab driver, he just had to drive around town at a plodding pace considering going over 40 miles would get the Solar Guards on his ass, he already had 2 speeding tickets, and he had to pay it by pocket. Well, at least he's making money, it's not much but it'll do.

He continued to eat until he heard a loud crash around the corner, making him jump.
> 2: The Encounter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After hearing the crash, Spike's curiosity kicked in and he went to see what happened, when he was a few feet from the corner he heard 2 different voices, both were mares.

"Damn it, Rainbow, Ah' got hit! Nice Drivin'!" screamed a female voice with a southern accent.

"Calm down, AJ, we might've lost them for now...I'll find us a car." a slightly raspy female voice replied, which Spike thought was probably 'Rainbow'.

Spike stopped in his tracks when he became face to face with a cyan pegasus mare with a rainbow mane and tail, she wore a dark blue dress that showed her right leg and was wearing black high-heals, in her right hand was a Glock 17. 

The mare looked behind Spike and saw his parked taxi nearby, connecting the dots, she looked back around the corner. "AJ, come on, I found a cab!" 

Before Spike could do anything, the cyan mare walked up and pointed her gun at him, making him look at it with pinprick pupils.

The mare, who he assumed was Rainbow, grabbed onto his shirt and pushed him forcefully for him to move back to the car. "Move it, punk!"

"OK OK just don't shoot me!" Spike quivered, really scared.

"That all depends on how fast you drive, kid. You fuck up, my friend and I are dead, that includes YOU." Rainbow replied.

Spike got into the driver's seat as Rainbow sat in the back. Then Spike saw an orange earth pony mare with a stetson cowboy hat climb into the passenger seat, she wore the same dress as Rainbow but it was red instead of blue and she wore black high heels, the purple dragon also saw that she got shot in the shoulder.

"Where do you wanna go?" Spike asked quickly, still scared.

The orange mare looked at him and she pointed her gun at him now, her gun was a Silver .357 Magnum Revolver with a wooden grip. "Anywhere, hit the fuckin gas, unless ya want a bullet in ya head!"

Spike was gonna ask why but his question was answered when a bullet went through the back windshield. He gasped slightly and hit the gas pedal, speeding down Manticore Blvd. with a red sports car chasing after them

AJ looked back at Rainbow and saw her reloading her gun. "Rainbow, Kill em'!"

The cyan mare obliged, she stuck her head out of the window and fired at the sports car that had 2 stallions in it, she got the engine and the windshield but she missed the actual targets. The stallion sitting in the passenger seat stuck his head out of the window and fired back with an IMI Uzi 9mm submachine gun. Making bullets holes into Spike's cab that would probably cause hundreds of bits to fix. Rainbow got back in before a single bullet could hit her as she put another clip in her Glock.

Spike was practically shitting himself during all this, he was in a car with armed mares and they're running away from mobsters trying to kill them, the sounds of gun blasting and bullets hitting metal was ringing in his ears. He looked at the mare next to him with the corner of his eye, she noticed as she pulled the hammer of her Magnum back making a loud click.

"Eyes back on the road, a damn vermin!" AJ said. "Ah' ain't some eye-candy you can stare at!"

Spike quickly averted his eyes back to the road as he made a sharp turn down an alleyway and came back on the road on the other side.

The car behind them was still on their asses, the stallion aimed his Uzi again and fired at the back windshield making the bullets fly into the car and out of the front, making Spike scream, the front, and back windshield were completely broken. 

Rainbow picked her head up and fired her Glock back at the car, hitting the windshield again, the stallion tried to fire back but he was shocked when his Uzi clicked of emptiness. The cyan mare gave a smirk and shot the stallion in the head, making his body dangling out of the window, she aimed carefully and shot at the car's tires popping one of them.

The stallion gave a surprised look and lost control of his car as sparks flew from the naked metal where the tire once was, losing control completely, he crashed into a nearby shot and the car burst into flames, incinerating him and the dead body of his friend.

The cyan mare cheered. "YEAH! That's what I'm all about bitch!"

Spike kept looking at the road, as the mares cheered and high-fived each other. He mentally sighed, he was glad they were happy because now they probably aren't gonna kill him. 

But he, himself, was not glad for a variety of reasons: His car got trashed, he was threatened by not one, but TWO mares with guns, he almost got killed, and he just witnessed an explosion along with first-degree murder.

"Alright kid, nice driving, you were way better than me," Rainbow told Spike, patting the back of his seat. "Take us to The Sugarcube Cafe in Downtown."

"Y-You got it..." Spike replied, still shaken.






[Five Minutes Later] - Sugarcube Cafe 



Spike stopped the cab at the far end of the street in front of the restaurant, the mares got out and looked at him. 

"Thanks for your help, kid," Rainbow said. "Wait here, we're gonna bandage AJ and she's gonna come back out to give you something." Spike nodded and watched the two mares walk to the restaurant.

Even though he was scared, Spike couldn't help but notice that for psychopaths, those mares had well-toned bodies. The dresses they wore showed their curves nicely, from their nice round breasts to their flat stomachs and hips that created the perfect hourglass figure for both of them. He also couldn't help to see that even when they walk, they swayed their hips a little with each step they took.   

Spike mentally slapped himself, why is he checking them out?! They are psychotic! They caused a car to explode and incinerated the ponies driving it, but then thinking about it, it could be self-defense...since they were shooting at them. But Spike had no right, he was caught in the middle of the shootout, for all he knows the mares could've shot them first before they got to him.

Spike looked at the restaurant again and saw AJ walking out with a bandaged shoulder and she nodded at two ponies that stood outside of the Cafe. The southern mare looked in Spike's direction and had a serious look on her face, she reached into her dress through the chest piece and kept looking at Spike.

The purple dragon knew what she was about to do, she's gonna waste him! He was the only witness of the car explosion and they don't know if he's gonna tell the Solar guards or not, either way, he bet that they aren't gonna take any chances. With that in mind, he felt his heartbeat fast as he fumbled with the car keys, AJ got closer and closer to his car.

Once the key went into the hole, he tried to turn it but the engine sputtered a little. He noticed AJ was just a couple inches from his car, he closed his eyes knowing that she's gonna kill him, Spike hopes Barb would be OK without him.

"Here." 

Spike opened one eye and looked at AJ, he saw that she had a smile on her face and what she took out of the chest piece of her dress was a slightly fat envelope, instead of a 'Dragon Execution Weapon' like he thought.

"What's this?" Spike asked as he took the envelope from AJ's hand.

"It's money for the repairs on yer cab. Don Celestia and Luna Solaris wanted to tell ya that they're very grateful for what ya did today. So they wanted to give you that as a 'thank you' for helping them out, ya don't need to pay em' back so don't worry about that. They also said if ya need anythin' all ya have ta do is ask."

"Really?" Spike questioned, AJ nodded. "Thanks, give the Solaris sisters my regards."

Spike started the car but was stopped by the orange earth pony again. "Hey, ya know if ya want, we can use skills like that in our organization, maybe we can get ya a job here. The money is good, real good. Plus, the Dons love recruits."

"Oh...sure, I'll get back to you on that, I gotta go...ya know to fix the car and stuff..."

"Alrighty, I'll leave ya to it. Just think about it, partner. Ah also hope this conversation is just between us?"

"Yeah sure, I got it," Spike replied, he then slowly drove away after AJ hit the top of the car with the palm of her hand two times.

"Hm...he's a pretty good kid...good-looking' too." The orange mobster said to herself before she walked back into the restaurant.
> 3: Car Repairs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[1 Hour Later] - Thorax's Garage


When Spike got to the repair shop, he drove his busted up bullet holed cab up to the garage and a slightly muscular colorful channeling greeted him. He wore a greasy blue mechanic jumpsuit, with black gloves, and black boots. 

The changeling was one of Spike's old childhood friends, named Thorax, they've known each other since they were kids. 

Just looking at the car gave the bug pony a shock. "Jesus Christ, Spy, what happened to your ride?"

Spike bit his bottom lip lightly, he didn't want to get his friend wrapped into this. "I was just caught in the crossfire of a gang war, Thorax, nothing big..."

Thorax circled Spike's cab kind of like how a pegasus was scouting an area in the sky. "One hell of a fight if you got this much damage..."

The reptile rubbed the back of his head with his right hand. "Heh, yeah..." He watched the colorful changeling get on one knee to get a closer look at the bullet holes. "Ya think you can fix this?" 

Spike’s childhood friend shrugged his shoulders, He slowly put his hand on the cab, feeling the cold metal of the car and running his fingers over some bullet holes. "I don't know, man...normally if I see something similar to this...I'd decline...but since you're one of my good friends, I'll take a look at it..." He stood back up and waved his hand forward towards his garage. "Bring her in."

Spike put the gearshift back on 'Drive' and slowly brought the car into Thorax’s garage. Inside was a lot of tools that mechanics usually had: like tires, tools, oil, headlights, and other stuff used to fix cars. The purple dragon got out of the car after putting it on 'Park' and grabbing the envelope AJ gave him. 

"So...just by looking at it how much do you think it'll cost?" Spike asked, trying to make a short conversation as he backed up and let Thorax do his thing.

The changeling felt every inch of the car with his hands and looked at every nook and cranny that caught his attention from it, such as the broken windshields, a shit ton of bullet holes in the back and sides, busted headlights, and a few scratched here and there. 

Spike was a little weirded out watching his childhood friend practically feel up his vehicle very questionably, but he knew that Thorax was always good with cars. He even remembered that Thorax fixed a sports car's broken engine all by himself when he was only 5.

Once he stopped 'groping' the car, Thorax looked at Spike again. "From what I've seen and felt here...it could take maybe around $1,000 minimum."

Spike felt like he was shot down out of the sky. "Shit...really?" When Thorax nodded, Spike dropped his head with a sigh. "Alright..."

The changeling put his right hand on Spike's shoulder. "Sorry Spy, trust me I would love to give you a 'friendship discount' but that’s business for ya..:"

"Ha, it’s fine..."

"Alright...look just sit down on the bench and you'll be back on the road in no time."

Spike did just that, he walked over and sat down on a nearby bench to watch his friend get to work. He still remembered that he didn't see what 'reward' AJ gave him from The Solaris Sisters as a thank you for saving her and Rainbow's ass. He looked up and saw that Thorax was too distracted with his busted-up car that it was like Spike was invisible, so he took the chance. 

He gripped it tightly and opened it up, but when he did, his heart nearly exploded when he saw what was inside, A whole big pile of dollar bills. When he counted them, he could've sworn he felt his heart exploded again. He counted $5,000 in the envelope. 

Spike had more than enough to pay for the car, he had a ton of spending money left, all he had to do was pay $1,000 and that would leave him with $4,000 left to spare on his own. He could barely contain himself, but he tried his best as Thorax went to work on the windshield.







2 hours later



Thorax cleaned up his hands and walked over to a sleeping Spike, slightly shaking him. "Wake up, sleepyhead, your car's ready."

Spike rubbed his eyes and saw that his cab was as good as new, everything was put back together as nothing had ever happened. He gave the changeling a bro handshake. "Thanks, man, don't know what I'd do without ya."

"Now..about the payment..." Thorax began but Spike held up his hand and showed him a wad of cash. "What the?!"

"Got it right here, I counted don't worry." Spike reached over and put the cash into the bug pony’s front breast pocket of his jumpsuit. "Don't ask where I got it."

Thorax took the money out of the pocket and counted it fast it was exactly $1,000. "Spy...where did you get this kind of money?!"

"Like I said...' You don't wanna know' " Spike repeated, he then walked passed him and patted his back. "Thanks again, I'll see ya around." 

The purple dragon hopped into his car and slightly sped off, leaving a speechless Thorax alone with a wad of cash.







[5 Minutes Later] Barbara Dragan's House



Spike sat in the guest room looking at the remaining money he had left, he was still speechless, he began to think while drinking a glass of wine. The purple dragon began to remember the conversation he had with AJ, which echoed in his mind like a recurring nightmare.



Spike started the car but was stopped by the orange earth pony again. "Hey, ya know if ya want, we can use skills like that in our organization, maybe we can get ya a job here. The money is good, real good. Plus, the Dons love recruits."

"Oh...sure, I'll get back to you on that, I gotta go...ya know to fix the car and stuff..."

"Alrighty, I'll leave ya to it. Just think about it, partner. Ah also hope this conversation is just between us?"

"Yeah sure, I got it," Spike replied, he then slowly drove away after AJ hit the top of the car with the palm of her hand two times.



The purple dragon kept thinking about what he should do, but he came to a rather quick conclusion, He wasn't gonna think about their offer anymore. He didn't want to join a gang of criminals even if they had all the bits in the world. 

Before Spike went off to college, Barb told him, "You never know what God has in store for you."

So, Spike decides that as soon as he wakes up tomorrow, he's gonna forget the whole encounter as soon as possible.

It's better to be poor and alive than rich and dead, right?
> 4: License Plate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[3 days later] Streets of Manticore



Spike's job was now a rinse and repeat for him, drove his passengers where they needed to go, he goes on his break after dropping off 5 of them, then an hour later he gets back on the road and ends his day at 6:00.

It was going pretty slow today but he finally dropped off his final passenger, an orange pegasus mare, in front of a small diner, The mare gave him the fare and got out of the cab, but when Spike looked at the diner and the color of her fur, he had the same flashback every time, reminding him that Aj was still waiting on his answer back at The Sugarcube Cafe.

He shook his head quickly and put his right hand on his face, the whole thing was killing him. He had lots of recurring nightmares of the explosion at night and echoes of gunfire in his head when he's awake. Spike looked up back at the road and decided to go on his break a little early, calling Yellow Cab on the radio to notify her.





Spike parked his car and got out of it, approaching a nearby Coffee shop, He was gonna get himself some caffeine just to help him relax a little from all the stress.

Once he got his coffee with a corn muffin, he went back outside and sat down at a nearby table the shop provided in front, and drank it while looking at his taxi. This was gonna be his life from now on, just driving creatures around Manticore and him taking long breaks to gather his thoughts.

As soon as Spike took a sip of his drink, he saw a red Bolt-Thrower pull up in front of the shop, there were 2 mares inside of it. The mare sitting in the driver seat was a mint green unicorn with a mane that was a mixture of lighter mint color and white, in the passenger seat was a gray-ish yellow earth pony with a mane that was navy blue with pink.

The unicorn wore a closed black blazer that had a white button-down shirt with a black necktie, along with a black skirt that stopped near her ankles and strapped high heals, along with a dark green fedora on her head. The earth pony just wore a black dress shirt with a red necktie, black dress pants, and black monk shoes. They both had the same hourglass figure but the earth pony had larger breasts than the unicorn who was smaller, but the mint pony made up for it by being slightly muscular than the other mare. 

Both mares looked at Spike's taxi and then looked in his direction, after a minute of staring, they got out of their car. The mint green unicorn went to the trunk and opened it while the yellow earth pony walked up to the sitting dragon. Just the clean sound of dress shoes walking on the solid ground towards him was enough to make Spike tense up.

The mare put one hand on her hip and gestured to the cab with her head. "Is that yours?"

Spike took a second to answer. "Y-Yeah, you need to go somewhere?"

The mare gave a slight smirk. "No...but somepony by the name of Don Sombra wants you to go somewhere...where no one will find you..."

Spike's pupils shrank, he finally realized what the mares were doing, they knew the license plate on his cab! One of the stallions must've sent their leader the info before Rainbow got the chance to kill them, he was an accomplice to their escape and now the other mob boss wants to waste him.

When Spike looked behind the earth pony he saw that the mint green unicorn took out a Thompson M1928 submachine gun from the trunk, along with a 50 round drum mag, his suspicions were correct!

"Light 'em up, Lyra!" The earth pony said moving out of the way, as Lyra clicked the mag into the gun, but before she could pull the hammer back, Spike took a chance.

He grabbed his coffee and threw it at the earth pony when the cup hit her, the cover came off and splashed steaming hot coffee all over her face! The earth pony screamed of bloody murder and dropped to the floor covering her face, Spike could hear the steam sizzling off of her and saw some tears coming down from her hands. 

Lyra had the look of kill on her face and aimed at Spike ready to raise hell. With no other object left, Spike decided to throw his un-eaten muffin at her and surprisingly it hit her square in the face. Lyra grunted from the suddenness and turned her gun away from Spike, this gave him the opportunity and he made a break for it down a nearby alleyway. The mint unicorn saw this and fired her Thompson at the dragon but the bullets just hit the wall he just turned with a few ricochet sounds.

The sound of the gunfire caused the customers in the coffee shop to run out the backdoor, Spike used this as an advantage also and ran into the crowd, running with them so he can blend in. Lucky for him Lyra didn't see him enter the crowd when she looked into the alleyway with her gun at the ready. She didn't want to end innocent lives for no reason so she didn't fire at the crowd, but she was pissed that Spike got away so easily.

"DAMN IT! He got away!" Lyra yelled, throwing her Tommy gun to the ground out of anger. She looked behind her and saw the earth pony still sitting down crying while her face continued to burn. Lyra ran to her and took off her fedora while grabbing the earth pony by her cheeks. 

"Bon-Bon! Are you OK?" Lyra asked Bon-Bon looked at her with closed teary eyes.

"I have steaming hot coffee practically boiling my face off...DO I LOOK LIKE I'M FUCKING OK?!?!"

"OK...OK, look he managed to get away..."

"I know...and I couldn't believe he made you get bested by a stupid bread product..."

Lyra blushed of embarrassment. "Y-Yeah...it just happened so fast..."

"What are we gonna tell the boss?" Bon-Bon asked as Lyra helped her get on her feet.

"Not sure...but we should get out of here before the Solar Guards get here..." Lyra helped Bon-Bon into the car and the two mares rode away from the scene.

Just then a particular gray pegasus mare with a yellow mane and walleyes was walking by the coffee shop wearing a mail carrier uniform. She stopped in front of the shop and looked around at the ruckus Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Spike caused, She even saw Lyra's discarded Thompson near the alleyway entrance. But she wasn't interested in that, what she was interested in was the muffin Spike threw at Lyra. It just sat upright in the middle of the sidewalk...all alone.

The pegasus sighed. "Waste of a delicious muffin..."

She was about to walk away but then something popped in her head. She turned her head left and right to see if anyone was watching, seeing the coast was clear, she bent down quickly and took the muffin from the sidewalk. Still looking around, she stuffed it in her mailbag and walked away as casually as she could away from the scene while whistling a little tune.
> 5: No Choice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike finally dispersed from the crowd into another alleyway after they've passed a few blocks, He watched the scared ponies all keep running away as he pressed his back against the wall to his left. As soon as the crowd died down, he peeked around the wall to the street behind him, only to go back in when he saw the red car that held Lyra and Bon Bon move slowly towards his direction.

Luckily the car past by the alley he was hiding in and he gave a big sigh of relief after checking around the corner. He then ran to the other direction back to his twin sister's house, he went there on foot because since those two mob ponies knew his license plate, he knew that if he drove that car he would be asking to get his head blown clean off of his shoulders.







[10 Minutes Later] Barb's House


Spike couldn't believe he got away from those mares, while only using his half-finished coffee and the muffin he forgot to eat. 

The purple dragon began to pace back and forth in his room. "What am I gonna do...those mares and possibly even their entire mob now know where I work and even know my face, it's only a matter of time before they find out where I live...I can't put Barb in danger like this...what am I gonna do?!" 

Spike looked around his room for answers and saw some of the leftover money from the getaway job he unintentionally did for The Solaris Sisters. He began to think hard, if he went to work for Celestia and Luna it might get Sombra's ponies to get off of his back.

But if he did that, he'd become a criminal and that's the last thing he wanted to tell his twin sister. He didn't know what to do...Become a criminal and make more money, then most likely die from getting shot or Keep looking over his shoulder and hiding out until Sombra's guys finally track him down and shoot him. 

Both of those options were awful to choose from and both of them would someway end his life with him staring down the barrel of a gun. Looking at his options again, he finally made a choice.





Spike walked out of the house and quickly went to the nearest alleyway, he went from alleyway to alleyway, trying his best to stay out of the street and sidewalks, but some turns required to go on the street or sidewalks which made him very anxious, so when he had to do those parts, he race walks or even sprints.

He kept turning each corner and saw where he wanted to go right in front of him...Sugarcube Café.

He walked into the restaurant joint and saw that it was just a regular restaurant. Ponies, griffins, and dragons were all just sitting down alone or with someone just eating their meals and minding their own business.

Spike walked to the bar up front and was greeted by a male and female earth pony. The male had light amber fur with a light orange mane and tail along with moderate pistachio green eyes. He wore a white apron that had a white button-down shirt with a dark gray vest under it, light black pants, and black loafers, his build was more on the scrawny side than average.

The female earth pony next to him had very light cerulean fur with a light crimson mane and tail that had pale light crimson stripes, in fact, the shape of her mane and tail kind of looked like it resembled frosting used for baked treats or maybe even ice cream. She wore a pink apron over a dark blue blouse with tan pants and short high heels. Unlike the stallion, she was huskier but she still retained a good form.

"Hello, sir, how may we help you?" asked the stallion.

Spike just stood there trying to make his appearance into words. "Uh...I want to speak with either Celestia or Luna Solaris?"

After he said that, everyone and everything in the restaurant stopped talking and looked at him with suspicious looks, making the entire establishment completely silent that you can even hear a tiny mosquito sneeze. It was like Spike was all by himself in the restaurant.

"Why do you need to see the bosses, dearest?" asked the husky mare with a smile, Unbeknownst to Spike that she was reaching for the bottom of the bar counter where her hand felt the wooden grip of a small black Taurus .38 Special Snub Nose.

"Uh...I'm the c-cab driver that helped t-two mares get away from a couple of s-stallions...The Sisters' said that if I ever ran into trouble, all I need to do it a-ask...So...uh...here I am...uh...asking." Spike stuttered, really scared by the fact that all he said was he wanted to speak to The Sisters and everyone just stopped and looked at him like he just shouted a word he wasn't supposed to say in the wrong neighborhood.

The mare looked at the stallion next to her with a serious face, but the stallion just shrugged in response, she turned her head back to Spike and nodded. "Alright, darling...we'll go see if they want to see you. Wait here."

Both ponies walked away and Spike looked behind him, seeing the customers still staring at him. He awkwardly turned his back to them and he sat on one of the stools in front of the bar. Little by little, the customers went back to their business and now the café was back to its original noisy self.

The purple drake rested his head on his left hand and tapped the counter with his left index claw. Thinking about what's gonna happen when he joins them Because simply asking for help to take care of an unknown number of assassins isn't gonna cut it.

Spike kept waiting until he saw the bartenders walking up to him along with AJ, the orange earth pony Spike helped 3 days ago 

The light amber stallion looked at AJ. "Is this the guy?"

AJ looked at Spike and smiled. "Yea, that's him, I'll take it from here'."

The two bartenders walked passed Spike and AJ beckoned her head, motioning the purple dragon to follow her.





Spike was led to an office door that was on the top floor of the restaurant. AJ knocked on the door and Spike heard a mare's voice he'd never heard of before.

"Who knocks?!" The mare practically yelled, making Spike jump.  Spike was able to hear her loud and clear like she was right in front of him. 

"It's Jack, Ah' got someone ere' who wants to see ya. He's the dragon me and Rainbow been chatting about." AJ replied.

Now Spike heard another mare's voice that was different from the one he heard before, it sounded calmer and motherly-like. "Come in."

AJ let Spike do the honors, he opened up the door and they're right in front of him were the two beautiful and powerful Solaris Sisters, Celestia, and Luna Solaris, along with a purple alicorn mare and a dark gray bat pony stallion, both of them stood beside the sisters.

Celestia wore a beautiful magenta long-sleeve dress that showed off her perfectly curved form and she wore black high heels on her feet. Her sister, Luna, wore the same thing except her dress was black to show off a cool color combination of her dark midnight-blue fur and the dress. 

Celestia was taller than Luna and her cup size was bigger than hers too, but to Spike, Luna looked cuter.

The purple alicorn that was by Celestia, wore a strapless dark purple dress with red touchups, her bust size was quite small compared to Celestia and AJ but they were bigger than Rainbow's or Luna's combined.

The bat pony stallion that stood next to Luna had grey fur and golden yellow eyes, he wore a grey blazer with a white dress shirt and a red tie, black suit pants and black loafers. Since he was a bat pony he had fangs, bat ears instead of pony ears and bat wings instead of pegasi wings.

They were in a pretty big office that had a record player, wardrobe, and a long table with a few chairs, Luna was sitting in one of the chairs.

"SO YOU ARE THE LIZARD WHO HELPED US WITH OUR EMPLOYEES!" yelled Luna, getting up and pointing at the purple drake. Spike covers his ears and quivered a bit, a little frightened.

Celestia walked over and put her hand on Luna's shoulder. "Let me talk to him, Lulu."

Luna nodded and sat back down, as Celestia looked at Spike. "Haha, sorry about that, Luna's still working on her volume control. So, who do they call you?"

"Spike...Spike Dragan."

"Ah...well, what can we do for you, Spike?"

"I have a serious problem that maybe you can help me with?"

Celestia sat down at the table next to her sister. "Of course, what is it?"

"Another mob boss is after me...I think his name's Sombra?"

Celestia and Luna both looked concerned. "Sombra? What did you do to him?"

Spike put up his hands. "Nothing! Some of his goons came up and asked me if the taxi was mine and I said yes. Then one of them took out a gun and tried to waste me, I'm lucky I'm even here to tell you this!"

Everyone in the room stayed quiet as Spike continued. "Anyway, they must've recognized my license plate when I helped AJ and Rainbow. Now they want to kill me...and I don't mean any offense, but you'd probably just handle a few hitmen after me and that's it...but I know there will always be more...so I want to ask you something that might benefit the both of us..."

Luna spoke this time. "And what's that?"

Spike looked at the sisters with a determined look. "I want to join..."
> 6: The First Job [Edited]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Really? You want to take a hand in this kind of work, Spike?" asked Celestia, with a raised eyebrow.

"Well...I just want to live, and I can't live if I have a mob boss after me...It can't be that tough." Spike replied, putting his hands behind his back.

"Young Spike, the work we do here is no joke," Luna replied. "We rob, sabotage, kill, and maim creatures, are you sure you're conscience can handle this line of work?"

"Ma'am I get what your saying and you're right; I'm not a creature who has a thirst for blood, I don't need violence in my life. But to be perfectly honest...I've never really been interested in other creature's lives,"  Spike admitted. "All the lives I care about are mine, my sister's and close friends, everyone else can pretty much just piss off. Sure If I kill someone I might feel a little sick but it will go away very quickly, I don't have any remorse."  Celestia and Luna leaned back in their chairs as Spike continued. 

"I've never killed anyone before so I wouldn't know how I would feel...but with this line of work...I might just do if I get the right amount of dough. My sis and I are kind of completely broke as it is. So, I want to join, not because I want your help in protecting me or the fact that I hate you criminal scum with every fiber of my being...I'm joining your gang so that I can live another day."

"Kind of harsh...but fair..." Celestia replied, she then looked at her sister and the lunar princess gave a nod. "You know what, Spike, we decided to give you a shot, we always like new faces in our organization."

Spike smiled and nodded as Celestia looked at AJ. "Applejack, I want you to pick out a suit for Spike and give it to him.

"Already have, ma'am." Applejack replied, going over to Celestia's wardrobe and took out a suit for Spike. "I figured Spike would join us sooner or later so I already picked out a suit that's his size."

Applejack took the suit out of the closet and the purple dragon saw that it was a normal 3 button black suit with a blue tie and a light gray button-up dress shirt, he also saw that AJ was carrying black loafers too.

The orange mare walked over to Spike and handed the suit to him along with a duffle bag. "You can get changed in the bathroom, put your clothes in this bag."





After Spike got dressed in his new suit, he went back into The Sisters' office and they began to inform him of what he needed to know. "OK Spike, here's the deal, You already know Applejack and Rainbow Dash. This here is Twilight Sparkle." Celestia pointed to the purple alicorn behind her. "She's my right hand-mare."

"And this is mine," Luna said, pointing to the bat pony stallion behind her. "This is Black Shadow. He's a wonderful bat stallion...both he and Twilight look after the legal business of our organization."

"The two ponies behind the bar are Carrot Cake and Cup Cake. This business can be a little too tough to swallow, but those two love ponies are wonderful cooks. We also have Shining Armor and Flash Sentry."

"We are one big happy family here, Spike." Celestia finished.

Twilight spoke this time. "We also got some rules around here...Don't ever cross paths with the Solar Guards. They're on our payroll."

"Yes..." Celestia added. "But if you go too far, they will come after you, bits, or no bits."

"God forbid, if you get arrested, say nothing and we'll take care of you,"  Luna added, crossing her arms over her chest with a small smile. "Tia and I always take care of our friends, we have a lot of great friends....but there are not many left who betrayed us. We clear?"

Spike nodded. "Crystal."

Luna leaned forward. "Now...Spike....we think that you need to do something to prove yourself if you want to be with us."

"Yeah, you said that some ponies attacked you at a coffee shop because of your car, right?" Celestia asked, earning a nod from Spike. "Well...why don't you smash up their cars so they won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

"Alright seems easy enough," Spike replied. "Anyone going with me?"

"Yes." Celestia looked at Applejack. "AJ, you wouldn't mind going with him would you, to make sure he does this?"

"Of course, ma'am. I'd be glad to help him out." AJ replied, patting Spike on the back. "Come on, kid. Let's go get some weapons."

Spike and Applejack walked out of the room and once they were out of ear-shot, Shadow spoke up. "Uh, bosses, I don't think we should trust him so much...I mean he joined up cuz he had no other choice."

"Don't worry, my dear Shadow," Luna replied. "I have a good feeling about him..."

"But right now, we have something else to worry about..." Celestia said, getting up and looking out the window with her hands behind her back. "Does Sombra...really want to start a war?"





Applejack led Spike outside through the restaurant's back door and they began to walk up some metal stairs to go into the door that's on the top. "Where're we going?" Spike asked.

"We're gonna visit, somepony, who's been in the family for some time. He has a real hard-on for weapons." Applejack snickered a little, leading Spike into the room. 

Walking inside, the purple dragon was mesmerized, the room was a small office type. He saw lots of guns hanging on the walls, ranging from pistols to machine guns and from shotguns to assault rifles. Looking at this, he can tell that this gang was ready for anything involving firearms. 

He looked down from the walls and saw a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane with some dark blue streaks and cyan colored eyes sitting down in a wooden chair and messing around with a Colt 1911. He wore a black dress shirt, red necktie, gray suit pants, and brown loafers.

He finally snapped out from his daze when Applejack spoke. "Hey, Shinin'."

Shining looked up and smiled, placing the gun on his desk. "Hey, Jack."

Applejack looked at Spike and held her hand out towards the unicorn. "Spike, this is Shinin' Armor, Twilight's older brother." She then looked back at the stallion. "And Shinin', this is Spike, he just started up with us."

Both Spike and Shining Armor shook hands as AJ continued. "Shinin' here is our weapons expert in the family and can give ya anything ya need, from revolvers to assault rifles, like those things on the wall behind him."

Shining nodded. "Yep, make sure you visit me once you get a job from the Dons, the jobs they give will most likely involve weapons. And speaking of weapons, Jack, what do ya need?"

"Spike needs to smash up a few cars, Armor, you got anything for that?" Applejack asked.

Shining scoffed. "Of course I do." He reached under his desk and took out a silver aluminum bat. "This bat should be enough."

Spike grabbed the bat from the desk and got a look at it as Shining continued. "But if you want more than that..." He walked behind himself and picked up a small crate, putting it on the desk too. 

He removed the lid and took out a bottle of alcohol that had a white rag inside of it and coming out of the spout. "I mixed a few alcohol ciders to make 5 of these extremely flammable Molotovs Cocktails, just light up the rag and throw it fast, you don't want your hand to burn." He placed the bottle back in the crate and closed it, giving it to Applejack. 

"Good luck, guys." Shining told them.

"Thanks, Shining," Spike replied, opening and holding the door for AJ who carefully held the Molotov crate with two hands.





The orange mare and the purple dragon walked to the garage that they passed to get the weapons.

"Now, we're gonna meet Flash, he can be a bit of an idiot but he knows a lot about cars." Applejack told Spike.

Spike looked and saw a pegasus stallion with a brilliant gamboge coat and a two-tone sapphire blue spikey mane working on a car. He wore a gray greasy jumpsuit and black work boots. 

Applejack called out. "Hey, Flash!"

Flash looked from the open hood on the car he was fixing and saw AJ along with a purple dragon he's never seen before, he placed his wrench on the ground as the pony and dragon stopped in front of him. "Hey there, Jackie, how's the shoulder?"

"It's doin' alright." She motioned her head to Spike. "Flash Sentry, this is Spike Dragan, he just started up with us."

Spike shook Flash's hand, which was covered with vehicle oil. After noticing, Spike wiped his hand on Flash's jumpsuit, the pegasus didn't mind that in the slightest. 

"So Spike, you ever get a stolen car? Just bring it back to me, I can either give you money for it or change the license plate and make it yours, no pony would notice the difference." Flash told the dragon, making him nod, acknowledging it.

"Speaking of cars, Flash, we need one," Spike told the stallion.

"Ah, gotcha, man." Flash led the two ponies out of the garage to a Silver Microcar. "I just got this car this morning...it ain't no hot rod and it can be pretty slow as shit...but it'll do."

He walked over to the driver seat and looked at Spike. "Now, Spike, I want you to watch me pick this lock, so in case you lose this, you can jack another one easily." The purple dragon leaned in and watched Flash pick the lock on the car. "All you have to do is take his little piece here and join it together with this other piece on the lock....and click, you're in."

"Wow, thanks to Flash," Spike replied, earning a pat on the shoulder from the pegasus. 

"Anytime, dude." 

Spike and Applejack got into the Micro and they made their way to Sombra's bar.
> 7: Welcome to the Family
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack drove the silver Microcar, Flash gave her and Spike, who sat in the passenger seat. AJ looked at Spike who was looking at the bat in his hands, knowing full well what he was getting himself into. 

The orange earth pony spoke to the dragon. "So, kid. Are ya sure you can deal with this? Ah, mean...this is relatively tame compared to the other jobs the Dons sign me and Rainbow with."

Spike nodded. "Yeah...I mean, as I said before, I've never been interested in other creatures' lives besides my own or my sis."

AJ nodded and took a left turn through town. "So...is that all?"

"No...I also need serious money...that annoying cab job isn't gonna do anything for me. Also, since Sombra's goons are after me this life would be way better than looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life."

"Alright, kid, whatever ya say."







[30 minutes later] Outside Sombra's Bar


Applejack pulled up beside the parking lot that held the cars Spike had to smash up for initiation. AJ looked around then looked at Spike. "OK, kid. This is it. There's a guard right there so just take him out before you smash up anythin'."

Spike nodded, opening the passenger door to get out before AJ grabbed his shoulder. "Use the bat first, then use the Molotovs last, as soon as that's done get back here and Ah can drive us outta here, good luck, Spy."

The purple dragon got out of the car along with the bat under his armpit and the Molotov crate in his hands. He slowly walked with them to the back entrance of the parking lot to keep the guard from finding him. He placed the bottles down near the entrance and readied the bat. He walked over to the stallion who was a yellow earth pony just smoking a cigarette and looking around.

Spike slowly walked up to him and readied the bat, about to hit him. "Hey, dude."

The guard looked at Spike and was met with a hard and bone-cracking smack to the face with the aluminum bat. The guard fell to the ground pretty much dead, but Spike made sure he was when he smacked his body with the bat over and over, making blood splatter on the ground and the bat.

And there it was, Spike's stomach turned a bit after seeing the pony's blood pour out of his body and onto the pavement. "I...I...I a-actually....k-killed him..."

But after thinking about it, this guy's gang wants to kill him, and he bet if he didn't swing the bat, the pony could've gotten a good look at his face and send more goons to kill him. So after thinking about the alternative outcome, Spike's turned stomach feeling faded and was back to normal. He guessed that since this is Sombra's guys he shouldn't feel sorry for them.

Spike walked away from the body for a second and noticed a side-door to the bar since there were mob cars here, it wasn't difficult to figure out that some members might be in the bar. So after looking around, he noticed an old chair nearby, he walked over to get it and carefully placed the chair under the knob as quietly as he could. After successfully barricading the door, he went back to the dead stallion to figure out what to do with him. He noticed a kind of out of place small wooden garage shed and figured out what to do.

He looked left and right to see if anybody was looking in his direction. Seeing the coast was clear, he grabbed the dead stallion's left leg and dragged the body deeper into the closed parking lot, leaving a slight trail of crimson red blood slide with him on the ground. He dragged the body into the empty garage shed and placed him in there, but before he could leave the body, he sees some kind of weird shape pressing in its coat pocket. He went down on one knee and dug into the dead stallion's coat pocket and what he pulled out almost made him jump. He was packing a revolver, a silver Colt Python with a wooden grip to be exact. He opened the 6-round chamber and saw that it was fully loaded.

As much as he wants to leave it, it could give him some sort of defense if he comes across any other mob goons. He sighed and slipped the Colt into the inside pocket of his suit coat and got up, leaving the body in the wooden garage shed. He closed the shed slowly so nopony could hear him.

After turning around he finally got a look at the cars he had to smash: A green Bolt V8, A blue Studebaker Dictator, and a car that Spike was surprised to see, A red Bolt-Thrower. Which meant that Lyra and Bon Bon were here as well. 
The purple dragon looked at the cars with a determined look on his face and he readied his bat, that was shining with the stallion's red blood in the sunlight.

He looked at the door that he blocked with the chair one more time and now he was ready.







[Meanwhile] Inside Sombra's Bar



"-and then the prick hucked a fucking muffin at me..." Lyra finished, she was talking to 2 mares and a black griffin about what happened with trying to clip Spike while drinking at the bar stand. Bon Bon was standing next to Lyra, her face covered in tiny bubbles due to the steaming hot coffee that got thrown at her face.

"So you didn't manage to kill him?" asked the griffin, holding a glass of whiskey.

"No...fuckin' lizard got away with a crowd of ponies," Lyra replied looking away angrily.

"Why didn't you waste them all?" asked a yellow earth pony.

"We were only told to kill one being, we don't want any innocent lives to get involved, no matter how merciless our boss is." Lyra drank the last of the wine that was in her glass and she gave out a sigh. "Speaking of which, I'm sure the Don's gonna give me and Bon Bon a raise at this point..."

Bon Bon patted her marefriend's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can get him..."

After the creamy earth pony said that, the ponies heard loud banging and crashes coming from the parking lot outside. They all placed their glasses on the bar counter and walked to the door to see what was going on, but when Lyra turned the doorknob, the door wouldn't open. 

"What the hell?" asked Lyra, she then tried to push her body into the door with a few grunts, but the door stayed shut. "Hey, someone barred the door!"

"Someone must be doing something to our cars..." said one of the mares, who was a yellow earth pony. She took out her Beretta Custom from her belt holster and pulled the slide back, making it click. "Let's get out through the front."

Lyra kept pushing the door with her body. "Me and Bon Bon will try to get the door open, the rest of you go see what's going on."

"Yes ma'am." They all said. 

The griffin took out an IMI Uzi 9mm from his jacket and the red unicorn mare took out a Vz.61 Skorpion from her handbag and followed the yellow earth pony out the front door.

"Bon Bon, get our guns!" The minty unicorn told her lover.





Spike smashed all 3 of the cars very violently, breaking windows, windshields, doors, even the engines. No way these cars are moving ever again. As soon as Spike finished with the bat, he ran over to the crates of Molotovs, and he began to throw all of them at the cars, making them catch fire. 

he wiped his forehead from the sweat he collected when beating the inanimate machines to death. All he has to do now is leave before-

"Hey! What the hell are you doing to our rides?!"

Spike looked up and sees a black griffin, a yellow earth pony mare, and a red unicorn mare, each of them holding a gun. The purple drake kept looking at them as they looked at a puddle of blood they stood next to, the yellow earth pony mare looked at it with widening eyes and tears began to develop from her. 

"What have you done to my brother?!?!" She yelled.

"Uhhh….He's just sleeping after drinking a whole bottle of red wine." Spike said nonchalantly.

"That's too red and too thick to be wine! AND MY BROTHER HATES WINE!" She replied, pointing at the obvious blood puddle.

Spike bit his lip. "Oh...then he dead..."

The mare screamed and fired her Beretta at Spike, who ducked behind Lyra and Bon Bon's burnt car. The griffin and unicorn retaliated and fired their weapons too.

Spike knew if he was gonna get out of this he's gonna have to fight. He dropped the bat and equipped the Colt Python he stole from the mare's brother.

After hearing the sounds of gunfire stopped, Spike stood up and fired back at the three creatures, he managed to hit the griffin straight in the head and the red unicorn in the chest, making both of them fall dead and hit the sidewalk with a thud, dropping their automatics.

Spike ran to the back entrance he got in from and hid behind the wall near the gate as the sound of blasting and bullets ricocheting rang in his ears. 

"I'm gonna kill you!!" screamed the sister, reloading her Beretta from behind her cover. She fired her gun but it just jammed all of a sudden.

Spike heard her jammed gun and popped out of cover, shooting her in the chest. The mare grunted and dropped to the ground. The purple dragon ran up to her still pointing his gun at her downed body and fired it, ending her right there.

He dropped his Python on the ground and picked up the griffin's Uzi from the ground, now it was time to finish his pursuers who tried to kill him at the coffee shop.





Lyra and Bon Bon were backed up at the counter attempting to run and ram the door down. The couple held hands and counted. "1....2.....3!"

Both ponies ran at the door but before they could the door swung open and both ponies rammed into their car, causing them to get cut when they hit the ground thanks to some of the broken glass from the windows of their car. Both mares slowly got up with cuts on their faces, hands, and arms, oblivious on what's going on; before their question was answered with 2 gun clacks.

They looked in front of them and saw Spike, aiming at them with both the griffin's Uzi and the red unicorn's Skorpion in each hand. "Hey there, darlings."

"Y-YOU!" Lyra yelled.

"Yes....' Me'" Spike replied. 

"You got some balls showing up here, ya fuckin lizard," screamed Bon Bon.

"Say hi to your ancestors for me..."

Spike pulled the triggers on both sub-machine guns causing them to go full auto onto the two love ponies, bullets hit every single part of their torsos in slow-motion, they shut their eyes as the bullets sent their bodies backward onto their car as bullet caps poured into their bodies and blood flew out behind them. Their car got drenched in their blood along with holes that the stray bullets hit.

Spike's guns clicked empty as Lyra and Bon Bon's corpses fell to the ground in a sitting position together, blood soaking the ground and their Bolt-Thrower. The final bullet case fell next to Spike and he finally began to breathe normally again, he dropped the Uzi on the ground but left the Skorpion in his hand as he tried to catch his breath. 

"Nice work." 

Spike looked to where the voice came from and aimed his Skorpion at them, but then he saw that it was just Applejack who had an impressed look on her face. He dropped the Skorpion on the ground too as he walked over to her.

"Ya managed to do the job and even got some bodies on ya...Ah gotta admit Spike, Ah'm impressed." Applejack told the drake, patting his back.

"Thanks..." Spike replied. "So can we go back now?"

"Yea, sure, come on," AJ told him, leading him to the Microcar.







[30 minutes later] Sugarcube Café



Applejack parked the car into the back garage and threw the keys at Flash, who caught it with one hand. The orange mare led Spike to Celestia and Luna who were sitting down at a booth, eating lunch. Luna was eating tomato soup, and Celestia was drinking a banana smoothie. On the table was also Apple whiskey along with 4 shot glasses.

Both Sisters noticed. "Hey, Applejack," Luna said. "How did young Spike do?"

"He was amazin' bosses, ya should've seen him'. He bashed the cars and soon we were gone before they even knew what happened, but Spike killed a few of them and he told meh two of them were the ones who attacked him at the coffee shop because of his taxi. But he paid them back, Ah think he's officially one of us now if Ah do say so mah self, Solaris Sisters."

Celestia and Luna looked at Spike with smiles, Luna then poured all of them a shot and they all cheered with glass clinks. They all took a shot at once and Celestia put her hand on Spike's shoulder. 

"Spike Dragan.....Welcome to the Family."
> 8: Protection Money
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Spike became an official member of The Solaris Mafia Family, he's been given a new type of respect for the rich criminals throughout Manticore. Celestia and Luna's gang was well-loved by everyone in town, besides Sombra's gang who they feared the most.

The purple dragon was given some small-time jobs in the family, such as being a chauffeur for the sisters or helping Flash around back with a few errands or fixing some cars, which was surprisingly a bit easy after Flash gave him a few pointers; but to him, he'd never be as good as Thorax. 

He was also hanging out with Applejack and Rainbow Dash a lot outside of work. Usually just hanging out at the bar or just eating breakfast before work together. Luna noticed this and so she talked it over with Celestia and both of them made the 3 of the partners in crime officially.







[5 Weeks Later] - Celestia and Luna's Office



Spike was sitting down in The Sisters' office with Applejack and Rainbow with him. Celestia decides that Spike is ready for some of the big important jobs she usually gave to RD and AJ, also so Spike could gain a little experience.

Celestia was looking at them with a smile. "Alright...today we're gonna pick up some protection money from a few places in town: a restaurant, a grocery store, and a hotel in the countryside."

Luna nodded and leaned forward with her hands together on the table. "There was a slight problem at the grocery store...the owner was having trouble with getting the money so she said she'll pay a little more..."

Shadow walked over to the table with his arms crossed. "Spike, I'm sure you know how the protection business usually works?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, same as everyone else. You don't want the mob to destroy your shit, you pay the fine."

The bat pony nodded. "Good, but unlike most families who use well-known threats...that's not the case with us..."

"That's right..." Twilight added. "Creatures who pay us, receive services. Services so high, that even the Solar Guards can't give."

Applejack turned to Spike. "Yea, just a month ago, me an' Rainbow dealt with some violent wannabes who were waving some guns around at the restaurant and being a couple of smartasses...the owner was very pleased bout that."

"Alright...I think I get the gist of it..." Spike replied to AJ, turning to Celestia who now spoke.

"Good...now all we want you to do, Spike, is drive to the locations with the girls. Applejack and Rainbow will do the collecting. Go and get a car from Flash, OK?"

Spike nodded. 

"Good, but just to be safe...get a gun from Shining too," Luna added.

"Yes, bosses, so you girls ready?" Spike asked, standing up, AJ and RD followed suit.

"Let's do this!" Rainbow replied, leading Spike and AJ out of The Sisters' office.





The 3 partners walked out of the back and Spike told the girls to get a car while he gets his weapon from Shining. He walks up the metal stairs and enters Shining's gun office. He sees the white unicorn messing around with something, his back turned to the purple dragon.

"Uh...Shining?"

The white unicorn turned around and looked at the purple dragon. "Hey there, man."

"Whatcha working on?"

"Oh..." Shining turned around and showed him that he was working on some type of automatic gun. "I've just been tweaking with a few weapons and trying to see what I can come up with on my own..."

"Ah...what kind of weapon."

"Well..." Shining walked to his desk and placed both of his hands on it. "I'm working to see if I can make a non-lethal weapon, like maybe make a firearm that fires special bullets coated with a sleeping spell. Twilight is helping me with the experiment after hours, just like old times."

"Old times?"

"Yeah...Twilight and I were very close when we were kids." Shining sat down. "But...after our parents got killed in an accident...she began to change..."

"Change how?"

The white unicorn looked up and smiled. "Well, when we were growing up, she was always so happy and smart, she loved to learn and I loved when she told me facts I never knew about certain things..."  

He paused for a minute and dropped his smile. "But...after the deaths of our parents...she became this whole...different pony. She barely ever smiles anymore, and she never went to another library ever again. She mostly has spent her time in a shooting range with a big unsettling smile on her face every time she held a gun..."

"How did you guys come across Celestia and Luna?" Spike asked, intrigued

"She saw how good Twilight used a gun so she hired her. And as time went by, she became Celestia's consigliere. I joined as their weapons expert just so I can stay close to Twilight...to protect her, even though I knew long ago that she didn't need me anymore..." Shining confessed his entire story to Spike.

The room was completely silent for about a few minutes before Shining broke it and stood up. "So...now that all that mushy shit is out of the way...what can I do for ya?"

Spike nodded, remembering why he was there again. "Oh yeah...I was assigned as a driver for RD and AJ to collect some protection money and Luna wanted me to get a firearm just to be safe...so maybe some type of small gun would be enough."

"Ah...gotcha." The white unicorn reached under his desk and took out a black revolver with a brown grip. "How about a Smith & Wesson Model 15 double-action revolver? It carries 6 .38 Special bullets and is fitted with a 4-inch (100 mm) barrel."

"Ha, egghead much?" Spike laughed, picking up the revolver.

"Hey, they don't call me a weapons expert for nothing," Shining replied with a wink.

The purple dragon looked it over in his hand and aimed it, looking down the sights. "Yeah, I think that'll do...I wasn't planning on using it anyway..." He slipped inside his suit and waved goodbye to Shining.

Once the door closed, The unicorn went back to working on his non-lethal weapon.





Spike walked down the metal staircase and sees Applejack and Rainbow talking to Flash. He jogged over to them and they took notice. "Hey guys, sorry I took so long, but I got the gun."

"Great, now I can show you how to get in today's car," Flash replied, leading the 2 mares and drake to a blue subcompact car. Spike leaned in and watched Flash pick the lock. "It's a bit faster than the Micro but it's still a bit slow when you start it up, but on the bright side, look how easy they are to nab. just stick the lock tabs together and boom you got it."

"Thanks, Flash."

"No problem, enjoy it." Flash walked away and went to another car he had in the garage and began to work on it.

Spike sat in the driver's seat and watched Rainbow move the passenger seat down so she can get in the back, AJ put the seat back up and sat down in the passenger seat. "Alright, Spike let's go."





Spike drove around town while getting directions from AJ on where the places were, the first stop was the grocery store. 

Applejack sounded the horn and out walked a blue unicorn mare from the establishment carrying a black suitcase. "Hey AJ, RD, come to collect?"

"Yeah, ya got it?" 

The mare nodded and gave them the briefcase full of dollar bits. "Sorry I was late on the payment last time, the business was slowing down that month..."

"Hey, it's no problem, we'll give your regards to the sisters. See ya."

The store manager waved goodbye and watched Spike drive away from the restaurant.







A Few Minutes Later...



After collecting the money from the grocery store and restaurant, it was time to collect the money from the hotel in the countryside. 

Spike pulled up near the hotel, which was basically in the middle of nowhere. It was a small looking place that could probably hold more or less than 50 people. There was some rust and rot coming off some metal and wood on the building, but overall it looked like a decent place.

Applejack climbed out of the car along with Rainbow who pushed the seat down to get out too. Rainbow bent down and looked at Spike through the window. "OK, Spike, me and AJ are gonna get the money together since this place can be a bit on the creepy side. So just wait out here and we'll be right back."

Spike nodded and watched RD and AJ enter the hotel through the front door. The purple dragon decided that now would probably be the best time to gas up the car, he was driving around a lot. He looked and saw a gas pump close by, so he grabbed a jerry can from the trunk and began to fill it with gas after paying.

Once he fueled up the car, he heard loud gunshots coming from inside the hotel. Spike dropped the jerry can after he jumped from the sudden 'bangs', not noticing that he spilled the last few contents of gasoline on the ground.

The rookie ducked behind the car, took out his S&W Model 15 revolver from inside his suit, and aimed it at the door, ready to shoot.

The front door opened and Spike gasped, Rainbow Dash came out with a hole in her stomach. She wobbled a bit and dropped to the ground with a thud. 

"G-God D-Damn it....F-Fucking....B-Bastards..." Rainbow rasped.

Spike ran over to the downed mare and grabbed her. "Shit, Rainbow!" He looked up and saw a red and black pegasus stallion come out of the same entrance and he aimed his Heckler and Koch USP at the dragon.

"Tell those whore bosses of yours that this place belongs to Don Sombra now...so beat it or you'll end up worse than your friends."

Spike growled and fired his gun at the pegasus, knocking him straight in the head. "Fuck him..." He looked down at the pegasus. "Rainbow...I need to get you to a hospital..."

Rainbow shook her head. "N-No...get AJ first...they're gonna beat info out of her..."

Spike nodded and dragged Rainbow to the car and sat her up against it. "I'll get her..."

"W-Wait..." Rainbow called out, stopping the purple drake before he moved. She reached into the chest piece of her dress and took out her Glock 17 along with two clips. "H-Here...t-take my g-gun..." Spike took the pistol and slipped the revolver into his pocket. "I-It c-carries more bullets than...that Model 15 ya got...now hurry!" 

Spike nodded and ran in, almost immediately he was met with an avalanche of bullets coming his way from 7 ponies. He ducked behind a table and fired back at the ponies shooting at him with Rainbow's Glock. He managed to get 2 ponies in the head and killed 2 more with multiple shots to the torso. 

Then out of nowhere, Spike took a hit in the neck from a blue unicorn mare holding a Tenring Custom Colt 1911. He fell over gripping his neck but after a few seconds, the pain just disappeared like it wasn't even there in the first place. He backed his hand away from his throat seeing a just a drop of blood on his palm. 

He checked his neck again but no blood was added to his hand once he separated it again. His train of thought was cut out after a bullet whizzed by above his head, He got back to focus and fired back at the ponies shooting. He missed a few shots and ducked back down, reloading Rainbow's gun with one of the clips she gave him, he also took out his Model 15 revolver began to dual-wield fire both guns.

Spike heard a door open in front of him and saw another goon carrying an Ithaca 37 with an attached strap. Before he could aim at the dragon, Spike fired his Model 15 and is hit the pony in the torso along with a headshot. When the pony dropped, his shotgun landed near Spike. 

The dragon saw it and put his pistols down and grabbed the Ithaca, cocking it. 

"Let us hope I can use this correctly..." The rookie told himself. He popped up from his cover and shot one of the three ponies with the shotgun, throwing her over the bar counter with a hole blown straight through her torso. The other two ponies were too distracted with the dead mare that it gave Spike a chance to shoot both of them in the head with Rainbow's Glock.





Applejack was standing up in a room and her hands were chained to the ceiling, a white pegasus stallion was circling her with a baseball bat. 

"Now...I'm gonna ask you again..." The stallion said. "What are those bosses of yours doing?!"

"We jus' came to pick up some money from the owners." Applejack replied. "Don't be an idiot..."

"That's not good enough, I'm gonna smack your fucking legs till your bones turn to dust, speak!" 

AJ snickered a little. "OK, OK...yer dad likes it up the ass...what do ya want meh to say ya, dumbass?" 

The stallion growled and smacked Applejack in the stomach with the bat, making her grunt and cough. Then he walked around and smacked her in the back, the stallion hearing a slight crack and a mare scream in pain.

The orange earth pony dropped her head down and breathed heavily. The stallion used the bat to push AJ's head up to look at his scowling face. "Very funny. You think you're a smartass, you redneck bitch?!"

It was AJ's turn to growl a bit. "No...Ah'm chained up in a hotel a long way from home...while some pegasus-fuck threatens me with a fuckin' baseball bat...so no bud...Ah'm not the smartass ya think Ah am."





Spike heard some shouting after he went up the stairs with his Ithaca pointing in front of him. He opened the first door and saw AJ chained up as a stallion with a baseball bat was about to whack her again. Before he could though, Spike grabbed the stallion's arm and as soon as he looked at the dragon, he punched in straight in the face.

The stallion fell to the floor but before he could get up, Spike unloaded his shotgun on him, shooting him over and over 5 times. By the time he finished, Spike couldn't even make out his face anymore.

He looked at the chained up AJ and smiled. "You good?"

"Y-Yeah...thanks, Spike." AJ coughed as Spike dropped his Ithaca on the floor and used his Model 15 to shoot AJ's chains loose, finally releasing her. 

Just when they thought they could go, a bullet landed directly into Applejack's leg, she screamed in pain as she fell into Spike's arms. Spike looked and saw a blue unicorn burst out of a nearby closet with a bag and a Colt Detective Special . 

"Don't move or I'll pop you too, ya stinkin' lizard!" The mare said, looking around the room, seeing the 200% dead stallion as she continued pointing the gun at him. "C-C'mon, j-just try it ya bastard!"

Spike sat on the floor with AJ still in his arms as he and held one of his hands up, his other hand was still holding on to the orange earth pony who shivering a bit in pain from the bullet wound in her leg as she too looked at the mare. "O-Okay Okay...just take it easy...everything's fine...just go."

The goon slowly made her way to the door, making sure her gun was still pointed at them."Stay right there, don't try to move a fucking inch!"

"I won't, don't worry...just go..." Spike watched as the goon ran out of the room, Applejack slowly looked up at him, speaking a bit with a pained groan.

"N-No...s-she has...our dough....we have to get her..." 

Spike looked at the door with a growl and stood up, wrapping AJ's arm around his back as the two slowly walked out of the room.





Once they got outside they saw Rainbow still breathing heavily with her stomach wound, She slowly pointed at the mare who sat in her car, trying to start it. 

Spike looked around and saw that the jerry can he accidentally dropped was finished leaking gas and the liquid was closing in on the mare's car, he suddenly got an idea and turned to AJ. "Applejack listen...I need you to help Rainbow up and drive the car a few feet away from the tanks."

"W-What?" AJ asked. 

"J-just do it...and be careful," Spike replied, taking her arm off of his back and giving her his Model 15 revolver.

Applejack holstered the gun and limped over to the blue subcompact car. She placed Rainbow carefully into the passenger seat after helping her up and started the car, driving a good distance away from the hotel's gas tanks. 

Spike looked down at the trail of gas and took out Rainbow's Glock, pulling the slide back a bit, seeing he only has one bullet left. 

The mare finally managed to start the car but when she heard her passenger door open, she looked to her right and saw the dragon that she told not to move, she watched as Spike grabbed the bag of money and shot the gas trail with the final bullet. 

He saw the mare getting ready to pull out her revolver but he threw the empty Glock at her, distracting her enough to allow the ignited gas to come closer to the car. Spike ran and jumped forward once the fire got too close to the mare's car and it along with herself was engulfed in flames.

The dragon landed on the ground and saw the burning car along with a bit of the mare's body burning with it. It triggered some PTSD with Spike, remembering the time he saw that car explosion when he first met Rainbow and Applejack. 

He shook it off and stood up, along with dusting himself off. He ran over to his partners and showed that he got the money with him. 

Applejack congratulated him and Spike drove the three of them to Celestia and Luna after a job well done to get healed up.
> 9: Explaining Things
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[A Few Minutes Later] The Sugarcube Cafe


Spike watched from outside the infirmary as Celestia put a small healing spell on Applejack while Luna puts one on Rainbow, it wasn't much but it would let them be able to walk a bit better than before. 

Applejack's cuts and bruises disappeared along with the bullet coming out of her leg and the hole disappearing but a few scars and faded bruises took some of their places and she might still limp a bit for a few days. Rainbow Dash, got the bullet in her stomach removed along with the bullet hole but she still had a bit of pressure on her stomach like a stomach ache.

Celestia and Luna walked out of the small room and looked at Spike, who was a bit worried. "How are they?"

Luna looked back. "Applejack's cuts and bruises weren't that serious and the bullet in her leg didn't hit any major vein or artery and Rainbow Dash didn't lose that much blood, the bullet didn't hit any major organs. It was a good call sending you there to aid them, Sir Spike."

Celestia nodded. "Yes, I couldn't imagine what would've happened if you weren't there...speaking of which, what did happen over there?"

Spike shrugged. "I'm not so sure, at first we were just collecting money from the places you said then once we got to the hotel, Sombra's guys were already there. They shot Rainbow in the stomach and a guy was beating up Applejack with a bat and a mare who had the money shot her in the back of the leg. I managed to bust in and I save AJ. The member that shot her tried to get away with the dough but I manage to save the money along with blowing them to bits."

"Alright...well thanks for saving them, Sir Spike," Luna said, smiling. "Ya know...I think anymore action might put a number on your psyche."

"I agree, Spike." Celestia agreed. "Why don't you take a few days off, it'll give AJ and RD enough time to rest their wounds." 

"Thanks, bosses," Spike replied with a smirk, he walked over to the staircase and walked down them to get to the exit. 

Celestia and Luna both smiled at each other. "Spike sure is something is he?" asked Celestia.

"Oh certainly, Tia. Sir Spike is an excellent addition to the organization. I'm positive he'll do amazing here after what he did today." Luna replied, nodding, and walking back into the office. 

Once Luna closed the door to the office, she looked behind her with the corner of her eye and she took out her cell phone.







[Later That Night] Barb's House



Spike walked into the front door as quietly as he could, but as soon as he closed the door. A light flicked on and Spike turned around, there was his twin sister Barb sitting in a chair with an angry expression on her face. She has her pajamas on which contained a black tank-top and little dragon pajama bottoms. She was staring right into Spike's eyes, her face not changing. Spike looked down and saw that there was a rolled-up newspaper in her hand.

The tension there was so thick that it can be cut with a sharp knife...after a while, Barb finally spoke. "Spike...how've you been?"

Spike looked left and right. "Uh...alright, how've you been?"

"Fine..." Barb answered. "So, Spike.....where have you been?"

"At work, had to drive late today." Spike lied, but Barb wasn't fooled.

"Is that so, you seem to be having to drive late a lot...does driving a cab require you to wear a suit?"

Spike started to sweat. "Um...it was an important passenger today. I had to drive a...driving inspector to various places after my shift, to see if I'm doing everything right when it comes to driving a cab...I wanted to look my best."

Barb was just about enough of this shit, she got up and squeezed the rolled-up newspaper in her hand. "Spike Dragan! I know what you've been doing!" She unrolled it and threw it at Spike. 

The purple drake caught it and looked at it, seeing Barb circle the title of an article that caused him to look at it with pinprick pupils. 





Cars Destroyed & Murder Massacre at Sombra's Bar!!



The Equestrian Solar Guards found 6 bodies in the parking lot near the bar that belongs to Don Sombra of The Sombra Crime Family along with a few cars that burst into flames and exploded. One body was found in a shed and the rest were out in the open. The guards managed to identify 2 of the deceased ponies, Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon Sweetie Drops. They were loyal members of Sombra's empire. Guards also found discarded weapons, A jammed pistol, an almost empty revolver, and two empty sub-machine guns. 

The guards checked the fingerprints on all the guns, The pistol was used by one of the dead ponies, but the other 3 weapons had the same fingerprints on them. The Solar Guards revealed that it wasn't just any normal pony prints, the prints belonged to a dragon. So the Solar Guards are on the lookout for a Dragon that might be involved with The Solaris Sisters Crime Family.

We asked the Chief and Deputy Chief of The Solar Guards, Dual Blade, and Virtus Darkpaw, and here's what they said:

DB: "It was probably just another gang attack, this happens a lot in this city, sadly...but we will find the dragon who did this."

V: "Yes, if a dragon is apart of the Solaris Crime Family, it could make The Solaris Sisters even more dangerous than they already were before if a single dragon caused this to happen all by himself. Now if you'll excuse us...the chief and I have very important business that must be dealt with immediately." 



At the bottom of the article, there was a black and white security camera photo of Spike firing the machine guns he used on Lyra and Bon Bon. 

Spike looked up from the paper and was met with the snarliest glare Barb has ever given him since their childhood. He began to sweat.

"Uh...I w-wonder when they're gonna get the dragon eh, Barb? Heh Heh…" Spike managed to stutter out, His sister added sharp gritted teeth with her death glare getting more 'deadly' She pointed at the loveseat next to the chair she was sitting down in before.

Spike, getting what she wants him to do, walks over to the loveseat and sits down, putting the paper next to him. Barb sat down in the chair next to it, her glare was now calm but she still looked at him angrily.

"Spike..." Barb began. "Can you explain to me why you have guns in the article picture, along with thousands of dollars added into your bank account?"

"You looked into my bank account again, Barb? I thought you said you wouldn't do that anymore!"

"Don't change the subject, buster! You're the one who's in deep trouble and I want the whole truth, NOW!"

The purple drake growled a bit and looked at the floor with a sigh. He knew lying was useless and would make it even worse. He's busted, so he finally decided to come clean. "I'm working with the Mafia..."

Barb's anger turned into shock. "W-What?!"

"Yep..."

"F-For how long?"

"5 weeks..."

Barb was now even more shocked. "So...for weeks you've been working with the Mafia...and you lied to me about still working with the cab industry..." Tears appeared in her eyes. "Y-You've lied to me for 5 whole weeks..."

Spike sighed. "I didn't have a choice, Barb..."

"What do you mean you didn't have a choice!?" The purple dragoness snapped.

"I almost died!" Spike snapped back. "I almost died because of my fucking excuse for a job!"

"What do you mean?" Spike growled a bit and looked at his slightly crying twin sister. 

"I was just minding my own business one day, then 2 members hijacked me and held me at gunpoint as I drove them away from rivals. They gave me money for my forced services...and I swore to myself that I would never work for criminal scum...but after 3 days past, the rivals found me and tried to cap me! I escaped and I reluctantly decided to work for The Solaris Sisters, because there is no way I would survive if I stayed alone after they found out where I work, my license plate, and even how I look...Barb I'm telling you...If it wasn't for them I would be dead!"

Spike was now crying as Barb sniffed. "Do you think I liked lying to you Barb?! You're my sister! The sister I love the most in the whole world! But I didn't want to lose you...I hid my real job from you under a rock because I didn't want to see you get hurt... God forbid, If somepony found out where I lived, they would fuck with you to get to me! I...I don't w-want t-to lose you. You're my only sister Barb, I don't want to lose you like how we lost our parents..."

The Dragan twins both cried as Barb held out her arms. "C'mere you!"

The two loving siblings shared a hug as they cried on each other's shoulders. This went on for a good 40 minutes but then they slowly stopped crying, but continue to hug. Barb finally spoke up. "I-I may not support you doing this Spike...but, all I want to say is...just be careful."

Spike nodded and broke the hug, holding both of his twin sister's hands. "I will, Barb, I promise...I will never leave you."
> 10: The Car Race - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After telling Barb about being in the Mafia, Spike was able to just walk out and walk back into the house when going on jobs instead of the usual sneaking out or going out early as he did for 5 weeks. One day he even introduced Rainbow and Applejack to her. She took a liking to both mares but in her mind was nervousness, since The Solaris Family are killers just like any other mob family, but unlike Sombra, The Sisters were doing it for a reason.

Spike and Barb heard about how Sombra does his misdeeds around Manticore, thanks to AJ and RD. He also has a bit of a temper when anypony does something to him, even if it was by complete accident.







[Flashback] Somewhere In The City (2 Days Before Protection Money)



two members of The Sombra tribe were driving their Don to a new restaurant in town. The Don heard about what happened at his bar a few days ago, he was in a very bad mood because of that. Sombra was The Don of the family, he wore a black 2 piece suit with a gray dress shirt and a black tie that goes well with his dark gray fur and red devilish eyes with purple mist.

One unlucky female griffin accidentally hit Sombra's black limo with her car while near a red traffic light. Sombra looked at the car behind them and he got out along with his two henchmen. The griffin came out of her car and saw that the car she hit was Don Sombra's car.

"You fucking bitch!" Sombra yelled in a dark voice. "Do you know how much this car cost me?!"

The griffin was shaking in her shoes. "I-I'm s-sorry Mr. Sombra...sir. I wasn't looking where I was going...I was driving slow...sir."

Sombra took it the wrong way. "Wait hold on...are you saying that I? I crashed into your car?"

The griffin shook her head fast. "No, No, No I didn't say that please."

Sombra growled and took out a Mark XIX (.44 Magnum) Desert Eagle from his suit jacket and fired at the griffin, hitting her in the leg. She screamed and dropped to the floor, holding her bloody leg.

A nearby Solar Guard looked in the direction of the gunshot, but when he saw who it was, he looked away. Pretending not to see what's happening.

Sombra then slowly walked up to the griffin and spoke to her one word at a time as he shot her in different places. 

"No." He shot her in the other leg. 
"One." He shot her in the right arm. 
"Gets." He shot her in the left arm. 
"In." He shot her in the right shoulder.
"My." He shot her in the left shoulder. 
He then put his foot on her chest and aims at her forehead. 
"FUCKING WAY!" He fires the gun right in her head, splattering blood and brains all over the road.

He spits on her corpse and gets back into the car, having his members drive away with him in the back.



[End of Flashback]



Needless to say, Sombra got his power with manipulation and fear from everypony, even his employees.







[5 Months Later] Sugarcube Café



Spike was sitting down at a booth with Celestia, both of them having a late-night drink. The mare had a bit of a concerned look on her face.

"Spike, I'm sure you're aware of the big car race that happens once a year?" She asked.

Spike nodded. "Yeah, AJ and RD told me all about it when I visited them. Saying that all of the richest creatures are gonna be there to bet on racers to get more cash as well as everyone else who manages to shows up."

"That's right and just so you know, Luna and I helped a certain somepony with his career. His name is Cloudy Flash."

Spike perked up. "Wait...THE Cloudy Flash?! He's the most famous racer in all of Manticore! You helped with his career?!"

Celestia nodded with a motherly smile. "Yes, Luna and I are also big fans of him despite us helping him get to the top. He's been a personal favorite of ours since he won his first race."

"That's so cool!" Spike said. "So what's the deal with the race?"

"Oh right. Listen, Spike, Everyone bet that Cloudy is gonna win tomorrow because we recommended him." Celestia explained. "But then I just received word from Flash Sentry that a female cat from upstate came to Manticore to race and has an even faster car than Cloudy. And just by looking at it, Flash knows that her car will win 100%."

"And I believe him too, Spike," Celestia added. "Flash knows a lot about cars, but other than that he's a bit of a moron."

The alicorn looked straight into Spike's reptilian eyes and crossed her arms under her breasts. "What, he couldn't tell me BEFORE I bet on the kid?! Spike, this is serious, everypony's dough is riding on this. If Cloudy loses, then everyone will lose their bits. And since Luna and I are the ones who recommended him to be bet on, we'll be the laughing stock of the entire city! Everypony will hate us!" 

The white alicorn un-crossed her arms and placed them on the table. "Spike, I can't let that happen."

"So you want me to pop her?" asked Spike, with a raised eyebrow.

"No, God, No!" Celestia shut that option straight down. “No popping anyone, Spike. If you kill her, then I won't enjoy my winnings at all...I want the race to be won fairly while also a bit on the cheating side. Plus we've seen enough dead bodies for a while. Flash has come up with a good plan, so I want you to see him."

Spike nodded. "OK, got it."





Spike walked up to Flash who was fixing up a blue Compact car, as soon as he heard footsteps, Flash placed his wrench down and wiped his sweaty forehead with his arm. 

"Hey, Spy," Flash said, closing the trunk and walking to the dragon. "What's up?"

"Hey, Flash. Celestia told me that you have details about some car race?" 

"Oh yeah, so I came up with a plan on what to do with taking care of that cat's fast car, we can sabotage it!"

"So you want me to sabotage a car?"

"No, not you...no offense, but if you sabotage it then everyone will notice. We need to sabotage it discreetly by taking it out on the insides. Luckily I already have a guy you’re gonna take it to. Listen, for this to happen we need that car, luckily I know the guy working as a night guard at The Race Track Garages. His name is Sharp Twist. I talked to him about the job and he said he'll help cuz he owes me a favor."

"What did you do?"

"I helped him get some bastards off of his back. They were beating him up and I saved his life."

Spike nodded. "That was nice of you."

"Heh, thanks, man," Flash replied with a smile. "Anyway, all you have to do is tell him I sent ya and he'll take you to the car. Once you got it, bring it to a garage on Chase Point near The Pony Borough Bridge, the guy there will take care of the car. Once that's done just take it back to the race garage and you're done."

Spike nodded again. "OK, seems easy enough..." 

"Don't get so sure of yourself, my scaly friend, it's not gonna be that easy," Flash added. "First of all, The Race Track has a guard change system. So you must get the car and then get it back before Sharp's shift ends at 2:30 AM, also you have to drive it carefully not a single scratch should be found in that car, otherwise, we're fucked. Got it?"

Spike looked at his watch and saw the time was 12:01 AM. This job will be the most difficult one not to mention will have the most pressure. After thinking, he nodded. "Alright, Got it, so how will I get there?"

"With this, of course." Flash walked over to the car he was working on. "I just got this baby fixed up for ya. It's not that fast, but you'll go about 75 miles per hour when you put your foot down very hard." 

"Cool," Spike replied, getting into the car after Flash showed him how to open it. "Thanks, Flash."

"No prob, now hurry!" Flash said, hitting the car's trunk two times with the palm of his hand.

And with that Spike drove into the night, racing as fast as he could to get to the race car.



 



[12:39] The Race Track



Spike pulled up at The Race Gate, looking to his right he saw a white unicorn with a black mane and glasses, along with a security uniform look at him, while pointing a flashlight. "Hey, what are you doing here? We're closed."

"Uh...Sharp Twist?" asked Spike. "Flash Sentry sent me."

"Oh! You're Flash's friend? Sorry, just doing my job. I'll take you to the car." Sharp said he pressed a button inside his booth and the gates swung open.

Spike lets Sharp drive his car to the racing car. Which was inside a garage near a bunch of others holding other race cars.

Sharp’s horn sparkled, making one of the garage doors open. And there it was...

The race car was a red Koenigsegg Agera R mid-engine sports car.

The pony and dragon got out of Spike’s car and walked over to the beautiful sports machine as Sharp gave Spike intrusions.

“Alright buddy, you have to get it to Flash’s friend’s garage then back here in one piece, you hear me?” 

Spike nodded.

“Good, just know that not a single tiny scratch must be found on the car...but you also should hurry up cuz my shift ends soon.” The white unicorn added, he walked over to a wooded workbench and he threw Spike the keys to the ride.

After Spike got in and turned on the car, Sharp Twist spoke up, putting his hand on the top of the car and looking at Spike in the window. “Also another fair warning kid: This car goes FAST. It might even be the fastest car in the world or something...but just make sure you’re easy on the ‘Go’ pedal...cuz one push too hard on that thing will send this car to the fuckin moon.”

“Alright, got it,” Spike replied, he then slowly drove the car into the night to the garage, but not before looking at his watch and saw it was already 12:50.





Spike drove as slow as he could with the car, so he won’t smack into anything when it’s at full speed.

“So I guess this is what I do now...” Spike said to himself. “Steal things and kill ponies for The Sisters’ amusement...but at least they make it up with the money. I just hope no one I know is in this business too...”

Spike screeched to a stop in front of the garage Flash told him it would be. But something clicked in Spike’s mind...he knew this place.

The purple drake got out of the car and walked into the garage. Seeing a familiar changeling inside, fixing a car.

Spike does know this place...this is Thorax’s Garage!

The changeling looked up from his work and saw the purple drake. “Oh...hey Spike, why you here so late?”

Spike stayed silent, still a bit shocked at the newfound discovery. Thorax looked behind Spike and saw the red sports car, making him realize why Spike was here, making the bug pony return the shock at him.

Spike finally broke the silence after a few seconds of staring. “Thorax....you’re working for the Mafia?!”
> 11: The Car Race - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike looked at Thorax with complete disbelief, the fact that he found out that the changeling was working for The Solaris Sisters. While Thorax looked at Spike, seeing the race car behind him and putting two and two together, being as silent as Spike was as he stared back at him.

"So...uh...this is awkward..." Thorax managed to say, breaking the silence. 

"Yeah...I guess it is..." Spike said. "I have so many questions..." Thorax shook his head, walking up to the dragon.

"Don't ask any just yet...We still have a job too and..." The changeling looked at his watch. "You got an hour left..."

"Shit, can you mess up the car in that amount of time?" 

"Yeah of course...bring it in." Spike nodded and went back into the race car, bringing it into the garage. Thorax closes the garage door for good measure as the purple drake gets out. "Just give me a few and you'll be back on the road in no time..."

Spike sat down on a bench and nodded, slowly beginning to fall asleep as Thorax works.





"Yo, Sleepy-head...get up you have work!"  Spike woke up hearing Thorax's voice and stood up, rubbing his eyes a bit as the bug pony continues to speak. "I've done all I can do, now be careful with it...it won't drive as well as it did before and it must be-"

"Yeah Yeah...Spotless...No scratching...time left?"

"30 minutes..." Thorax replied, Spike quickly got into the car.

"Fuck, I gotta go!" The drake turned the key but the engine just sputtered a bit, not turning over. "Come on, not now!" The car sputtered as the key was turned again. "Shit! I can't move!!"

"Hang on..." Thorax went in front of the car and opened up the hood, looking at the steaming engine. "Turn the key again." Spike listened and the engine sputtered again, while it was doing that, Thorax placed both hands on the engine before hitting it in a certain way that made the car turn over. "There...."

Thorax closed the hood and patted the car, getting out of the way. "Be safe my friend...don't crash into any trees on the way, heh..."

"Yeah ok...let's just hope this is still driveable..." Spike drove the car slowly out of the garage after his best friend opened the door for him. The car immediately swerved and almost hit the wall but he hit the brake just in time. "Jesus!"

Thorax slightly laughed but immediately stopped when Spike looked at him with a glare. "Just how badly did you fuck this car up?"

"Hm...well I dismantled the engine a bit by taking out the heater, cut a few wires, and destroyed the oil supply but made sure it doesn't leak out." 

"Perfect...The fully cold engine must be why the car isn't turning right..." 

"Just drive slowly and I guarantee you'll be just fine, cuz when the swerving happens just stop and fix the car's position on the road, It's that easy." Thorax looked at his watch. "Well...not that easy...you have 25 minutes left, I recommend you get out of here right now!"

"Right Right...thanks again Thorax, but don't think that'll get you out of the conversation..." Spike backed the car up and slowly began to drive back to the race track.





Spike drove even carefully than before around Manticore through the night. The car sputtering and swerving a few times cause of Thorax's work. He finally made it back to the race track and drove it slowly into the garage where Sharp Twist was waiting for him, but when he did a loud screech was heard, making both men's eyes widen.

The drake quickly got out of the car. "Oh no no no no, please..." He looked at where the car scraped and saw there was a huge noticeable scratch on the paint job. "NO!!! GOD DAMN IT!!" 

Sharp snapped at him. "Dude! What the fuck?! We said 'don't get the car scratched'!!" Spike turned to him.

"Oh fuck you!! You try driving a fucked up slippery sports car!"

"Whatever! What are we gonna do?!"

"Can you buff it out?"

"Do I look like a fucking magician to you, kid?!" 

"Um yeah? Didn't you forget that you're a..um how do you say...a UNICORN?!!?!?"

"There are no spells for buffing a car, smartass...even if there were those spells are only for mechanics, I'm just a security guard who as 2 minutes left on his shift."

Spike groaned in response, he then looked on a few shelves and found some red paint along with small brushes. "We're gonna have to cover it..."

"Does this look like an art project for you?! This is a car!"

"We have to do something! Now shut your trap and help me!" Sharp Twist growled and picked up a brush, quickly helping Spike paint over the scratch on the car, making sure that it is completely covered so no one will notice. 

They then stopped and looked at the spot they painted, it didn't look half bad...well when you glance at it at least...if you stare at it long enough you'll know it's painted with paintbrushes. 

"Well...better than nothing..." Spike said putting his brush down, Sharp Twist held up a finger towards him and his horn sparkled before it stopped. "I just accelerated the paint...its dry now."

"Alright...I better get out of here before the 2nd guard shows up...Have a good night!" Spike got into his blue Compact car that was nearby and quickly drove away into the night. He took out his cell phone and dialed Celestia's number.

"Spike...is it done?" Celestia asked.

"Yeah...it's done, but can I ask you something, ma'am?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Where did Thorax come into the picture with the gang?"

"Who?"

"The changeling at the mechanic? The one who I gave the race car to professionally sabotage?"

"Oh him...yeah let's just say he's another guy we helped just like you."

Spike turned a corner. "Another guy you helped?"

"Yes, he's been having trouble with some gangsters lately."

"Gangsters?"

"Yes, but these gangsters are lowlife, they harass him and destroy his shop, beat him up, ya know that kind of stuff...but I suggest you ask him the rest. Right now just worry about the race coming up and get some sleep, alright?"

Spike gave a single nod. "Yes, ma'am."

"Say hi to Barbera for me, she's a nice girl."

"That's my sister for ya."  Spike hung up the phone and continued to drive back to Barb's house, so many things were circling in his mind.

What's gonna be the outcome of the race? Would the racer notice the scratch? But there was one main thing that had him wondering the most...

How the hell is Thorax working with The Solaris Sisters?
> 12: The Car Race - Part III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Next Day - Barb's House

Spike put on his suit and was about to walk out before Barb came up behind him, still in her pajamas. She wrapped her arms around her twin brother as she rests her head on his back. "Brother...Why are you in such a hurry?" 

"Barb you know I have to go to the café today...the big car race is today," Spike answered, holding her hand. "Also ever since I told you I'm working with the mafia...you're even clingier than normal..."

"I'm just afraid Spike...." 

"Afraid?"

"Of course I'm afraid!" Barb practically yelled. "Every time you walk out of that door...my heart just pumps like crazy with worry, afraid that I'll get a call from Rainbow saying you got your head blown off..."

Spike turned around to look at her sister, his hand cupping her cheek. "Barb...I'm sorry I make you worry...but this is my life now..."

The purple dragoness places her hand onto his. "It doesn't have to be...I know you want to quit too...please...for me?"

"I'm sorry...but it's just something I have to do...but I promise you I will always come home safe and sound." Spike kissed Barb's forehead and walked out of the door.

The purple dragoness stared at the door and sighed, praying that her brother's words would stay true.





Sugarcube Café - 10 minutes later

Spike walked into the café and sees Carrot Cake cleaning the bar counter with a rag, the yellow stallion looking up at him. "Ah, Morning Spike."

"Morning, Carrot." Spike looks around and sees the cafe was empty. "Where is everyone?"

"They're already at the race Spike, you're late." Carrot puts the rag away and pours the dragon a glass of bourbon. Spike sitting down on a barstool and taking a drink.

"Well I was up since 2 AM doing the job and I needed a goodnight sleep...you can't blame me." As Spike continued to drink, the phone on the wall started to ring. 

Cup Cake came out from the kitchen approaching the phone. "I got it hon." She picked it up and put it near her ear. "Hello, Sugarcube Café...Oh..." She looked in Spike's direction. "Yes, ma'am he's right here....OK..." She walked over to Spike and handed the phone to him. "The boss mare wants a word..."

Spike grabbed the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Spike...it's Twilight, get your ass over to the race track right this second." 

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh no, nothing is wrong...unless you count Cloudy Flash getting his legs broken in half by some thug and now we need a new racer otherwise the entire gang will lose their money as being 'nothing wrong' then we're all fine." 

Spike crossed his eyebrows. "OK, that hurts..."

Twilight sighed. "Look Spike...the point is that Cloudy is out...probably no coincidence...you need to race for us."

"Why me?"

"Because you're away better driver than any of us...I don't have the time nor the patience to teach somepony else to drive fast with steady hands...you're our only hope, Spike, now as I said....Get your ass over here!" Twilight hung up before Spike got to respond, making the dragon sigh and give the phone back to Cup Cake, who took it back to the stand.

"What's wrong?" asked Carrot Cake, taking Spike's empty glass and cleaning it. "You don't look too happy..."

"That's 'cause I'm not..." The purple drake got up and walked to the door. "Cloudy's not racing cause of some thug and I'm his replacement..."

"Oh Jeez...that must be awful..." Cup Cake replied. "Wish you luck, dear."

Spike opened the door and without looking back, he replied. "Thanks...I know I'll need it..." He proceeded out the door as both Cakes looked at each other.





The Manticore Racing Curcuit - 10 minutes later

Spike arrived at the race track by his Microcar and skid to a stop. He walked over to Twilight who was standing near Rainbow and Applejack after turning off the car and getting out. "Twi..."

The purple alicorn looked at Spike and turned to him. "Took ya long enough, we only got 20 minutes till the race."

"Stop busting my balls and just tell me what I have to do..." Spike slightly snapped, Twilight puts her hand on his back.

"There are 3 laps in the race...by the final lap I better see you drive like Rainbow Dash's flying." She made Spike turn towards her and she puts a finger on his chest. "Cuz if you come in any other place besides first...the money is all gone and you lose every kind of respect you gotten from the gang. This means we kick you out and you're on your own and since Sombra's after you...you won't last 5 seconds when he finds you out of our family."

Luna heard what she said and intervened. "Now now Twilight...there's no need to frighten thine dragon...he'll do amazing." She looks at Spike with a cute smile. "You'll do amazing young one, my sister and I wish you the best of luck...and so does Ms. Sparkle...don't you?"

Twilight sighed a bit annoyed. "Yeah...regardless Spike good luck...and remember what happens when you fuck up."

Spike sightly shivered at the tone Twilight was speaking in and nodded. "Got it...but would it kill you to be nice to me for once?"

"Me being nice would get all of us killed...now if you don't want that...I suggest you suck it up and grow some balls you pansy..." The alicorn sneered, walking away with Luna to Celestia, leaving Spike to just sigh and get ready for his first race.





Spike got into his racing outfit which was a red and black one-piece along with a few badges and a logo at the back that read: Manticore Race Circuit on it. 

He grabbed his helmet from Rainbow Dash who was holding it for him. "Spike remember...when you're going that fast the other racers are likely to bump into you...so watch out for those other bastards. Also, don't worry about that new racer...since you already fucked up her car...everything should go smoothly. Best of luck to ya bud."

Spike nodded and put on his helmet, which was red with a mirrored shade of black covering his face. He walked onto the track and looked at the car he was assigned with, a black Koenigsegg Agera R. 

His heart was pumping blood into his body very fast like he was going to experience a heart attack when he saw the track and the car that would probably cause his death if he goes too fast. "I need to pick better life choices..." 

He opened the door and got into the car, and he was immediately met with so many gear shifts and firepower whenever he touched the accelerator pedal with his foot. "Okay...shouldn't be hard...think of it like when you first met AJ and RD, Spike...you'll do just fine."

There were 4 other racers not counting Spike on the track, of course, the cat was one of them. The stoplight shined red and as they waited, it quickly changed to yellow then green soon after. 

The loud sound of clutches and gear shifts can almost be heard by everyone as the racers hit their gas pedals almost at the same time. Spike sped away along with the four other racers, the female cat smiled as her car went passed everyone else and she went in the lead.

Spike gave a small smirk from other his helmet as he mentally counted down from 5 in his head, once he reached 1, right on cue, the cat's car broke down with a small puff of black smoke coming out of her engine. 

The cat gasped as she swerved around on the race track, her hands turning the wheel left and right trying to gain control of her car before she hit the barrier and went right over the banister and landing in a nearby field, her car finally stopped moving as she breathed heavily, getting out and coughing as she took off her helmet and landed onto the grass. 

The crowd all gasped at the accident but of course, the ponies involved with the mob all gave sly smirks, Celestia having the slyest smirk of them all.

Spike saw the whole thing and shifted the gear shift and the clutch, going around a sharp left and speeding up, he was next to one of the cars and he hit the side of it sending the car into a spiral. Sure he was racing a little dirty but he had to win the race by any means necessary except killing them.

He swerved around the next corner and finished the first lap, everyone cheering as Spike went passed another car, being in second place.

As time went by, Spike was at the final stretch all he had to do was pass the final car who was speeding very fast, the dragon growled and went behind the car, the wind stopped hitting him and he went faster and faster, closing into the car in front of him.

Spike turned the car to the right and hit the corner of the car, doing a P.I.T maneuver and spinning the car out of his way. And just like that, Spike crossed the finish line first and won the race.





There he was, on top of the pedestal holding the trophy in his hand as he held it up high. Two other racers stood on either side of him for second and third place. Spike won the race and The Solaris Sisters got a major payday from creatures who didn't bet on Spike.

All of Spike's friends cheered and clapped for him on winning. Celestia and Luna, in particular, were happy that their reputation won't be shattered to a million pieces if Spike lost the race. 

Spike smiled brightly as he got off the pedestal and was met with 4 mares coming his way and hugging him (Celestia, Luna, Rainbow, and Applejack). He looked forward and saw Twilight looking at him with her arms crossed, but then she gave a small smile and gave the dragon a thumbs up.

The purple dragon then looked around at all the ponies clapping and cheering for him, but then he saw someone in the back row that got his attention in particular. It was a pony wearing a brown cloak and clapping away with a bit of a sly smile on his face. He looked at him with squinted eyes before the pony dispersed from the crowd and disappeared with a quick flash. 

The dragon was still surrounded by the mares and didn't notice his distressed look as Celestia spoke to him. "Spike amazing job, we are so proud of you...if you didn't show up everyone would've lost their money. Thank you, you're truly one of us now."

Spike looked at her and smiled back. "It's no problem boss...I'm happy to help." He then felt something hook around his arms and saw it was Rainbow Dash and Applejack on either side of him. 

Applejack spoke to him. "Hey, Spike. Whaddaya say we celebrate back at the cafe, eh?" 

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, you kicked major ass, today man, you earned it bud." 

"Yeah, that sounds like fun." Spike smiled and was led to a limo by Applejack and Rainbow with Luna and Celestia following them with smiles on their faces.

Spike was happy that he won even more respect from Celestia and Luna from winning that race and now he's off to celebrate at the cafe...but something about that hooded pony made the purple dragon gave him an uneasy feeling in his stomach. 

Who was that guy?
> 13: The Car Race - Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[An Hour Later] - The Sugarcube Café



"Cheers!!!"

Everyone clinked glasses of wine and took a drink at the Cafe, celebrating Spike winning the race and a major payday among them all. The drake smiled brightly as he was getting praised by the gang, he couldn't believe he won the race.

"And then he was all like...ERRRRRRRRRRRRRR" Rainbow said, putting her arms out and pretending she's Spike turning the wheel and she was right now making the sound of Spike's car doing a hard turn. "Then the car was just spinning out of control and he crossed the finish line with such freaking ease!" 

"Heh, Okay Rainbow we know...we were all there," Spike said, Rainbow patting his back with a smile.

"I know man, but that shit was sweet!!" The gang members all laughed and nodded in agreement. Cup and Carrot Cake came out with some treats set up on a table which was cakes, pastries, bread, and cookies, making the party-goers get up to get some great treats from the Cakes.

Spike himself grabbed some gems from the Cakes and started to eat at a table, a glass of whiskey by his side, everyone was still talking about how great of a driver he was as Rainbow and AJ were right next to him, smiling. 

The two mares and dragon were talking about the race...asking how Spike was feeling when he hit the gas, which he responded with that he was practically pissing himself as soon as he took off, but as he got more into the race by the second lap, he got used to it.







[Meanwhile] - Sombra's Bar



The cloaked pony arrived at Sombra's Bar, going inside. He walked upstairs where he was met with 2 guards both holding M16s, they looked at him and smiled. "Ah good your back...I guess you want a word with the big man?"

"Yeah...mind letting me through?" asked the cloaked pony.

The two guards opened up the doors, looking at the pony. "Go on in ya crazy motherfucker." 

The pony scoffed and walked past the guards, the doors closed behind him, the loud shut echoed through the hall as the pony approached the door leading to his boss, he opened it up and sees Sombra with a light purplish unicorn that had a grayish arctic blue mane wrapped in a pony-tail, her hand was on his left shoulder.

The hooded pony knew that the unicorn was Radiant Hope, a close friend to the Don and his consigliere. She wore a tight white blouse and a tight black skirt to show off her curvy hourglass figure, on her feet she wore black high heels that make her look professional. 

Sombra looked at the pony and smirked a little. "So...what did you find out at the race?"

The hooded pony leaned up against a wall and crossed his arms, his right hoof sitting and resting on the wall as he looked at the Don. "I found that guy you like, Mr. Spike Dragan, he managed to win the race...and the fact that he works for The Sisters."

Sombra looked concerned. "Ah...so it is true. Dragan is working for those sluts...of course, he couldn't have come here to stir up trouble with us for no reason."

The hooded pony used his hand to make a gun and pointed it to his head, firing. "Along with capping three of our guys and two of our best mares right outside of the bar."

Sombra sighed and grumbled. "Yeah Yeah, boo fucking hoo and all that shit, they knew what they signed up for...its not my fault they got themselves bested by one lizard."

"Want me to liquidate him?" asked the hooded pony, Sombra started to think but shook his head.

"No no...I'm not gonna start a war for no goddamn reason." He sat back in his chair. "But we do need to expand on some territory...those sisters are getting on my nerves thinking they're all 'high and mighty'."

"Wouldn't we start a war when taking their territory?" Hope asked Sombra looked back at her.

"They already took a few hotels from me just 2 months ago, before this 'Spike Dragan' became a problem... it's only a matter of time before you walk into this room and see me laying on my desk in a pool of my blood with a goddamn .45 bullet through my head."

Hope hugged him tightly from behind, her arms resting on her boss' black suit material. "No! Don't say that, I don't want to see you get hurt!" Sombra petted her right hand.

"Don't worry my sweet, it won't ever happen unless we expand our territory before we're left with nothing." He looked at the hooded pony. "Grab as many men as you can and have them get the large hotel on 32nd Street across from Harrington...that's the closest."

The hooded pony nodded. "And I trust my fee will be the usual?"

Sombra growled a bit. "You'll get your money."

"Good." The hooded pony then walked out of Sombra's office as Hope looked at him.

"I always wonder why do you even bother having him for so many years if you keep telling me he's an asshole?" 

Sombra looked at his right-hand mare. "He may be an asshole...but he's a good earner, he gets the job done when I want it and how I want it no questions asked."

"What about when he first arrived?"

Sombra chuckled. "Oh yeah, he was just as much of an ass-kisser as you are my dear."

Hope giggled and pushed him playfully. "Piss off."







[2 hours later] - Sugarcube Café



Spike, RD, and AJ were clearing out all of the trash when the last of the guests left the café, there were empty liquor glasses and bottles on tables, dirty dishes, napkins, and silverware. To the three of them, it felt like they were cleaning out the dinner-rush. 

Once the final glass was cleaned, Celestia and Luna walked over to them, Luna spoke. "Great job today everyone, especially you Sir Spike, we couldn't have done it without you."

"Hey, it's no problem at all bosses. I'm glad I could help." Spike replied, smiling. Twilight walked past them, wearing a jacket.

"I'm off, see you tomorrow..." She walked out of the establishment, the door shutting behind her. Celestia nodded, looking at the three partners.

"Well it is getting late...how about you three take the rest of the night off?" 

Spike, RD, and AJ all smiled and looked at each other. "Sounds good!"

Celestia gave them a heartwarming laugh. "Good night you three, see you in the morning."

"Night bosses," RD said for all three of them as they walked out of the café into the night. 

Applejack took out a bag and put on regular shoes, putting her heels into the bag. "Ah' gotta go home quickly, mah dog Winona is probably starvin'....see ya, tomorrow guys!" The earth pony proceeded to sprint away from Spike and RD.

Spike pointed to the opposite direction of where AJ went. "Well, my place is just a few blocks down. I'll see you tomorrow." He proceeded to walk away from the pegasus till all of a sudden, RD wrapped her arms around his right arm which made Spike stop and blush.

He looked at Rainbow and sees her smiling with a blush on her face, looking away a bit shy. "A-Actually...Spike." She looked at him. "Y-You think m-maybe you can...walk me home? I don't live far."

Spike looked at her with a blushed face. "U-Uh...sure I don't mind." RD beamed with happiness but still tried to keep her cool as she and the purple drake began walking to RD's house, the blue pegasus' arm still wrapped around Spike's arm.

"S-So..." Spike started, RD looking at him with the corner of her eye. "I've been wanting to ask...how did you come into contact with The Solaris Sisters?"

Rainbow looked down. "That was years ago...I barely remember what happened myself..."

"How old were you?"

"I think I was about....10 when I came into contact with the sisters...so nearly 13 years ago..."

"So that makes you 23 right now? Wow...its crazy how young you still are..." Spike replied, earning a blushed smiling from RD, trying to hide her face a bit. "But how did you get involved with them at such a young age?"

"I was having a few money problems...stole some shit from the wrong people...and funny thing it was thanks to that robbery that I met AJ, who was just a low-ranked member of The Sisters at the time." Spike kept quiet as RD continued.  "She told me that she knew exactly who could help me with this problem I have and sure enough Celestia and Luna let me into their family as a small-time errand girl since ya know, I was still only a kid. Then as years past, they let me into their ranks when I turned 20 and I went from there to who I am now. A fucking psychopath who has nothing to lose but her own body and life..."

Spike looked at her. "You're not a psychopath. If anything I'm just as much as a psychopath as you."

Rainbow laughed a bit. "Oh, really you call 'screaming like a little bitch when you met me and AJ' psychotic?" 

The drake chuckled and held up one finger. "To be fair that was the first time I had a gun trained on me..."

"That's fair....wuss," RD said, with a smirk.

"Hey bite me." 

The rainbow pegasus put her mouth near his arm. "Nyom nyom." She then giggled as Spike laughed with her.







[3 Minutes Later] - Outside of Rainbow's Apartment



"Well, this is my place..." Spike and RD stopped in front of her house as the pegasus unhooked her arm from Spike's. "I'll see you tomorrow Spike."

"Sure thing." Spike turned around and was about to walk away before RD grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. He gave a slight gasp as he looked at the rainbow maned pegasus who then quickly pressed her lips onto his, kissing him deeply and passionately.

The dragon had no idea how to react as he felt Rainbow's tongue want entry into his mouth, so he did the most logical thing. He opened his mouth a bit and kissed her back.

The two creatures stood outside Rainbow's place kissing each other, their tongues dancing together in each other's mouths as they held their arms together. The warmth of the kiss was heating the two of them from the cold night the city was giving them. Soon enough the two of them separated and looked into each other's eyes, a bridge of their saliva mixed on their tongues the only thing that was still connecting them.

RD looked back at her place, her tail swishing a bit behind her. "Want to stay at my place for the night?"

Spike looked at Rainbow as his hands stayed on her back, his finger feeling the back zipper of her dress. "Please..."

Rainbow then grabbed Spike's arm and walked with him into her apartment, the dragon looking down at Rainbow's ass along with her swishing tail.

'Tonight....might get a little interesting.' Spike thought to himself, blushing profoundly.
> 14: Love is in Bloom [Clop]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow opened up the door to her apartment and pulled Spike inside, quickly shutting the door behind them. The pegasus proceeded to pounce the drake, making him back up into a wall as they resumed the make-out session they had outside. Rainbow jumped and wrapped her legs around Spike, making the drake jump a bit and open his eyes.

Spike smiled and put one hand on her back and the other on her ass to keep her up as they continued kissing, their tongues dancing in each other's mouths. Rainbow moaned into the kiss as he felt his hand that was holding her ass squeeze a bit.

The new couple then stopped kissing and looked into each other's eyes. Spike was a bit confused though as he let Rainbow get back onto her feet. "Rainbow? Why're you doing this?"

Rainbow blushed. "Well...Spike." She grabbed his hand and led him into her room, she sat down on her bed as the drake sat next to her. "Ever since you became a member of our organization, there was just something about you I couldn't ignore..."

"Like what?"

"Well...every time we're together with AJ on a few odd jobs or just hanging out...you're always so kind to us...to me. You know how to have a good time and even when we're at the bar...you always look at me with a smile on your face."

Spike blushed as RD continued. "And when we were at the race track today...and I saw you driving so fast...and put that car into a spin-out...Hoo boy, that was so...exhilarating." She put her hand on his chest as her muzzle touched his snout. "What I love most is speed...and by god you got speed, you work well while under pressure just like during the race, and when you saved me and AJ from Sombra's goons all by yourself? That was just the icing on the cake..."

Spike smiled a bit as Rainbow kissed his lips and looked into his eyes and whispered. "You just make me so happy...and what I want to happen tonight...will make me even happier."  

The purple drake nodded slowly and held Rainbow's cheek as he closed the gap between them, the couple kissing once more. Rainbow's hands wandered up to his body and she started to take off Spike's blazer as Spike went behind her back and pulled the zipper to her dress downward.

Rainbow felt her dress fall, her dark blue bra, and panties being revealed to the drake. The pegasus bit her lip as she began to unbutton Spike's dress shirt as the drake went down and began to lick her neck slowly with his long reptilian tongue, the pegasus moaned softly due to the action and took off Spike's shirt revealing his tough, scaly, and muscular torso. 

"I see you keep yourself in shape~," Rainbow said, feeling his torso. "Not too shabby, Dragan."

"You're not so bad yourself Ms. Dash," Spike replied, his hand traveling up her curvy figure to grope her left breast through her bra. 

Rainbow gave a small moan as he felt him toy with her, she then pushed him down onto the bed, the drake making a small grunt as his back hit the bed. He watched as the pegasus went on top of him with a sultry smile, her hands then went behind her back and she unclipped her bra. 

Spike blushed very deeply as he watched Rainbow's bra fall off and was met with her big perfectly shaped tits, her light blue nipples were very hard due to how aroused she was. RD saw Spike staring at her chest and she smirked, she went down and started to rub her tits onto his chest, her ass hitting his boner that was still trapped in his dress pants. Spike smirked and held her hips and changed positions with RD, the pegasus giving a small 'eep' as Spike was now on top of her.

Spike unbuckled his belt and took off his pants, his boxers doing a bit of a terrible job hiding his raging boner, which made Rainbow all the hornier. "Show me what we're working with here~"

Spike nodded and his boxers slid down and off of him, his member standing up and throbbing a bit, begging for attention. "Mmm...lookin good down there Spike."

"How about you show me how you look..." The drake replied, his head looking down and seeing that Rainbow's panties were wet with arousal. "If you don't mind that is?"

"Be my guest." Rainbow watched as Spike gripped her panties and slowly took them off of her. The drake smiled as he looked at Rainbow's naked body, which made his member throb again. Spike went back on top of Rainbow and he pressed his lips onto hers, starting another tongue war with his new lover.

Rainbow reached down and gripped his member, stroking it a bit as they kissed. Spike, in response, grabbed hold of the mobster's left breast in his hand and started squeezing it lovingly along with tweaking her nipple.

Rainbow broke the kiss between them and moaned. "Please Spike...take me!~" The pegasus watches with delight as Spike nods and aims his dick towards her pussy for her and slowly enters into the most sacred place of her body, pushing in deeper and deeper.

Rainbow moans so loud both of them were pretty sure she could wake the whole town up from their slumber. "OOH SPIKE!!! YOU'RE SOOO THICK~!!!!"

"And...y-you're so w-warm Rainbow!!" Spike replied with a loving growl, he could feel how warm and wet Rainbow was for him and he could even feel her walls tightening around his member like it never wants him to get out.

"Give it to me hard and fast!! I want you to destroy me!!" Rainbow yelled. sitting up with such speed and grabbing Spike's head. Which she then quickly pulled into her tits, smothering his face into them. 

Spike blushed a very deep red that he felt like smoke could come out of his mouth when he was met with the soft, furry surroundings that were Rainbow's chest as he heard a nearly audible *pomf* that Rainbow's wings made when they stood up stiff behind her. He then began to give Rainbow her wishes and started moving his hips at a moderate pace, the movement sending shivers up both of their spines as they felt this new sensation.

"Ohh, Spike...I l-love you..." Rainbow said in pure bliss, getting his face out of her tits so he could breathe. 

"I love you too Rainbow..." Spike replied, beginning to pick up the pace with the thrusting. Rainbow held him close to her as she lied down, her legs wrapping around his waist as she moaned with each thrust.

Both of them started to sweat from how hot they were getting, the house starting to have the smell of sex in the air as they kept going. Spike pressed his lips onto Rainbow's as he went even faster with his thrusts, their moans muffled due to the kiss.

Rainbow closed her eyes tightly as she moans a bit louder into the kiss, signaling that she was getting close to cumming. Spike smiled and then pushed as far as he could go inside of Rainbow, his pelvis touching hers as he reached the base. That action caused her to finally let go and cum hard, moaning as loud as when Spike first entered inside of her.

Spike was close to his climax as well, he kept thrusting till he was closing his eyes tightly. "B-Brace y-yourself!!!"

"GIVE IT TO ME!!!! GIVE ME ALL OF IT YOU FUCKING LIZARD!!!!!" Rainbow screamed almost insanely, getting a bit too into it as Spike finally came deep inside of her pussy, her walls closing in and holding his member there like it was trying to milk him dry.

Spike came as much as he could before slowly coming to a stop, he still thrusted a bit to make sure all of it was inside of Rainbow. 

His dick slowly came out of her and cum quickly started to drip out of her pussy. "W-Whoa...Amazing Spike..." The dragon laid down next to Rainbow and the pegasus cuddled up to him, nuzzling her face into his pecs. "I'm so glad I got to share this with you...I love you, Spike Dragan..." 

Spike gave a warm smile and softly kissed Rainbow's forehead, holding her close to him. "I love you too Rainbow Dash."
> 15: War Zone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hotel Crystal - During 'Love is in Bloom'
The Solaris Sisters' guys were everywhere near and around the hotel guarding the territory. Some were talking to each other, others were eating, and some were even sleeping a bit. 

A few gang members saw a black van pull up into the Hotel Parking lot and watched with caution as the hooded pony came out of the driver's side of the van. The mob members sensed some bad vibes with the pony so they plan to go up to him and ask him to leave with their guns if necessary. But a white wolf held up his hand to his fellow friends and walked up to the hooded pony by himself. "May I help you, what's with the cloak buddy?"

The hooded pony looked at the wolf. "I'm just gonna stay for the night doggy, calm it down."

The wolf growled a bit. "What?! Do you know who's speaking to?!" 

"Nope...don't care either..." The hooded pony went past the wolf with a shoulder bump, the wolf looked back and growled.

The hooded pony walked into the hotel and looked around. It was a pretty fancy place, it had an elegant marble floor, some pretty fancy furniture and even a chandelier on the ceiling. The hooded pony walked up to the front desk and sees a light blue earth pony mare typing on a computer, she wore a white shirt with a red tie and blue suit pants with high heels. The pony knocked on the desk and in response, the pony looked at him with a smile. "Hello sir, welcome to Hotel Crystal...would you like a room for tonight?"

"Uh no...I would like to know where the manager of this establishment is..." The pony said the receptionist pointed to a hall. 

"Through there and take two doors to the right of the weight room." 

The hooded pony nodded. "Thanks, darling." He walked past the desk and went into the hallway she pointed to.





In the hallway, the hooded pony spotted the door to the manager's office but he sees a guard standing there. The guard was a white unicorn mare wearing a suit and the hooded pony saw she had a Sawn-off Shotgun in her hand and she was drinking a bottle of beer.

The hooded pony took out a cell phone and began to talk into it. "Hold your positions...shit's gonna get real..." After hearing an okay from the caller on the other line, he put the phone away and walked up to the mare. 

The mare looked at him with an arched eyebrow, her hand gripping her shotgun tightly because of how suspicious he looks. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yeah...I need to speak to the manager." The hooded pony replied.

"Why?"

"I just want to talk to her..."

"She's busy right now, just state your business and I'll let her know later."

"No...I want to talk to her right now...not later, it's urgent..."

The guard was getting a bit irritated. "Listen, sir... The manager is very busy right now just tell me what you want to tell her and I'll tell her later. If you have a problem with that, I must ask you to leave the premises." 

The hooded pony sighed heavily and pushed the mare out of the way but in return, she hit him with her sawn-off, making the pony grunt in pain, the guard pushed him away from the door and pointed her gun at him. "Sir, I must now ask you to leave the premises...unless you want me to escort you out of the hotel all together?" She pulled the hammer back of her shotgun with an audible click, threatening to shoot him.

The hooded pony looked at the gun with an uncaring expression. "I wouldn't do that if I were you..." 

"Sir, you don't leave right now...I'll escort you out of the hotel...any resisting will result in you giving the wall a brand new paint job..." The guard poked his torso with the gun to tell him to get a move on. 

The hooded pony grabbed the gun with both of his hands and with his strength, he flipped her onto her back, the sawn-off shotgun now in his possession. She was about to get up but he planted his foot onto her belly keeping her down, he pointed her firearm at her head. "Get out of here right now...if you want to tell the whole gang...I'm taking over this place in regards to Don Sombra…"

"S-Sombra?!" The guard gasped.

"Yeah...now let me talk to the manager...unless you want the janitor to have a bitch day tomorrow morning trying to clean up your brains from the carpet..." The guard bit her lip as she stared down the barrel of her gun.

"Okay okay fine..." The guard stood up slowly after the assailant took his foot off of her. She knocked on the door, both ponies heard a voice.

"What is it? I-I'm busy..." The manager called, she sounded annoyed. 

"Uhm...M-Ms, Crystal ma'am? A-A stallion wants a word..." 

"T-Tell him...I'm b-busy..." The hooded pony could swear he could hear a bit of some audible squishing and could even hear a few gasps and moans. 

"But...he needs to talk to you ma'am...trust me..." 

"Tell him to wait! Unless...he could maybe give me a hand in here~" The last sentence she said sounded a bit...sultry.

The guard blushed very deeply on what she just said but the hooded pony just growled. "Grrr...Fuck this!" He quickly took out a Colt 1911 from his cloak and pointed it at the lock and shot it open with a loud blast near the guard. The manager screamed as the hooded pony kicked the door open and pointed the shotgun at her with one hand as he puts the Colt away, the guard right in front of him. 

He looked down and could tell what she was doing, he saw her panties on the floor and her right hand was close to her while her left hand was free. "Jesus...what is wrong with you?"

"Don't judge me...a woman has needs..." The manager said, putting her hands in the air, the stallion pushed the guard towards the manager's desk. 

The guard smiled. "Ya know, because of that shot...the rest of the guys are after you to take you down...the policy of our territory is if we hear a shot... someones gotta die." 

"We better not disappoint then..." The hooded pony sneered, he pulled the trigger on the sawn-off and blew the guard's head right off, some of her blood and brains landing on Crystal. The body dropped with an audible thud as blood began to pour out onto the floor.

Crystal was prepared to scream but she stopped herself when the hooded pony pointed the shotgun at her now. "One little scream...and your head will blow up just like that..." The mare, liking her head where it was, shut her mouth as she watched the stallion walk over to the guard and take out some handcuffs from her belt. "Behave yourself..." He grabbed her arm and slapped one handcuff on her wrist and put the other handcuff onto a shelf bar that connected it to the wall. 

After doing that, the pony heard some footsteps coming up to the door. He turned around and pointed the sawn-off at the door and saw it was a rival gang member, so he quickly disposed of him with a shotgun blast into the wall. The stallion dropped the sawn-off and went over to pick up the weapon the gang member dropped which was an H&K MP5. He saw more members run towards them in numbers and they started firing their guns at him.

The hooded pony did a dodge roll and went back into the office, he then hid behind the door and began to fire back at them with the MP5. As he fired back, he took out his phone and speed-dialed somepony. "I need a hand here...I got the manager...get your asses in the hotel right now!"

"We heard the gunshots jackass, we already know you need help...hang on." The Sombra goon replied, the hooded pony put his phone away and continued fighting back at The Solaris Sisters' goons with the sub-machine gun he stole. "Eat it fuckers!!!"





Sombra's men came in multiple vans and got out carrying all sorts of weaponry from shotguns to assault rifles. Guards that were outside got easily slaughtered by Sombra's guys, the sounds of bullets hitting flesh, guns falling, and bodies falling on the ground were all heard. 

Residents of the hotel either ducked down under furniture, hid somewhere else, or just got on the floor. The receptionist mare dropped down and hid under her desk, shivering in fear as Sombra's men poured into the building.





Celestia and Luna were sleeping at home till they woke up to a phone ringing, Celestia rubbed her eyes as she picked up her cell phone and answered it. "H-Hello?"

"Ma'am!! Hotel Crystal is under attack!! It's Sombra's crew...we're getting Slaugh-GAaaarrrgh!!!" Sounds of gunshots could be heard as the member who called Celestia could be heard dying. The white alicorn gasped, shaking her sister who went back asleep. 

"Lulu wake up!!!" The dark blue alicorn looked at her older sister. "Hotel Crystal is under attack!!"

Luna shot up. "What?!"

"Yeah...I'm gonna have to call AJ, Spike, and Rainbow..." She started punching numbers into her phone but Luna stopped her.

"No...we gave Sir Spike and Lady Applejack and Rainbow the night off...I'll send my division as back up."

"A-Are you sure Luna? This is no measly threat, this is Sombra!"

"Yes, call Black Shadow...he'll make sure my guys get there in time."

Celestia nodded and started to dial. "Okay sis, if you're sure..."





The hooded pony threw his MP5 on the ground after it ran out of ammo and began firing at the last of Celestia's guys with a Colt 1911 that he took out of his cloak. 

Sombra's men came and wiped the floor with the last of Celestia's division, the hotel was paved with bodies, discarded guns, bullet casings, along with blood and gore all over the walls and floors. The hooded stallion got out of hiding and aimed his Colt again only to see he was pointing it at a friendly. 

"Whoa easy, Mr. Itchy Trigger-finger." The member said with a chuckle, holding his hands up for a second. The hooded pony waved it off and tilted his head towards the manager's door. 

The member followed him and sees Crystal still handcuffed to the shelf's support, her legs shaking wildly with fear along with her makeup getting messed up due to her crying, the hooded pony walked up to her and used his gun to make the mare turn her head towards him to look at him. "Listen to sweet cheeks...let me make a proposition for you...you work for Sombra from now on...and I'll let you keep running the hotel along with keeping that cute head of yours on your shoulders."

"O-Okay...f-fine...I-I'll w-w-work for y-you..." Crystal shivered, the hooded pony patted her head.

"Good girl." He turned around towards the door and tapped the Sombra goon. "Watch her till I get back..." 

The mob nodded as he walked away from the office and looked around, seeing dead members of Celestia's division with a wide smile on his face. When he got outside, he saw around 5 SUVs speeding over to the hotel and all of them stopping very abruptly. 

He then watched as bat ponies with guns come out of the cars. "Look who arrived late for the party..." He then reloaded his Colt 1911.
> 16: Warning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

IThe Next Day - Rainbow's Apartment
The sun shined through the window of Rainbow's bedroom, shining onto the two creatures sleeping on the bed. Spike slowly opened his eyes and looked at the window, shielding his eyes from the sun. He then looked to his right and sees his new lover, Rainbow Dash, cuddling up to him. Both of them buck naked.

Spike blushed as he felt RD's tits against the side of his torso. He slowly leaned in and kissed her forehead gently which caused the 23-year-old pegasus to wake up with a smile and a blush as she looked at the purple drake that held onto her.

"Morning," Spike said with a smile. "Had a nice sleep?"

Rainbow giggled. "You kidding? That was the first time I ever slept like a baby." Spike lets her go so she can get up at stretch. The rainbow pegasus started to stretch a bit in front of Spike with her back turned, which caused the drake to look down at her ass with a smirk. Rainbow looked back and caught him staring, which caused her to smirk too. "Enjoying the view~?"

Spike quickly adverted his eyes with a chuckle and a dark red blush, he then cleared his throat. "I'm gonna take a shower..." He got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom, scratching his head.

Rainbow giggled, putting a hand on her hip as she stared at the door Spike walked out of. After a few seconds, her cell phone started to ring. She answered it. "Hello?"

"Uh...Rainbow Dash?" replied the caller. "I-It's Barbara...Spike's twin sister?"

"Oh hey, Barb...how'd you get my number?"

"Spike gave me your number along with Applejack if Spike doesn't come home...I was wondering if he was with you?"

Rainbow blushed a little with a smile and nodded. "Oh yeah...he stayed at my place last night...he's okay."

"Oh thank god...I got so worried when he didn't come home...thanks for looking out for him."

"No problem," Rainbow replied, she then heard a beep from her phone. "Oh...I'm getting another call..."

"It's fine, I just wanted to know if Spike's alright...so I'll hang up." 

Rainbow nodded. "Alright, talk to you later." She pressed the answer button again, changing to the next caller. "Hello?"

"Rainbow...it's Celestia, me and my sister would like to see you urgently...something happened last night..."

Rainbow sat down on her bed. "What happened?"

"It's best if we talk about it in person...AJ is already here...we're also gonna get ahold of Spike."

"Don't worry, I'll let him know." The rainbow maned pegasus hung up the phone and rushed to the bathroom, opening the door. "Spike!"

Spike opened up the shower door and popped his head out. "Yeah?" Spike blushed as Rainbow opened the shower door all the way and stepped into the shower with him, shutting the door and looking at him.

"The bosses want to see us at the café, its urgent...since I need a shower too..." She turned around and grabbed his hands, putting both of them on her furry blue breasts. "We're gonna take a shower together..."

Spike deadpanned as he started moving her tits around, fondling her. "You did this on purpose didn't you?"

Rainbow looked at Spike and stuck her tongue out with a blush. "Yes...now shut up and enjoy it."





Sugarcube Café - 3 hours later
Spike and Rainbow both walked into Celestia and Luna's office, seeing Applejack was already here like what Celestia just told RD.

"Sit down...both of you, Luna had a message from one of her factions."

"Faction?" asked Spike. "What do you mean?"

Rainbow turned to him. "Okay, so...our organization is split up into two factions...The Celestial Division and The Lunar Division. Celestia runs the Celestial Division which is mostly creatures that have white fur...Luna runs The Lunar Division which mostly contains bat ponies or creatures with dark fur. Both of them together make The Solaris Sisters."

"If that's the case what division are we in?" Spike asked.

"Oh since we take work from both of them...we're called The Solaris Division. Barely anyone gets this top spot, the three of us are the lucky ones."

Celestia cleared her throat. "Anyway...we received reports that Hotel Crystal has been attacked last night..."

"What?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Hotel Crystal has been attacked?! How?!"

"A hooded pony was spotted in the hotel and took the manager hostage and engaged in a shootout with The Celestial Divison along with Sombra's men..." Luna explained. "But don't worry, The Lunar Division got rid of them easily but the hooded pony got away..."

Spike looked down and started to think to himself. 'Hooded Pony...? Could that be the same pony with the hood I saw at the race-track?!'

"So my sister and I want to make sure you 3 stay safe, this 'hooded pony' is very dangerous...if you see him, don't engage him. Stay away from him...okay?" Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike all nodded. "Alright...now why don't you guys ask Carrot and Cup Cake to make you guys some breakfast...we apologize for making you all rush here so fast."

"Its no problem," Spike said for all of them, he and the girls got up and left the Sisters' office to have breakfast downstairs.




Meanwhile - Sombra's Bar

The hooded pony opened up the doors to Sombra's office and he sees his boss standing with a golf club and putting golf balls into a paper cup that was laying on the floor. Hope was near the cup and moved it a bit with her foot so the ball could roll into it, making it a hole in one to which Sombra was happy to see. "Hell yeah."

"Boss..." Sombra looked at him. "The Solaris Sisters still have the hotel but now it's being run by The Lunar Division..."

"Hm...well that's something to look forward to..." Sombra said nonchalantly, looking back and getting another hole in one. "Listen to son...Hope and I have been talking about you...and I guess since you're one of my favorite swordsman and gunman..." Sombra looked at him again. "Maybe it's about time you take a little time off...ya know rest up."

The cloaked pony arched an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Well, I'm about to have a little meeting with my colleague so I won't have any jobs to give you...so Hope gave me an idea on you getting a bit of time off while the meeting is going on."

"Let me guess...you're gonna have a meeting with 'her' again? The one you told me not to kill no matter what happens?"

"You got that right my boy, now why don't you get yourself something to eat or get laid or something...I don't mind."

"Sure...thanks, Mr. Sombra…" The hooded pony turned around and approached the door, when he opened it he looked at the pony that stood before him.

The cloaked pony could only scoff and walk past the mare.
> 17: The Hooded Pony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[A Few Seconds Later] Sugarcube Café


Spike, Rainbow, and Applejack all walked downstairs after talking to the sisters. All of them being concerned with what they just told them. They all sat down at a booth, Rainbow sitting next to Spike and Applejack sitting in front of them alone, and asked The Cakes for some breakfast, to which they humbly agreed.

"So what's gonna happen now that Hotel Crystal has been attacked?" asked Spike, looking at his partners.

"Well Ah'm not shur…" AJ replied, looking down at the table. "Ah guess since the territory is still ours, it's best if we jus' leave it alone..."

"I get that...but what about that hooded pony Luna warned us about?" 

"We should keep our eyes out for that one..." Rainbow replied, looking at Spike. "I mean there's not much we can do about all of this...all we could do now is just wait..."

The Cakes arrived with 3 plates of breakfast for the 3 partners. Rainbow Dash got some pancakes with bacon, Applejack got an omelet with toast, and Spike got scrambled eggs with a side of gems.

"Ya know guys...I gotta tell you something...I remember I saw a cloaked figure at the end of the race but I don't know who it is..." Spike explained, taking a bite out of his eggs.

"You think it's the hooded pony the bosses were talking about?" asked Rainbow, cutting her pancakes. 

"Maybe...but you're right...we should keep our eyes open..."







[Meanwhile] Out in the Streets of Manticore


The hooded pony walked along the streets of Manticore thinking. "Sometimes I wonder if we're even able to go through with this...I mean...ponies might end up getting killed...but when did I ever care about other ponies' lives? All the lives I care about are both my own and ponies who are like family to me..."

The pony stopped and looked up, seeing a sign that said 'Sugarcube Café' on it, he shrugged his shoulders. "Eh...might not be a smart idea but I could use something to drink..."

The stallion opened the door to the café and looked around, seeing that it was just a normal establishment ponies came to eat at, he sat down on a stool in front of the bar and Carrot Cake walked over to him. "Can I get you anything, sir?"

"Yeah... a mug of hot cocoa please..." The stallion placed some bits on the table and the bartender got to work, quickly making him a mug of cocoa in no time at all. "Thanks..." He then took a sip as his hearing began to wonder, wondering how other creatures were living their lives.

“I’m just saying AJ, maybe one day you could try Spike out, he’s amazing in bed.” He heard someone say, he snickered a bit as he continued to hear the conversation.

“Yeah, you should’ve heard Rainbow moan, I thought the entire town could hear us." 

The hooded pony blinked when he heard that name....'Rainbow'. He looked at the creature who just said that it was the guy who won the race yesterday. Spike Dragan. He saw that two mares were sitting with him too, one was someone he didn't know, but the other was someone he knew all too well.

The hooded pony got up from the bar and walked over to where they were sitting.





Spike, Rainbow, and Applejack all chuckled till it was stopped when they heard someone walking over to their table, they looked at the pony standing before them but the thing is, they couldn't see his face. He wore a brown hooded cloak, black dress pants, and black loafers.

"Excuse me..." The cloaked pony asked. "I'm sorry to but in, but when you said 'Rainbow'....do you mean 'Rainbow Dash', young drake?"

Spike looked at him with an arched eyebrow, he looks a little like the hooded pony he saw at the race track but what was he doing here?

The drake decided to humor him. “Yeah...this is the mare right here...” He pointed to Rainbow Dash who was right next to him.

Something clicked in the pony's head and without thinking, along with a snarl, he picked up Spike by his blazer and kicked the drake hard in the face. Sending him backward onto the floor, He then unfurled his wings and flew a bit, landing gently on the other side of the drake.

Customers that saw this got up and ran out of the front door, The Cakes taking out guns and aiming them at The mysterious pony.

Spike wiped his nose from the bloody nose he just got from that kick. “What the fuck, man?!”

A.J. realized something. “Spike!! Ah, think that’s the hooded pony Luna warned us about!”

The hooded pony blinked and looked back at the southern mare. "W-Wait you know-" He began to say before he dodged an incoming tail swipe from Spike, flying back a bit.

Spike looks at AJ, RD, and The Cakes, holding his hand out. “Stay back, I got this guy!”

“SPIKE! Luna said to not engage him, we gotta get out of here!” Rainbow yelled, but Spike shook his head.

“Don't worry, I'll be fine! I can take him!” Spike readies and throws a punch, hitting the hooded pony’s face who grunts and backs up, smiling a bit.

"Hmm...not bad for a dragon runt. You got potential kid, but a word of advice?" The stallion grabbed Spike's arm and pulls him in close, thrusting a palm into his face.

As the dragon groaned in pain, The stallion began to flap his wings and drop-kick his chest, knocking the drake back down onto the floor. "Always keep yourself out of a pony's reach, you keep in close so they have a smaller advantage."

Spike coughed and looked at him with a growl. 'Who the hell is this guy??'

The drake then threw roundhouse kick at the pony, hitting his side, before grabbing his head and thrusting his knee up. The hooded pony grinned and grabbed Spike's leg, beginning to chuckle menacingly as he pulled down his scarf, he then opened his mouth showing razor-sharp teeth and bites down hard with a crunch on Spike's leg.

Spike screamed in pure pain as the pony ripped a small chunk of skin off of the dragon and tossed him back onto the floor, The drake had some tears in his eyes as he looked at the damage, the bite wound bleeding immensely along with the fabric of his suit pants being ripped.

The hooded pony held the small chunk of scale, flesh, and blood he ripped off of the drake before spitting it out onto the floor. "Bleh too bland..." He looked at the drake again. "Kid you need more meat and spices in your diet...you can't just eat gems."

Spike growled with pure anger and grabbed a nearby bottle that was sitting on the table, he then threw it at his attacker but the hooded pony caught it in one hand with a smirk. 

He proceeded to open the bottle and chugged the entire drink down in one go. "Hm...Apple family cider...my favorite..." He put the bottle down on the bar and put down some bits on the table, basically paying for the drink.

As soon as he put the bottle down, Spike jumped and tackled him, slamming his head into the counter, he then grabbed the bottle he put down and hit it over his head with it which made bottle shards fly every which way. The drake then hit his head on the counter with a hard thud and pulled his head back with the broken bottle held high, preparing to stab him with it.

When Spike stabbed him with the broken bottle, more shards flew everywhere, and instead of the sound of a bottle hitting flesh, it sounded like the bottle hit a stone or something. Spike backed up slowly and watched as the hooded pony looks at him with a smirk, he then pointed to the part on his chest that Spike tried to stab and saw that a small gash was made into his hood but not his skin, his skin looked like it was made of stone before it slowly turned back into regular fur that was red.

The hooded pony chuckled a bit. "Not bad kid...not bad at all...but next time think about your actions." He then headbutts the drake and tosses him into Rainbow and Applejack, knocking them down like bowling pins with Spike as the ball.

The hooded pony then started picking up the larger shards of glass from the bottle and grinding the smaller ones to dust before putting it in a trash bin. "Have you forgotten this is a family establishment? What if after our fight, a foal runs through and cut themselves on the glass?" He looked at RD and AJ with a piercing gaze, the one eye that he revealed to them had multiple colors of red, blue, green, and gold. "You two should show him some restraint with actions like that and Dash...you should know better..."

Sounds of sirens could then be heard outside of the café, the hooded pony looked outside at the cars and saw it was the solar guards. "Shit..." But the stallion then calmed down when he saw a specific dark green car was with them too. 

A guard that was a turquoise blue stallion with a spikey black mane, with brown eyes and eyeglasses along with a black female wolf with light gray wavy hair and tail along with red eyes came out of a black squad car. The stallion wore a black 4-layer MPSG jacket, a dark blue tactical vest with a white shirt underneath, beige suit pants, and black shoes. The wolf wore a tight black buttoned-up dress shirt under a dark blue tactical vest, blue suit pants, and brown shoes. 

"SPIKE DRAGAN AND HIS LITTLE FIGHTING PAL, THIS IS CHIEF DUAL BLADE AND DEPUTY-CHIEF VIRTUS DARKPAW FROM THE MANTICORE PRIME SOLAR GUARDS...COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!!!!"

The hooded pony went down and grabbed Spike, picking him up and taking him outside. Guards all had guns pointed at them as the stallion handed him over to Virtus who began to cuff him. "Spike Dragan, you're under arrest for murder, vandalism, public disturbance, and assault."

"But he attacked me first!!" Spike cried out, getting pushed into the black squad car by the wolf.

Dual Blade walked over to The hooded pony but then a female changeling came up and put her hand in front of him, stopping him. The female changeling had a dark green mane and wore an open black blazer with a white dress shirt underneath, an office skirt, and black high-heels. She also had a scar over her right eye.

"Zero...Private Investigator...this stallion is apart of my case Chief." 

Dual nodded. "Alright..." He walked away and got into his car with Virtus, driving back to the station with Spike in the backseat.

The changeling smirked at the hooded pony. "You always know how to stir shit up, don't cha?"

The hooded pony shrugged his shoulders. "You always know how to get me out of it, Zero..." 

They both started to walk over to the changeling's car as she spoke. "I keep telling you to not get used to it...I've been dealing with you and your sister the past 13 years..."

The pony got into the passenger seat and the female changeling got behind the wheel. "And yet you're still worried about us, our little mommy-figure."

"Shut it..." Zero chuckled, starting the car. 

"Hey...you think we could stop by the MPSG station?"

"Oh, you want to be arrested now?"

"No, I need to talk to that kid about something important..."

"You always say when you talk to ponies it's important..." The hooded pony pulled his hood back and showed his face to the changeling. "Red..."

Red was the hooded pony, he was a pegasus with a blue and green mane and red fur, one of his eyes was demonic but the other was normal. "But I'm serious, it's about somepony I feel like he should be warned about..."

"Alright if you think it's sooo important..." 

Rainbow and Applejack ran out of the café and when Rainbow saw the pony sitting in shotgun of the changeling's car, she looked at him with a shocked expression.

Red looked at Rainbow with a small smile and shouted. "Been awhile hasn't it sis? We'll catch up later!" 

Zero's car then drove away from the café and AJ looked at Rainbow with an arched eyebrow. "Who was that and what did he mean by 'sis'?"

Rainbow looked down at the road, she couldn't believe it after all these years, she finally saw him again, she slowly turned to Applejack and sighed.

"The hooded pony...his name is Red...." Rainbow said softly. "Red is my older brother..."
> 18: Messenger
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[An hour later] Streets of Manticore - (Red)



As Zero was driving Red to the Solar Guard station to talk to Spike, the red stallion sighed and looked outside the window, thinking about something.

The female changeling looked at him with the corner of her eye. "Red? You alright?"

Red looked over at Zero. "Yeah...just thinking on what I'm doing...should I even consider warning the kid of the dangers the gang is in?"

"Well, that depends..." The changeling turned a corner. "You think he'll be willing to listen?"

"I highly doubt it..." The red stallion opened the window, the wind blowing his mane back. "But yet...I still want to at least warn him of the situation even if he's willing to listen or not."

"Alright...whatever you say." Zero concentrated on the road as Red sighed again.

He felt a bit bad that he was close to lying to Zero, the closest being he had to a mother. What he was thinking about was his sister Rainbow.

"Man...I can't believe it's been 12 years since I've seen Rainbow..." He thought. "Seemed like only yesterday when Zero first busted Rainbow and me for robbing Pinkie Pie's Super Duper Amazingly Scrumpalicious Baked Treats!!!."

The changeling pulled up the car in front of the station and Red sighed one more time as he got out and shut the door. "Thanks, Zero, I'll be out soon...I just need to help the guy out."

"Wait, Red!" The red stallion looked back at Zero. "You forgot your knife..."

Red took the blade from the changeling's hand. "Is it in there?"

"It's in there...please don't do anything stupid..." Zero said as Red put the knife in his pocket.

"Do you think I would ever do anything stupid?"

"Do you want me to answer that?" Zero deadpanned, the red stallion was about to say something before he stopped himself. "That's what I thought..." 

Red rolled his eyes at her and went into the Solar Guard building, heading straight for the interrogation room since he was familiar with the building's layout because of how much he's been there. As he approached the door, he heard two voices inside. 

"Easy Deputy Darkpaw…" a male voice said.

Red then heard the sound of a hand slamming onto a desk. "TELL US WHAT YOU AND THOSE TWO SLUTS WERE DOING!!!!"

The stallion gasped and growled, kicking the door in. "OK, WHO THE FUCK JUST CALLED MY SISTER A SLUT?!?!"







[5 Minutes Earlier] Interrogation Room 1 - (Spike)



"We just want to know what's the deal with you and The Solaris Sisters..." Dual said to Spike. Both males along with Virtus were in an interrogation room, Spike's hands were both chained to a desk that was right in front of him where the chief was sitting across from him. "We want to help you son..."

"I already told you...I can't tell you..." Spike replied

Dual sighed and got up, Virtus had a file in her hand and slammed it onto the desk, beginning to circle the drake like a vulture.

"You're gonna tell us what is going on with you and The Solaris Sisters...otherwise, I'm gonna shove my gun so far up your fucking ass you'll shit bullets for months!!!"

"Easy Deputy Darkpaw…," Dual said, calming her down. "If we're rough on him like that, he might not even bother talking."

Virtus didn't listen to him as she slammed her hand onto the desk, her face close to Spike's. "TELL US WHAT YOU AND THOSE TWO SLUTS WERE DOING!!!!"

All three of them then heard the sound of the door being kicked in and they all looked back, seeing a red stallion look at them with a kill in his eyes. "OK, WHO THE FUCK JUST CALLED MY SISTER A SLUT?!?!"


Dual and Virtus quickly took out their guns and aimed at him.

“You again?” Dual said. “What do you want?”

The red stallion calmed down a bit and raised his hands. "Easy lads, put the guns down...name's Red...and do I need to remind you both about the non-hostility arrangement outside of civilian intervention you have with both The Sols and Sombra?"

He walks in and sits on the table, looking at them both before pointing his thumb at the open door. "As of now, he's my problem...unless you want a siege to happen for me and the kid..." He looks at Spike. "Besides, right now...this kid might be able to stop a war breaking out."

Spike raised his eyebrow at him as the stallion looks at the guards again. "So if I were you...I would be prepping the men to evacuate civilians and have defense parameters set up..."

Dual put his gun away out of annoyance but Virtus still had hers drawn at him. “Are you even authorized to be here, smartass?”

"Put it away or you're gonna have to see the city's black market doctor get that gun removed from where the sun doesn't shine Lil puppy...right now I'm unarmed and you're brandishing a weapon at a non-combatant, which is a huge violation or protocol...and you're the deputy," Red said nonchalantly, showing everyone in the room he has the balls to talk down and threaten a solar guard deputy. 

"Does it look like I give a fuck? Get the fuck out of here." Virtus sneered, her finger beginning to twitch.

"I'm not going anywhere...you need to get out of the room, this is a family matter and not for your ears..." He looked at Spike again. "And kid...stay seated I need to chat with you about a few things before the others arrive."

"Ya know I could fucking rip your guts out with just a little toothpick...if you don't want that to happen I suggest you fuck off...."

Red stood up and got into her face, her gun pressing into his chest. "Bold words for someone who's about to face plant and snooze..." He then quickly slashed a green-coated claw over her hand that was holding the gun, lightly cutting it. "That my dear is a neurotoxin designed to knock out gods much stronger than you...I don't remember where I even got that but it works and it's a good way to make some side money or in one case to have someone that owed me 5k bits to actually pay it or be dragged back to his cell...."

Virtus growled and grabbed his throat with one hand, picking him up off the ground with just that one hand. "Quit fucking testing me ya little shit!!!"

Red looked down at her with a smug look even though she was choking him. "Interesting but not that impressive...anyone can do this ya lazy fuck." He looked over at Dual. "So Captain, I would like to file a formal complaint about your deputy here...let's see...threatening a non-combatant, pointing a firearm at them, and currently attempting homicide through ineffective choking..."

Virtus pulled her other hand back, her talon coming out razor-sharp with an inhumane smile on her face. "Oh...if you want this to be turned into a Homicide...I will gladly accept it...."

Dual grabbed Virtus’ shoulder, the wolf looking at him. “I-It’s okay honey...let’s just go...put h-him down...”

The wolf looked at him again and growled, dropping him onto the floor. Red got up and Dual looked at him now. “About that complaint...No offense, but you brought that on yourself...you could’ve just said who authorized you to be here and not burst into the door like this is your home or for testing my wife...she has a very violent temper and you just kept pushing her buttons...so I'm not filing a complaint."

Red shrugged and said in a mocking tone. "True...but that fact that I did warn you there's a mafia war coming and your still wasting time on me is shocking..." He then pointed to the deputy-chief. "Also watch her cut...if the color of her fur changes...she's gonna hit the deck hard."

“Don’t worry...I can’t die...” Virtus showed Red that the cut he gave her slowly faded and her skin and fur were back together, it didn’t leave a scar. "Not even a whole tub load of your weak little neurotoxin is gonna put me down...nothing will."

"Cool, hey we should spar sometime...now run along and start evacuating the civilians from both the Solaris and Sombra territories." Red looked at Spike. "Kid, I got a tale to tell you and it explains a lot....especially the fact that I kicked your ass  out of the blue for talking about my sister like that...which reminds me."

The red stallion then took out a knife and looked out at Virtus and Dual. "This is for calling her a slut!" He flipped the knife in his and he threw it straight at the two chiefs blade-first.

Virtus easily caught the knife in one hand, she didn't even look at the knife coming at her, her eyes still stared into Red's.  “You just gave me the authorization to kill you for assaulting a guard...” 

Red sneered a little as he watched the wolf put his knife on her belt. “But I'm not going to considering we do have a job to do...but If I were you...I would be very fucking careful of what I say or do around me...”

"I'll keep that in mind Lil pup...but one more thing about that knife...look inside the handle." Virtus took the knife out again and sees a secret compartment on the knife's handle, she opens it and inside was a flash drive. "The hell is this?"

"It's info on whose in The Solaris Mob and The Sombra Mob...that way you don't get confused like a bunch of dumbasses on whose a civilian or a mafia member...whoever is not on the drive, take them to safety." 

The wolf squinted her eyes at Red as she handed Dual the flash drive and put Red's knife back on her belt. The two chiefs walking out of the door as Red called out. "Right back at you!" All she did in response was flip him the bird with her left hand.

Red looked at Spike. "Okay Kid...now, where were we?"

"You were saying you got a 'tale' for me and it explains a lot?" Spike said as the red stallion pulled up a chair and sat in front of him.

"Oh right...listen, I want to tell you something important." 

"Hold on," Spike said, slightly cutting him off. "Before you tell me...answer me this...Why the hell did you attack me?!"

Red sighed. "If you were listening to what I was saying to the chiefs...you would've known."

"What the 'sister' nonsense I was talking abo-" The drake stopped himself and gasped, looking at the stallion with a shocked expression. Seeing a smug smile and a nodding head on what Spike was thinking. "W-Wait...R-Rainb-....Y-You and R-Rainbow are....!"

"Yep...Siblings...Name's Redsopine Prism Dash...older brother of Rainbow Ashleigh Dash.

"Rainbow's middle name is 'Ashleigh'?" The purple drake asked.

"Yep...but that's not important right now kid...right now I have the info I need to share," Red added. "Did Rainbow tell you any of her backstories?"

Spike nodded, putting his arms down on the table. "Yeah, but she couldn't remember a lot of details considering it started 13 years ago..."

"Well...before we get to the important bits...I believe it's only fair if you learned the full story of Rainbow and me."

"Okay...I'm listening."  Spike leaned in a bit.

Then there was a knock at the door, both males looking at it.
> 19: Dash To The Past - Part I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[3 minutes earlier] Streets of Manticore - (Rainbow Dash)



Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both in a car with the orange pony behind the wheel, going to visit Spike at the Solar Guard Station. 

AJ looked at Rainbow in the corner of her eye. "Remind me again on whuts the deal with this 'Red' character ya'll talkin about?"

"Like I told you before AJ...Red's my older brother" Rainbow replied, "I haven't seen him in 12 years...and I don't know why he's working with Sombra..."

"Alright...well, tell me what happen those years ago...before you joined The Solaris Sisters."

"Well...like I told you before...It's still a little fuzzy." Rainbow looked out the window. "But...It's only fair if I can tell you as much as I can remember when we get to the Station..."

"Why not now?"

"I want to make sure that Spike is alright first..." Rainbow looked out the window. "I know what it's like to be locked up..."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash arrived at The Solar Guard station and got out of the car, both of them race walking into the building.

When they got in they saw two guards, a blue pegasus and a gray wolf exiting an interrogation room, they even saw the wolf flip off whoever was in there.

"I swear to god...if he gets under my skin again...I'm fucking gutting his ass!!!" The wolf said with intense anger. 

"Don't fret, Virtus..." The pegasus replied. "And let's just get to the computer room to take a look at the data..."

"Data?" Applejack asked questionably, she looked at RD. "What data?"

RD shrugged her shoulders and looked at the door the two guards walked out of and approached it, hearing two voices. One of them she recognized as Spike's.

"Well...before we get to the important bits...I believe it's only fair if you learned my and Rainbow's full story."

"Okay...I'm listening." 

Rainbow knocked and opened the door. "Spike, you in here?" The first being she saw when she opened the door though was a certain red pegasus who wasn't supposed to be there. "Red?! What are you doing here?!"

The red pegasus looked at her and stood up. "Sis...what are you doing here?!"

"I came to see if Spike's alright...I got worried about him..." Rainbow answered. "So now tell me...what are you doing here and what do you want from Spike?"

"I'm here on very important business...and what I want from Spike...is to share him something...our past."

"I already shared my past with Spike...I just haven't told AJ..." Rainbow replied. 

"Well...it's time they learn the full story on how we got involved with the Mafia..." 

Spike looked at them both. "No offense to my Dashie...but what the hell does this have anything to do with me?"

"This is important kid...what we're about to tell you...very well may change your perspective on me and Dash."

Rainbow walked over and stood by Red's side, looking at Spike as Applejack stood by the sidelines of the room, listening in.

"It all started during our Summer Break, 14 years ago..."






[June - 14 years ago] Red and Rainbow's Childhood Home





Red: "Me and Rainbow were just little kids and we lived with our parents...we were a big happy family...but all that changed after that day..."



"Okay..." A female mare with blue fur and an orange mane looked at the stairs. "Red! Dashie!"

Down the stairs came Red and Rainbow when they were little kids, Red was a 12-year-old colt, he wore a black hoodie, blue jeans, and sneakers. Rainbow (at the time, called Dashie) was a 9-year-old little filly, she wore a dark blue t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. In Rainbow's hands was a toy sword and a cardboard shield and in Red's hands were a cardboard helmet that looked like a dragon's head. It was pretty clear on what they were doing.

A cyan pegasus with a rainbow-maned mohawk and five-o-clock shadow got on one knee to look at them with a smile. "Mommy and I are gonna get something for dinner tonight...we're getting pizza!"

Rainbow and Red both cheered. "You are the best Mommy and Daddy in the world!!!" Rainbow yelled, hugging her Dad tightly. 

Their Mom and Dad chuckled. "Well the place you guys love sadly doesn't deliver...so your father and I have to go there by car...its just gonna take us a few minutes...Red would you be okay to look after Dashie while we're gone?"

Red did a cute little salute to his mother. "Don't worry Mom, I won't let anything happen to my little sis."

"Good...we'll be back in just a few minutes." Their parents closed the door and left the two kids alone in the house for a few minutes as they continued playing.



Red: "What me and Dash didn't know...was that our parents wouldn't be back in a few minutes..."

Dash: "Yeah...we heard about it late that night..."



Dash and Red were sitting in the living room, flicking through channels on the TV, wondering where their parents went. The cyan pegasus looked at her older brother. "Big brother? Where are Mommy and Daddy?"

"I don't know Dashie...I'm just hoping that everything's alright..." Red replied, stopping his channel surfing on a news channel that showed a car that crashed into a construction site. "W-Wait...that looks like..."

"-That made this car swerve off the street and into a nearby construction site. The inhabitants of the car were found disemboweled due to the pipes, entering their chest and stomachs and coming out the other side...the ponies in this car were 33-year-old: Bow Hothoof....and 31-year-old: Windy Whistles."

"R-Red...a-are Mommy and Daddy coming back?" Dashie asked, on the verge of tears after hearing what the news anchor said.

Red was in the same amount of shock, he held Dash close to him and comforted her. "I'm so sorry little sis...it looks like we're gonna be on our own for a little while..."

Dashie then held her big brother close and began to cry into his shirt as Red rubbed the back of her head, letting her let it all out.



Red: "After that happened...we went into an orphanage since we didn't have any other family to go to...but I didn't want to live in a family of strangers, let alone risk me and Dash being separated....so I took Dashie and we began to live on our own...things were rough, to say the least, but we learned to adapted pretty fast and within a month we managed to set up a small home for ourselves on an abandoned house's rooftop...all we had was each other..."

Dash: "But then...when two months went by...my brother and I started to get a little....desperate"









[August - 2 months later] Pinkie Pie's Super Duper Amazingly Scrumpalicious Baked Treats!!!



"DASHIE, C'MON!!!!" Red yelled, holding a bunch of bread and muffins in his arms. Dashie grabbed a box of donuts and a box of cookies, running with her big brother out of the bakery. 

Pinkie Pie, the owner, came out of the kitchen and pointed at the kids. "SO IT WAS YOU TWO WHO'VE BEEN STEALING FROM ME THE PAST FEW WEEKS!!!!!! GET OVER HERE, YOU LITTLE THIEVES!!!!"

"RUUUUUUUNNN!!!!!!" Red and Dash ran out of her bakery carrying the baked goods as the pink pony ran outside and started going after them. 

"GET BACK HERE!!!!!! YOU CAN'T HAVE MY SCUMPALICIOUS TREATS WITHOUT PAYING!!!!!!"

The Dash siblings ran to an empty alleyway and stopped to catch their breaths as the pink pony ran straight by the alleyway they hid. Knowing they successfully lost her, the little blue pegasus looked at her older brother. "Big brother...why do we have to keep doing this? Pinkie was always good to us..." 

"I'm sorry Dashie...we had no other choice on the matter...we couldn't pay for the treats even if we wanted to..." Red said with a sigh.

"But...isn't stealing wrong?" 

The red pegasus looked at her little sister. "We must do what needs to be done to survive..." The two kids then squinted their eyes as a flashlight was shining in their faces.

"Hey, you two...” 

Red and Dash looked at each other the red stallion put his arm in front of his little sis and whispered to her. "Dashie...stay behind me and let me do the talking..." He squinted his eyes as he looked at the flashlight's light again. "Who's there??"

The being who was shining the flashlight in their faces was a young adult female changeling, she wore a black jacket with a white dress shirt inside, blue dress pants, and black shoes, her hair was tied in a ponytail. She took out something from her pants pocket and showed it to the kids, it was some kind of badge. "Zero...Manticore Private Investigation Agency..."

She put the badge back in her pocket as she looked at the treats the kids had. "Did you two pay for those?" 

Red bit his bottom lip and shook his head. "No...I didn't, my sister had nothing to do with it." He lied. "My sister hasn't eaten in days and...I got desperate...."

Zero arched her eyebrow. “I’ve gotten a report from a Pinkamena Diane Pie that a lot of her treats go missing nearly every week...and then tonight she called me and gave me the description of who the thieves are...”

She went on one knee, staring straight into Red’s eyes with an angry expression. “A red pegasus colt with a blue and green mane that looked around 10-12 and a very young cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane that looked around 7-9...”

Dashie started to shiver behind her brother, her eyes getting a bit watery with tears as Red sighed, thinking up another story. "Dash didn't know I wasn't paying for them...I told her to wait outside saying I'm gonna pay."

The changeling sighed shook her head of disappointment, not buying it. “I’m sorry kid, I’m afraid I have to take you both in...” She then took out two pairs of handcuffs.

The 12-year-old pegasus shook his head quickly, being protective over Dashie. "You don't have to do that..."

“Yes...I have to...you're under arrest for theft...” The changing opened the handcuffs and put Red’s wrists in them along with putting cuffs on Dashie, who started to cry. 

Zero grabbed both of their arms and was taking them to her car, leaving the treats as Red looked at her with an angry expression. "You know you didn't have to cuff us...we would have just gotten the car ourselves...hows this going to look on you leading two kids handcuffed with one crying?"

She looked at him when she heard his smartass remark and snapped back at him. “Well you know you didn’t have to constantly steal from a bakery and yet here we are....plus I don’t care how this makes me look, I’m not a cop...I’m a private investigator who takes in criminals for the guards. They don’t care how I get it done, as long as I get it done.”

As she opens the door for the kids, Red kept talking. "Maybe...but what else could we do? Our parents are dead...we have no family...and we would rather be on the streets than be separated in a foster home..."

She heard what Red was saying and looked at Dashie, who was still sniffling from crying, Zero sighed.  “Look, kid...I got to take you in whether you like it or not...and I can’t promise you that you won’t be put in a foster home... it needs to be done...”

Red sighed. "I wish you hadn't said that..." He leaned against the door frame and put his foot on the bottom frame, making it harder for Zero to put him in, he then pushed back, and the back of his head hits hers, making her let go of him. He looked at Dashie. "Dash, run and hide, I'll come find you!"

Dashie gasps.  “B-Big brother?”

The changeling held her head and growled. “Damn...you little shit!” 

Red's survival instincts came in and he took a deep breath before twisting one of his hands with a loud crack, he then slid it out of the cuff and he quickly grabbed Dashie with his other hand. He then unfurled his wings and started to fly. Due to the weight of Dash he flew low at first, scraping his dislocated hand, and from a box that was on the ground, he grunted in pain but quickly ignored it as he gained altitude, his goal is to get his little sis out of there. 

The changeling quickly came too and unfurled her bug wings, flying after them. When she got close enough, she grabbed Red’s hoodie. “I have to take you two in! There’s nothing I can do!”

Red growled a bit and threw his head back hard, feeling it hit something as the grip on his hood lessened, from behind him Zero held her right eye and blood began to come out through her fingers, there was a huge vertical cut over her eye.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The sound of Zero's scream echoed through the cold night of Manticore as Red ducked into a nearby alleyway with Dashie, hiding behind some old boxes, the pegasus looked at his sister and saw that Dashie was shivering after hearing Zero's blood-curdling scream that saw that she started to cry again. "Dashie, you okay?"

"R-Red...s-she's hurt..." Dashie said, her voice breaking.

Red sighed. "I know but there's not much we can do at the moment..." He then looked at the hand he bent to get out of one of the handcuffs, it looked disgusting, it was bleeding and a bone was sticking out. "Sheesh...that's going to be a bitch to fix..."

"Red, no swearing!" Dashie cutely scolded.

Red chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry Dashie."

"Is your hand gonna be okay?"

"Yeah it'll be fine...it's just gonna be harder to fix..."

"Kiiiiid!" Zero called, finding the alleyway they were in, the red pegasus gasped and ducked behind the boxes with his sister. 

The siblings then heard the sound of Zero's shoes clopping on the sidewalk as blood dripped from the eye wound Red gave her with each step she took. 

Red looked at Dashie with his index finger over his mouth as he mouthed 'Don't make a sound' to her.

“I know you’re in here...I just want to talk...” The changeling walked past them, some blood landing in front of them. “I have to take you in...but I might make a small exception...”

Dashie gave a small scared squeak when she saw a drop of Zero's blood in front of them. Red quickly looked around and noticed a small black pebble nearby, he then carefully grabbed it and threw it to the end of the alleyway. 

The changeling's ears twitched when she heard the rock hit the ground, smirking. "Finally found you little shits..." Zero proceeded to run to where Red threw the pebble as the kids watched her.

That was Red's cue to pick up Dash with his good hand and fly them out of the alleyway, successfully getting away from Zero.



Spike: "So wait...you were stealing from the same bakery for weeks and once you got caught you went on the run from a Private Investigator...who got wounded in the eye by Red's hard head?"

Red: "Yeah, you remembered the rock skin I had when you tried stabbing me with a bottle? Apparently during that time was when I discovered it...I wondered for so long now I didn't feel a thing...Zero was the closest thing me and Dash had to a mom."

Spike: "Wait what? You told me she was trying to separate you two, you ran from her, she called you two 'little shits', and you fuckin' wounded her eye and possibly gave her a nasty scar...how the living hell is that 'closest to a mom'?!"

Dash: "Well to answer...Red's little stunt actually did give her a scar but to be honest it made her look pretty cool...and how she became close to a mother...actually happened in December..."



> 20: Dash To The Past - Part II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[December - 4 months later] Streets of Manticore - (Red) [13] & (Rainbow Dash) [10] 



The streets of Manticore were all paved in clean white snow, beautiful Hearths Warming Decorations were hanging in shops and everyone had on coats, hats, scarfs, and gloves to beat the harsh cold Manticore.



Spike: "Wait, wasn't 14 years ago in December the coldest winter Manticore ever had, how did you two survive it?"

Red: "Dash and I stole supplies from Rarity and Fluttershy for the winter, ya know...warm blankets, jackets, sweaters, scarfs etc...it was still freezing but we managed to get through it. "

Dash: "Not to mention that we stole a first aid kit from Fluttershy to try and fix Red's broken wrist but we were kids not doctors...so we wanted to take Red to the hospital but again, we had no money we just stole supplies."

Red: "This was actually the month where we did manage to steal money."




Red and Dash, who were now full-blown thieves at this point, was scoping out a griffin, who was wearing an expensive suit and a briefcase, walking nonchalantly down an alleyway. 

"Alright Dash...you remember the plan?" Red looked at Dash who was now 10 years old.

"I got it, big brother...I knock out the guy with a flying kick and we take his money..."

"Exactly...we need to pay for those treats we stole..." He looked at his hand, which was fixed a bit but was wrapped in a make-shift bandage.

"What do you think is in the briefcase?" Dash asked. 

Red shrugged his shoulders. "Probably just business stuff...what we're after is his wallet..."

The rainbow pegasus nodded. "Okay..." 

The filly then unfurled her wings and flew up into the air, the red teenage pegasus walking up to him slowly as the griffin kept walking. Red looked up and saw Dash flying above him, giving Red a thumbs up when she got into position.

"Hey uh...mister?" Red called, the griffin turned and looked at him. 

"What do you want kid, I'm busy..." The griffin asked, he was annoyed.

"Uhm...I was wondering if you know where there's a nearby train station?" The griffin rolled his eyes.

"Get lost kid..." When the griffin turned around he was met with a hard downward kick from Rainbow when she flew down from the sky, the griffin spitting out some blood and teeth as he collapsed to the ground and groaned.

Red smirked as he ran towards the downed griffin and grabbed his wallet from his suit pocket. "Come on Dashie!" 

"Wait, Red...I want to know what's in this guy's case..." Dash said, looking at the black case the griffin dropped. 

Red sighed. "If you're that curious, then let's take it with us..." Dash squeed as she grabbed the case and she and Red proceeded to run away from the alleyway.

From behind them, the griffin coughed and took out his phone, calling somepony. "Boss...the money...it's gone..."







[10 minutes later] Red and Rainbow's Abandoned Rooftop Hideout



The Dash Siblings sat down under their small tarp as they looked at the haul they pulled. 

"Alright...let's see what Mr. Birdie got in his small perch." Red chuckled, he was gonna open the griffin's wallet but when he put his bandaged up hand on the wallet he got a sharp pain from his hand and he dropped the wallet. “Ow! Bitch!” 

Dash looked at him with concern. “Red, you ok?”

“Y-Yeah...my damn hand still hurts...”

Red’s hand was back in place, was sewed up, and bandaged up after he broke it from getting it out of Zero’s cuffs, but it still hurt like hell whenever he used it despite it was fixed a few months ago.

“But you snapped it back in place and we sewed the broken skin back together with the first aid kit we stole from Fluttershy a few months ago...how does it still hurt after a few months?”

“Dash...we aren’t doctors...I did try to put it back in place as best as I could, my bone was sticking out for god’s sake! I need a doctor...but the thing is we don’t have the money for it...so let’s just hope this griffin has enough bucks for a hospital trip...”

With the wallet laying on the ground, the red pegasus used his good hand to open it, he looked inside and sighed when all he saw was an ID Card and expensive credit cards. "Damn it, there's no money in here...just useless credit cards...well this was a bust..." He then closed the wallet and just put it to the side. 

Dash smiled and motioned her head to the case. "Well...maybe there's something interesting inside of the case..."

Red sighed and moved closer to Dash and the briefcase. "I doubt it...I mean the only things normally found in briefcases are either papers or business  charts..." 

"Well let's see..." The rainbow maned filly laid the case down on the ground and pressed both the buttons near the handle, the briefcase clicked open and with a final push from the filly, both of the sibling's eyes bulged out of their heads and sparked brightly with shock.

Inside the briefcase was a whole bunch of $100 bits, all of them neatly placed in rows of five. The Dash Siblings' eyes continued to sparkle as it was like the Lord had sent them a blessing from all the struggling they have dealt with.

"R-Red, We're rich!!!" Dashie finally said, jumping up and down like an excited puppy as Red pushed some strands of his mane away from his eyes.  "Oh my god Red you know what this means, we can pay back everything we stole from Pinkie along with the first aid kit from Fluttershy and also...We can take you to the hospital for your hand!!”

Red slowly stood up and looked at Dashie. “Awesome...c’mon, let's go pay off our debts first...” Red closed the case and picked it up. 

"Let's pay a visit to Pinkie first."

”Alright, let’s get going.”



Red: "And with that, me and Rainbow paid back every single store owner we stole from granted they were happy we finally got to pay them back, but as we've been doing that, my hand was getting swollen."

Dash: "So we went to the hospital after paying back everyone...we still had a good amount of money left."









[3 hours later] Manticore Central Hospital



Red and Dashie arrived at the hospital, the automatic doors opening to show a large waiting room with a few ponies, dragons, griffins, and kirins waiting to see a doctor for their injuries. A female kirin who sat at the front desk looked at them as they approached her. 

“Hey, there little ones.” She looked behind them and then around them, looking at them confused. “You lost? Where're your parents?”

Red looked back with the corner of his eye. "Our parents are outside looking for parking..."  He lied, the receptionist blinking as he continued. "But could someone have a look at my wrist? I broke it a while ago and to not worry about our parents...I tried to fix it myself but they found out and brought me here"

He then lifted his swollen bandaged up wrist to show the receptionist and she sighed, buying the lie. “Kid, shouldn’t you know better to never try to fix a broken wound yourself, it could lead to it getting a serious infection...” She pushed an information paper that was on a clipboard toward them, the rainbow pegasus picking it up. “I need your parents to sign these please...”

Red looked at Dashie with the corner of his eye as he gave a smile. "Dashie...would you mind finding mom and dad so they can sign the papers, please...I don't want to lose my place while waiting..."

Dashie nodded. “Okay big brother...“ The rainbow pegasus went outside the hospital with the papers to the parking lot to ‘find their parents’ but Dash was signing all the information herself. 

After a while, she walked back into the hospital with the papers completely signed, putting down two random names for their guardians just in case if anyone acknowledges that they’re dead.

She put the papers on the desk and the receptionist looked them over before nodding. “Okay...just sit down and wait, I’ll call you up when it’s your turn.”

"Thank you miss," Red says, going to sit down on one of the waiting chairs with Dashie sitting next to her, giving her a small hug. "Thanks, Sis...I just hope no one we know comes in because then all this would be for nothing..."

Dashie looked at the front desk and she sees the receptionist go off of her computer to another room. The rainbow filly looked at her big brother. “How about we find out?”

Dash walked over to the side of the desk to look at the computer, seeing all the names of the patients one of the names was familiar to her and she was already checked into a room.

Dashie jogged back to her brother with a bit of a scared look. “R-Red, Zero’s here...she got checked into a room 2 months ago!”

Red gasped. "Ah fuck...we need to avoid her...if she sees us then we are screwed!" He grunted in pain as his hand gave a small twitch. "B-But we can't just leave my hand like this getting worse....and I need to find out why my arms and legs have been getting heavier at times..."

Dashie looked at him with a cute angry expression. “Big Brother, no cussing.”

Red chuckled and ruffles up Dashie's mane with his good hand. "I know...I just forget to not cuss at times"

The receptionist came back to her desk and called out. “Red and Rainbow Dash?”

The rainbow pegasus looked at Red. “Looks like we’re next...” 

Red nods and smiles at her as they head into the examination room.




Red: *Chuckles a little and looks at Rainbow* "You were cute back then...anytime I swore you would have this cute look whenever you were mad at me"

Dash: *Scrunches up her muzzle and puts her face on Red's arm*

Spike: *Chuckles* "My Dashie is always so cute, so what happened at the hospital?”

Red: "I'm getting to that...but let's just say that...the doctors being shocked at the state of my wrist  would be a understatement..."


> 21: Dash To The Past - Part III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[5 minutes later] Examination Room



Red and Dashie followed the receptionist to a white unicorn nurse who looked at her clipboard then at the kids. "Red and Rainbow Dash?"

The receptionist walked away from them as Red and Dashie both nodded. "I'm Nurse Redheart...if you could please follow me to the room you'll be staying in..."

"Okay, miss..." Red replied as he and Dashie followed Redheart to the room they would be staying in. 

Redheart stopped in front of a hospital room and pointed to it. "Here's where you'll be staying in...Room 12" She opened the door and the kids walked inside with smiles on their faces when they looked around. Inside the room was a soft adjustable bed with a table on wheels, A large television hanging on the wall, and there was even a bathroom inside. To them, it looked like their room from back in their old home.

Red and Dashie both sat down on the bed and took off their warm clothing as Redheart approached them, turning the page on her clipboard. “Okay Red...I'm gonna check your wrist to see the damage before the doctor arrives okay?"

"Okay...um..Miss, Do I have to take the bandages off?" the red pegasus asked, knowing full well he would have to but decided to act like he didn't know. "I don't want to scare my sis if they take a look and move me without saying why..."

The nurse nodded. “You’re gonna have to son...we have to see the damage...”

"Okay..." Red then slowly began to unwrap his bandaged hand and when he did a strong disgusting smell started to fill the room slowly, when he fully unwrapped it, he saw his wounded hand was leaking some yellow stuff. "What's that?"

Redheart and Dash gasped and covered their noses to keep the smell from entering their noses anymore. “Jesus, How long has your wrist been like that?! It’s leaking pus!”

The red pegasus answered nonchalantly. "A few months I think? I fell while flying and I tried to grab a branch...all I heard was a snapping sound and my wrist started to hurt a lot and leak blood...I saw the damage and there was even a bone sticking out..." 

He watched the nurse walk to a pager on the wall as Red continued. "Oh also...I wanted to know why it's been feeling heavy as well..."

She looked back at him arching an eyebrow. “Heavy, what do you mean heavy?

"Well...sometimes my arms start to become heavy like a rock...they even looked like them sometimes and I could barely move them..."

Redheart started to think. "Hm...could I check your blood?" She walked over to a drawer by the bed and put on some gloves, while also taking out a small blood tube, a needle, an alcohol pad, and a blue rubber wrap.

Red nodded. "Sure..." 

He watched Redheart pull up a chair. "Show me your left arm..." The red pegasus extended his left arm towards her and she started to wrap his forearm with the blue rubber wrap showing his vain. She rubbed his arm where the vain was with the alcohol pad and put the needle in his skin, his blood coming out and flowing from the tube into a valve."

Red watched as Redheart took the needle out and tell him to press a small pad on his arm as she closed the valve of his blood. "Alright...I'm gonna run some tests while the operation is going on and I'll tell you what's wrong..."

"Operation?"

"Yes, we need to get your wrist fixed now!"

Red arched his eyebrow. "But my wrist hasn't hurt for a while and I haven't seen it leak this stuff till today...same for the smell...my sister and I changed the bandages till our parents caught us..."

Nurse Redheart shook her head as she put Red's blood in a container and threw away the needle, alcohol pad, and the pad Red was pressing into his arm, replacing it with a bandage. "Son, this is serious...we need to get you to the operating room now...if we leave it like that any longer there may be a chance you’ll lose your entire hand!”

Dashie gasped and hugged Red’s good arm tightly. “No, I don’t want Big Brother to lose his hand!!”

Red hugged his sister in response to what she said. "It's okay sis..." He looked at the white unicorn with a concerned look. "But I'm still surprised it's this bad...again it didn't hurt till today..."

The nurse grabbed her clipboard again and wrote down what Red said, looking at him. “If what you say is true then you’re slowly losing feeling in your hand...and if you lose feeling in it that means we have to remove it before the infection spreads through the rest of your body. But If it hurts then that's a good thing, there’s still a chance to save it...”

"Okay...should I go where I need to go ma'am?"

Before Redheart could answer, 2 doctors came in with a stretcher, the nurse pointing to them. 

"They'll take you to the OR..." Nurse Redheart said, the doctors told Red to get on to which he did. They then proceeded to roll Red out of the room into the hallway, Dashie following them with a bit of tear in her eyes.

The red pegasus looked at Dashie and saw that she was worried, smiling at her. "I'll be OK Dashie...you don't need to worry about me..."

"But big brother, I don’t want you to lose your hand!” Dashie exclaimed.

"I won't, you heard the doctors it's not gonna happen..."

The doctors pushed Red and the stretcher to the operating room, two doctors held Dash outside of the room to prevent her from entering, Dashie started to sob. “BIG BROTHER!!!”

A male nurse held Dashie tightly. “I’m sorry little filly...the doctors need to concentrate you have to wait outside...” Dashie stopped struggling and wrapped her arms around the doctor, hugging him and crying into his smock to which the doctor allowed considering she's just a little filly.






Operating Room - (Red)



Red heard her cry and called out from the room. "Dashie...be a big girl, I'll be okay, I'll be out soon!" He looked at the doctors seeing them going and washing their hands, putting on gloves, caps, and face masks. "This won't take long will it?"

A female doctor spoke to him to answer him. “Well, first of all, we have to get all of that pus out along with putting your wrist back in perfect alignment and sewing your skin and fur back together...We’d say maybe a couple of hours...”

"Okay...will I be awake for this?"

A male doctor answered him now. “No, we’re gonna put you under with numbing gas...it’ll put you to sleep and also numb the pain...”

"Okay, sir..." Red watched as another doctor came over and put an oxygen mask on his face, the doctors turning on the gas to knock him out. The red pegasus felt a bit woozy till he slowly closed his eyes, sleeping soundly as the doctors went to work repairing his wrist.



Red: "I don't remember what came next, I was knocked out when they started to fix my wrist..."

Spike: "No shit..."

Dash: "Well I can tell you what I was doing when Red was having his surgery."

Spike: "Do prey tell...what were you doing, Little Dashie?"


> 22: Dash To The Past - Part IV
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[Meanwhile] Outside of The Operating Room - (Rainbow Dash)






Dash: "As my brother was in surgery I decided to walk around to see what's going on till...I met a certain someone I never thought I'd see again..."



After she finished hugging the nice doctor, Dashie decided to explore the hospital a bit passing by Red's assigned hospital room. She then passed by the neighboring room next to it, Room 13, and she heard someone call out.

"HEY, YOU!!" Dashie tensed up, she recognized that voice anywhere. "I saw you get in here!" 

The rainbow maned filly shivered and walked back a bit, walking inside Room 13, seeing the being laying in bed. "H-Hey...Zero..."

Zero was the one in bed, wearing a long hospital patient smock, her hair was not in a ponytail and instead was down past her shoulders. She also had a white square eye bandage that was covered with tape over her right eye due to Red injuring her there a few months prior. 

She looked at Dash through her left eye and growled. “It is you...one of the first criminals to ever get away from me...”

Dashie decided to toughen up, sticking her chest out and trying to be brave like her big brother. "H-Hey...you brought that on yourself by being a meanie to us...and we're not criminals, we were going to pay back what we took when we can."

“You stole a bunch of items from multiple ponies...I was doing my job little girl...and I don’t care if you’re gonna pay them back...I have to take you in!”

"I'm sorry...but it looks like you can't at the moment..." Dashie then pointed to her own right eye with two fingers. "How's your eye?"

Zero gave a small snicker, before furrowing her eyebrows. "My eye? How about you take a look!” She moved her hand up and opened bandage to show Dashie her new long vertical scar over her right eye, she then opens her right eye to show the filly that her dark green iris has changed to a lighter green, which meant it's now lighter than her left eye's dark green iris.

"He's sorry about your eye...but you wouldn't leave us alone and he wanted to protect me...and if it wasn't for you...my brother wouldn't be at risk of losing his hand!"

The female changeling gave a sarcastic chuckle as she put the bandage back on her scarred eye. “Gee thanks...that’s what I need... a fuckin apology and also if he wanted to protect you...he would’ve let me take both of you in...but no, you just had to run away and what do you mean ‘my fault’, he was the one who broke his fuckin hand in the first place!!”

"Because you wouldn't leave us alone and creatures kept trying to separate us...it's why we left the orphanage so we wouldn't be separated..." Dashie talked back. "The last thing our parents said to us was for him to look after me and he takes that seriously..."

Zero was getting hysterical when she heard what Dashie said. “How dense are you little shits?! You’ve been making bad decision after bad decision!! First, you leave the orphanage, then began to steal, then you run from the law along with injuring my eye!!! None of them would’ve happened if you just stayed at the orphanage!!!!”  

She then scoffed, turning her head away from the filly. “I never lost criminals in my life...yet I was bested by you kids...you guys just don’t know when to realize you‘re nothing without parents...”

"We dealt with this long enough, if you hadn't been so mean when dealing with us...we would have come along without a word and no one would have gotten hurt..."

“Grrr...I already told you!” The changeling turns to look at her again. “I don’t have the power to know if you’re going to a foster home or not...in reality...I was worried about you and your brother...”

Dashie walked towards Zero's bed and sat down in a nearby chair. "You have a funny way of showing it..."

“Don’t give me shit ya little cretin...sure I may have been a bitch when I first met you guys...but when Red told me how you lost your parents and would rather be on the streets than in a foster home. Sure, I felt terrible...but I still had a job to do...”

"And thanks to that...your eye got hurt and my brother's hand became infected and leaking this yellow stuff that smells bad..."

Zero rolled her left eye. “Again...all of this could’ve been avoided if you were good kids and came with me to the guard station...but nooooo you decide to be difficult and put all of us in the hospital...”

"Well, what can ya do?" Dashie asked. "We're both stuck here..."

Zero gave out a final sigh and pointed at a desk to her right. "Pour me some water would ya?"

Dashie looked at the desk and walked over to it, picking up a small plastic water pitcher and pouring the injured changeling a cup of ice-cold water, slowly putting it in her hand to which the PI nodded. "Now...I have to think about how I’m gonna pay for my hospital bill...so would you now kindly get out?”

Dashie's mind clicked when she heard Zero was having some money troubles and figures that she and Red do owe her a solid considering it was their fault she has a big scar over her right eye. "Ya know...we actually might be able to help you with paying...we recently acquired some money..."

Zero gave a small chuckle. "Look at that...went from thieves to muggers...but either way, no matter how much money you stole, there's no way in hell that a couple of kids would have enough for my hospital bill...I owe them well over $15,000 bucks..."

"Well actually, why do you think we're here?" Dashie asked. "We have enough money for Red to get his wrist...if we didn't, we wouldn't even step foot here because of lack of money and it's not like we can escape after his surgery..." She then took out a huge wad of cash from her pocket, which made Zero's left eye widen as the little filly put down $15,000 on her bed. "Here...we have plenty to spare, even though we paid back everyone we stole from."

The changeling picked it up, looking at it with complete concern. "W-Wait wait wait...where did you get this pile of cash?!" 

"Me and Red stole it from a briefcase that a griffin was carrying into an alleyway...he looked pretty shady actually...he wore a suit and I got a good look at his I.D. in his wallet when Red dropped it due to his wrist pain, it said he was...Gallus Griffinstone...er...something..."

Zero's ears immediately perked up when she heard the name she said, chuckling nervously. "D-Did I hear you correctly? Cuz it sounded like you said 'Gallus Griffinstone' for a second."

"Yeah, that was his name..."

Zero felt the world around her go black and white as her eye widened before she spoke in a calm hushed voice. "L-Little f-filly...y-you might want to l-listen to me as I tell you this...." She then inhaled deeply before flat out yelling at the 10-year-old. "CAN YOU AND YOUR BROTHER BE ANYMORE FUCKING STUPID!?!?!?”

Dashie started to cry as she shivered in fear. "W-Why are you y-yelling at me...w-w-we just wanted to pay everyone back and g-get Red some h-help..."

Zero put her hand on her head. "No, Kid you don't understand...Gallus Griffinstone is a high ranking member in the Sombra Crime Family...and I heard a rumor poking around that he was going to attend a deal and was carrying $100,000 in dollar bits..."

Dash arched an eyebrow. "Who and what is the Sombra Crime Family?"

The injured changeling looked at her with her left eye. "Sombra is the Don of the Sombra Crime Family...he's one of the most powerful mafia families in all of Manticore Prime City...he's so powerful that he's sometimes called 'King Sombra'...he is a monster, he kills anyone who ever does anything wrong to him or his business....and when it involves creatures stealing his money...he shows NO MERCY!!” 

Zero then put her hands on Dashie's shoulders. "YOU AND YOUR BROTHER ARE IN SERIOUS DANGER!!!"

Dashie, who was still innocent minded, was still confused. "I don't get it...why are we in danger?"

The female changeling groaned in annoyance and looked straight into her eyes. “Listen to the words coming out of my mouth...” She then spoke slowly to the pegasus filly. “You. Stole. 1 hundred. Thousand. Dollars. From. The. Mafia!!!!!”

"What's a mafia?"

The changeling growled, feeling like Dashie was doing this on purpose before she calmed down and breathed heavily, she then dumbed it down a bit since she was only 10. "They are big bad meanies who are very angry that you and your brother stole money from them and now they want to hurt you and your brother...”

After Zero said that, Nurse Redheart opened the door to her room to peer inside. "Zero...about your payment-" She stopped herself when she saw the changeling with the rainbow-maned filly. "Oh, Rainbow Dash there you are...your brother just got out of surgery."

Dashie beamed and ran over to the nurse. "Is he okay, can I see him?"

"He's fine...the doctors managed to save his wrist and get all the infection out, but he's still asleep from the gas...he's in his room now."

Dashie smiled. "Yay! thank you!" Before the pegasus ran out of the room, she looked back and walked up to Zero in her bed. "Thank you for keeping me distracted..."

Zero looked at her with a blank expression before she gave her a small smile, the first one she ever gave to anyone of the Dash siblings. "Anytime Dash..."

The rainbow pegasus then ran out of the room as Nurse Redheart walked up to Zero. "I didn't mean to...but I overheard something about...money being stolen and the Sombra Mob..."

The changeling nodded. "Yeah... it's her and her brother Red...they're in serious trouble..." She picked up the money Dashie put on the bed for her hospital payments and gave it to Nurse Redheart, who counted it and put it in the breast pocket of her nurse blouse. 

The changeling started to think before looking back at the nurse. "If it isn't too much trouble...I need my phone, I need to make a call."

Redheart nodded and walked over to the closet to Zero's jacket, taking out her phone and giving it to the changeling. As the white unicorn walked out of the room, the changeling opened her phone and dialed a number. "Zero...Private Investigator Badge 525...I have a message for Detective Dual Blade and Detective Virtus Darkpaw."
> 23: Dash To The Past - Part V
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[4 minutes later] - Hospital Room 12 - (Rainbow Dash)





Dash: I went to go see Red but he was still knocked out, but after about 4 minutes, he started to open his eyes.



Dashie was sitting in a chair beside Red's hospital bed as he was still resting, she looked at his wrist and saw that it was professionally stitched and bandaged up. It wasn't as swollen as it was before and the funky smell of the infection was gone but it was still a bit faint.

After a few minutes, the pegasus filly heard a small moan, her ears perked up as she looked at her brother, seeing him toss and turn in his bed a bit. "R-Red?"

The red pegasus kept moving before he slowly started to do it violently, his face becoming sweaty and full of fear as his toss and turns were getting violent like he was fighting something, his heart rate monitor was beeping fast as he started to scream bloody murder. "AH...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"

"RED!!!!" Rainbow yelled, a female changeling doctor quickly came in and saw his heart rate elevate.

She pushed Rainbow back a bit as two stallion doctors rushed. "Stand back little filly!! STABILIZE HIM!!!!" 

The stallion doctors grabbed Red to keep him still as the changeling put an oxygen mask on Red's face, giving him some so he can breathe. The red pegasus slowly stopped tossing and turning before he finally relaxed and breathed normally, the doctors all sighing of relief.

"W-What was that?!" Dashie exclaimed, the changeling looked at her.

"It was probably just shock from the gas they gave him from the surgery, but he's fine now."

The two doctors left the room while the changeling doctor stayed there as Nurse Redheart came into the room with a file in her hand, her face with pure fear.  "Dr. Jewel!"

The changeling looked at her. "Yes?"

"You have got to look at this..." She raced over to her and handed her a file. "That's the file on Redsopine Prism Dash...I recently checked his blood and look at what I found in it!"

Jewel opened the file to read Red's blood report and gasped when she read what Redheart wrote, looking at the steadily breathing 13-year-old stallion in the bed. "I-Impossible..." She then whispered to Redheart. "Do you think it's the same for his sister?"

"I'm not sure...I'm nervous to find out..." The nurse whispered back.

"What is it, why are you whispering?" asked Dashie. "Is there something wrong with Red's blood?"

Redheart sighed and went on one knee to be at Dashie's eye-level. "Rainbow...it appears that Red has something that shouldn't be there in his blood..." She gave the filly the file so she could look at it.

Dashie looked at where Redheart was pointing to on the file and began to read.



Blood Results:
It appears that the patient Redsopine Prism Dash has some kind of black liquid in his blood along with the normal red and white blood cells, when I checked with genetics on what it could be, they have no idea on the matter of why his blood could be red and black. We then decided to look upon the internet on the different shades of blood. And it appeared that the black liquid found in Redsopine was not on the list. We've continued to try and research it till we came across something that says what the black liquid means...the black liquid was called Akuma...which means "demon".

Notes:
it's stated that demons can protect their skin by turning it into pure rock which can be heavy...Redsopine stated that he had had moments where his skin would harden and become very heavy and coincidentally, another patient Zero had an eye-injury and stated it happened when her face felt like it scraped on a hard piece of rock when she was flying after two suspects...if one of those suspects was Redsopine...then it's gonna be positive.



Dashie looked at Redheart. "Uhm...what's a demon?"

"It's an evil spirit...your brother has evil in his blood and part of his DNA." Redheart looked at the knocked out Red. "I'm gonna check something..." The nurse then sanitized her hands and put on a clean glove, going over to the knocked out colt, she then opened his mouth a bit and saw a few instances of razor-sharp teeth in his mouth. "Just as I figured...he is part demon...no one has teeth as sharp as this...not even a changeling..."

Jewel looked at the nurse. "Is there a way to remove the demon blood from Redsopine?"

The white unicorn shook her head, taking her gloved hand away from Red's mouth. "No we can't remove it...if we try to remove the demon blood we'll end up taking out his normal blood too...which would result in his death.

"NO!" Dashie yelled, running over to Red's bedside and hugging him. "I DON'T WANT MY BIG BROTHER TO DIE!"

Redheart put her hand on the filly's shoulder. "Don't worry, he won't...he has demon blood in his DNA...so it's not like the blood's gonna kill him anyway...he'll just have to live knowing he's part demon..."

"Oh, so that's why!" Redheart, Dashie, and Jewel all jumped a bit and turned to the bed, seeing that Red had already woken up. "By the way...could I get some water?"

Dashie gasped and hugged Red tightly, being very careful of his wrist. "Big Brother, you're okay!" 

The red stallion chuckled a bit. "Of course I am...I'm just thirsty..."

"How long have you been awake?!" Jewel asked.

"Um...around the time when the nurse was sticking her fingers in my mouth..." Red deadpanned, looking at Redheart. 

"I was checking to see if my expectations were correct..." The white unicorn nurse said, taking off the glove and throwing it away. "And don't fret...I sanitized my hands and I used a glove...so you're alright with having Akuma in your blood vessels?"

"Well...it's not like my life is gonna change," Red replied. "Just cuz I have demon blood in my veins doesn't mean my life would be any different."

Jewel started to think then shrugged. "I guess not..."

There was then a knock at the room door, the 3 ponies, and changeling looking at it with raised eyebrows. Dr. Jewel walked to the door and opened it, seeing a blue pegasus stallion and a gray female wolf at the door. The blue pegasus wore a black suit with a red tie and black loafers, he also wore black-rimmed eyeglasses on his face. The female wolf wore a brown leather jacket with a white buttoned-up shirt, black suit pants, and brown loafers.  "Sorry folks...visiting hours are over..."

The pegasus took out something from his blazer pocket and showed it to her, revealing it to be a badge as he spoke. "Detectives Dual Blade and Virtus Darkpaw, MPSG. We're here on behalf of a patient of yours Dr. Jewel, a changeling named Zero?"

"Yeah, but she's in the room next door."

Virtus spoke this time. "We know, she messaged us on watching over a...Rainbow Dash and Redsopine Prism Dash."

"Oh, they're in here..." Jewel leads the two detectives in and looked at Red and Dashie. "Kids...this is Dual Blade and Virtus Darkpaw, they're detectives from the MPSG...they're going to watch you under orders from Zero..."

Red growled. "Of course that bitch would want to watch us like criminals."

"Watch your mouth kid...Zero she did state that you and your sister stole money from the mob along with being the ones who robbed creatures for supplies." Dual replied.

"We paid them all back, you don't have anything on us..." Red said. 

"We have you on a mugging fee kid...you can't just steal a briefcase full of money then expect the guards not to find out..." Virtus replied.

"Anyway, we're only meant to watch you, Zero doesn't want us to arrest you two" Dual added. "She wanted us to get you guys out of here immediately...she's worried that King Sombra might find you."

Red turned to the window that was by his bed and looked outside, seeing few black SUVs drive and screech loudly to a stop in front of the hospital, a couple of creatures coming out armed with a bunch of guns. The red pegasus turned to the two detectives. "It's a little too late for that..."

Dual and Virtus walked over to the window and saw the ponies enter the hospital downstairs and then they suddenly heard faint gunfire coming from downstairs. 

"What the fuck..." Virtus took out her Colt 1911 from inside her jacket and aimed at the door. "Dual...we got to get these kids out of here...I'll cover you."

"Hey, I have a better idea...right now the only clue they got is the color of our fur so all we got to do is dye our fur and blend in with an evacuation group to escape the fighting...besides right now it looks like someone's shooting at them...and someone should find out who told them we were here"

"Can we get a plan that could work, smartass?" Virtus asked. "They know what you look like..."

"Hey being a smartass and knowing to hide my fur when I stole a mafia gang's money is how we'll all stay alive...But again we don't have time to argue now...if someone could be so kind as to find stuff that stains fur then we can get out of here without a bullet in our heads..."

Virtus looked at him angrily and walked up to him. "Sombra wants you dead and he'll know what you two will look like dye or no dye...one more smartass remark comes out of your mouth and I'll spare him the trouble of killing you by doing it myself...”

Dual looked at her with concern. "Virtus!"

Red was unfazed, he only gave a single snicker. "Well she seems nice...I'm guessing you're the bad cop then...but then again how would I know? Most of you guards are usually on Sombra's payroll..."

Before Virtus could answer, Zero arrived at the room door wearing a jean jacket with an olive green shirt, gray sweatpants, and blue sneakers, she was pointing a Glock 19 down the hallway, looking into the room by turning her head. "Dual, Virtus, we have to get these kids out of here...Sombra's here for them..."

Virtus looked back at her. "We know, we saw the vans..." 

Jewel went over to Red and carefully took out the IV from his left hand and got him up from the bed, Dual looked at the changeling doctor and Nurse Redheart as he took out a Silver Taurus PT92 with a wooden grip. "You two evacuate everyone out of the building...the Solar Guards should be here soon."

Dr. Jewel and Nurse Redheart both nodded and ran out of the room to find civilians and take them to safety. Dual and Virtus led the kids out of their room and aimed their guns in front of them.

Red made sure that Dashie was behind him so she wouldn't get hurt. 3 of Sombra's guys ran into the hallway and Dual, Virtus, and Zero quickly disposed of them with a couple of shots. 

They all kept moving through the hospital, gunning down any Sombra mob member that got in their way. Once they got into the elevator, the three adults took the time to reload their guns and aimed toward the elevator doors that slowly opened, quickly putting down 5 goons.

Virtus went ahead a bit and put her shoulder against the door, she then held her hand out towards the others to tell them to wait for a bit. She slowly opened the door and just narrowly avoiding a sniper shot to the dome from a shooter on a balcony.

"Guys...there are a ton of guys along with some snipers on the stairs...as soon as I open the door...we'll make a break for the receptionist desk, got it?"

Everyone nodded as Virtus started to count backward from 3 with her fingers. As soon as her finger pointed to one, she quickly opened the door and opened fired on the assassins. Dual and Zero leading the kids to the receptionist's desk and hiding behind it. 

Virtus quickly ran from the door and began to do a few front-flips to avoid a few bullets and getting behind the desk firing off two more shots. Zero looked at both of them. "You guys got a plan?"

Dual looked at her. "Yeah, shoot at the assholes!"

Zero, Virtus, and Dual popped up and fired at the goons, taking down a good number of them before more poured into the hospital. 

"There's too many of them!!" yelled Zero, she then looked at the kids. "Red, Dash...get out through the backdoor of the hospital, we'll cover you!!"

"This is completely stupid!" Red yelled.

"It may be stupid but it's our best bet at getting you guys to safety!" Virtus yelled. "We'll meet with you guys later, NOW GO!!!"

Red looked around and saw a bleach bottle, he grabbed it and gave it to Dashie who took it and was quickly dragged by her brother when he grabbed her right arm with his left. The Dash Siblings both ran down the hallway while faint gunshots could be heard behind them. 

They both hid in a hospital room and Red looked at Dashie. "Okay, Dashie...how do you want us to get out? Quickly but risky or careful in disguise?" When he said that he pointed to the bleach bottle the cyan filly had in her hand. "We're just gonna bleach our fur so we'll look different."

Just then they heard someone open the door, they looked behind them to see a Gallus Griffinstone, the mafia member the kids stole from, he backed them up into a wall holding an H&K 9mm USP at their heads. "Well well well...just the little shits I'm looking for..."

"You know they're two detectives and a private investigator down there that can see us and there's someone with a gun behind you right now..." Red bluffed...trying to distract him as he slowly opens the bleach bottle lid that was hidden behind Dashie's back. "Plus if you kill us...you won't get your money back..."

Gallus smirked at the 13-year-old.  “You think I’m gonna fall for a trick like that, where's the money?!”

Red started to act like he was scared now. "O-Okay...come closer and I'll tell you...if I say it out loud then someone else would get the money first..."

The griffin squinted his eyes, getting closer to Red, his gun pressing into his forehead as Dashie started to cry. “One little trick and your pony brains go all over the wall...”

"Don't worry...No tricks..." He waited for the griffin to get close enough before Red quickly grabbed the bottle from Dashie's hand, ducked down, and then threw the bleach into Gallus' eyes, pushing the gun away from him.

The griffin screamed bloody murder from the pain and aimed his gun toward the kids before Red ran up and punched him in the gut, knocking him down to the floor. "Dashie get out of here!!!"

Dashie was still crying, shaking her head. "R-Red no...I don't want to leave you!"

"I SAID GO!!!!" Red yelled at the top of his lungs, he saw Gallus try to get up but he quickly shut that shit down with a hard kick to the face, making him stay down. 

Dashie looked at him and Gallus one more time before running out of the room then out of the backdoor of the hospital, successfully getting away from the massacre.

Red put his foot on Gallus's gun hand and held the bottle of bleach up high. "Okay, you son of a bitch...you're going to tell me exactly where your boss is or I'm going to pour this entire thing down your throat..."

Gallus growled and pushed Red off of him, the bleach bottle dropping on the floor, then proceeded to pick Red up off the floor and knocked him out with a throw into a small table.



AJ: “Wait a secon...how the fuck did ya think that was a guud idea?”

Red: "Who said I did? All I was planning to do was blind him so he can't chase after Dash and I made myself a bigger target by threatening to pour bleach down there throat..."

Dash: "Anyway...After that, I ran into Applejack at Sugarcube Cafe and that's how I got involved with The Solaris Sisters...you already know the story Spike."

Spike: "Yeah, you were too young to do any real work so you were just like an errand girl before you turned 20 and became a full member of the mob family."

Red: (snickered) "But now it's my turn..."


> 24: Dash To The Past - Part VI
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[1 hour later] Sombra's Bar - (Red)





Red: "When I woke up, I found myself tied to a chair with Sombra looking at me."

Spike: "Hehe, what? Was the asshole trying to get you into some kinky shit?"

Red: "Shut up jackass."

Spike: "Pff, have a sense of humor ya whiny bitch..."

Red: "Want me to leave and tell that hard-ass cop bitch she can cut your nuts off?"

Spike: (frantic) "No...No...No...proceed..."

Red: "Yeah...that's what I thought..."



Red looked around and saw that his arms and legs were tied to a wooden chair and he was in some kind of big office. He looked forward and saw The Don of the Sombra Crime Family, "King" Sombra, standing right in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest, right next to him was his right hand: Radiant Hope. 

The gray unicorn wore a black two-piece suit with a gray dress shirt and a red tie, along with clean black leather dress shoes, Hope wore a long black strapless silk dress with black high heels, around her shoulder was a gun holster with a Glock inside. 

Red saw her arm was wrapped around the gray unicorn's as his red devilish eyes stared into Red's yellow eyes as he showed him his shiny, sharp, white teeth when he smiled victoriously.  “Weeeell...look who finally decided to wake up...”

Red furrowed his eyebrows at him. "Let me guess...you're the 'smart guy' that hired that dumbass Griffin, who not only got beaten up by a kid...but also lost 100k..."

Hope let go of Sombra's arm and stood with her arms behind her back as Sombra slowly walked around Red, like a hawk stalking its prey. “Don’t forget that I now have 'said kid' tied up to a chair in my office...now I want you to answer this simple question....” He stopped in front of Red as he dropped his smirk, turning his face into an angry one. “Where’s my fucking money?!”

The red pegasus shrugged. "Already spent it on hospital bills and paying back debts...the rest we gave to charity, keeping just enough to last a year in hiding."

Sombra growled before stopping himself and calming down a bit. “Okay look...I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about me right?" 

He walked over to his desk and sat down, Hope staying by his side, her hand on his shoulder. "Because I know enough about you...Redsopine Prism Dash...and your sister Rainbow Ashleigh Dash...Your parents died in a car accident 4 months prior when an out of control car hit into theirs and they both got stabbed and disemboweled by pipes at a construction site, yadda yadda yadda...I can give two shits." 

As he talked, Red was untying himself in secret, his hands remained behind his back as Sombra smirked evilly. "Now...Do you know who I am?"

Red stood up from the chair as he smirked himself. "Lord Blueballs: King of the Dumbasses that don't understand the first concept of knots or tying someone up..." Sombra and Hope's eyes both widened as the 13-year-old pegasus put his hands on the desk calmly. "Now look...you can either kill me or hire me to work off the money you lost because right now...I've outsmarted your hitmen 2 times in under one day and that was including having a broken and infected wrist."

Sombra growled and picked up Red by his shirt and slammed him onto the desk which gave him a bloody nose, The mob boss then went to the other side of the desk and held the kid's body down as he leaned in so he can talk into his face with intense anger.

Hope backed up a bit watching the scene as Sombra spoke. “Listen here you smartass little piece of fucking shit!!! I can have you killed before you even fucking blink so watch your fucking mouth before I blow your brains all over the fucking wall!!!!!”

Red breathed slowly before he felt his teeth start to slowly sharpen, he gave a wide smile at Sombra. "Or I can do this instead...." Red then began to laugh insanely as he suddenly latches onto Sombra's shoulder with his new sharp teeth digging into it so hard that blood began to leak from his mouth.

Sombra exclaimed a bit in pain, letting Red go and quickly grabbing his wounded shoulder, his blood leaking onto his hand and his black suit. Hope screamed a bit, She quickly took out her Glock 19 from her holster and pointed it at Red, she then quickly went over to Sombra's side to check on the bite wound, while still pointing the weapon at Red.

Some of Sombra's men heard the scream and 3 guys quickly rushed in, looking at their injured boss with his right-hand mare at his side, trying to bandage his wound.

The three guys looked at Red and put two and two together, all 3 of them cracked their knuckles. The 13-year-old looked at his hand and gave a small smirk as he spoke to himself. "Let's see what this 'Akuma' can do..."

One mobster grabbed Red by his shirt and prepared to punch him but The red pegasus grabbed his fist like it ain't shit. "Let's see what happens when I do this..." Red then began to squeeze the mobster's fist, at first it didn't do anything and the goon just laughed but a few seconds later, they all began to hear a couple of small sick cracks and the laughs quickly turned into screams of pure hellish pain. 

Red was crushing the bones in the goon's hand with his strength the Akuma blood was giving him. To the mafia member, it felt like his hand and bones were getting crushed by a giant car crusher. He let go of Red and in return, he let go of his hand. It was covered in blood and his fingers were bent in ways fingers weren't meant to be bent, they could even see some bones sticking out.

The other two growled and both pulled out their Colt 1911's and aimed them at Red, who just looked at them nonchalantly. "You guys want to shoot a kid?"
He then looked back at Sombra, who's shoulder was now wrapped with a bandage courtesy of Hope. "See, I told you they were idiots...they should have immediately restrained me the second I put my hands on the table...now they seem to be trying to beat to death someone you could use...someone that could have easily killed you just now..."

Sombra groaned a bit as he held up his uninjured arm. "Hang on boys...lower your weapons...” The goons looked at their boss with the corner of their eyes and listened, Sombra slowly walked over to Red, Hope stayed next to him to make sure he's alright. "How about I throw your sister into the mix?"

Sombra pointed to himself. “You work with me to pay back all the money you stole from me...if you don’t do what I tell you or you let me down...Your sister will die a slow and painful death right in front of you before you suffer the same fate...what do you say?”

Red smirked and said just six words that made Sombra, Hope, and the 3 goons give him scared and shocked faces.






[Present] MPSG Station - Interrogation Room 1 (Spike)



Spike, Rainbow, and Applejack all raised their eyebrows at Red with the sudden pause. The red stallion just sighed. "Seriously is no one going to ask what I said to him, that's kept him from going after Dash unless she started a fight on his turf?"

“What did you say to him?” Spike asked.

"Why do you think you're alive?" Red replied.

Spike thought he was asking him. "Because the guards arrested me after you flipped your shit for no goddamn reason...”

Red sighed. "Okay, are you sure he's not one of Sombra's goons? He's as dense as they are..."

Spike sarcastically laughed. “Ha. Ha. Very funny you psychotic pegasus prick...”

Red looked at Rainbow and Applejack, his finger pointing at Spike. "Can someone explain to cold lava brains over here that I was not talking about our fight just now?"

Applejack sighed looking at Spike as she uncrossed her arms. "Spike...'Why do ya think yer alive?' is wut Red told Sombra."

Red gave her a thumbs up. "Spot on Apple Cheeks, now you must be wondering why I said these exact words...but think back to what was happening when I bit him, where I was..."

Spike was growing a bit impatient. "What the hell is this, 5th Grade English Class? Just tell us why and stop wasting our time!"

Red decided to humor him. "He had me close to his face, I could have easily torn his throat out."

“And why didn’t you?” asked Spike, earning a small facepalm and a sigh from Red.

The pegasus looked at Rainbow, pointing his finger at the drake again. "Seriously Dashie, what do you see in him? He's not good at paying attention to what he's being told..."

Rainbow shook her head and sighed, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Red he’s a great guy and I love him...just tell him why didn’t you kill him so we can avoid another fight...” 

"I already told all three of you why I said those six words...their meaning changed both mine and your lives...I mean I said that's what kept him from going after Dash unless shes instigates a fight on his turf."

Spike sighed. “So let me get this straight... Sombra threatened you with the death of my Rainbow Dash and in response, you threaten him back even though you were 13 years old? I don’t know how I should feel...Impressed on the amount of balls you have...or Marvel at your stupidity...

Red smiled sheepishly. "Both...but since then there's been only one rule between us...he leaves Dash alone unless she's barring fights on his territory, he gets to live. Everything after that is just me working off his debts as a hitman and assassin...I mean Dash must have wondered why her old apartment evicted her due to new management it's in Sombra's territory and keeping to the deal...they had you leave unharmed."

"Huh...so that's why the manager gave me a refund on the money I gave him for the last rent and told me to take a hike..." Rainbow said to herself as Red continued.

"And a threat's only words...I showed him just how easy I could have killed him. The smartest person beside me in that room at the time was his right-hand-mare. The second my hands were freed, she tensed ready to act the moment I bit him...she drew her gun before checking to make sure he wouldn't bleed out from the bite."

“You’re insane...” Spike said before Dash had a question.

“Wait...who’s Sombra’s right-hand mare?”

"Radiant Hope is her name..." Red replied to his sis. "Known to her squad as 'Mama Hope' since she trains her men how not to be idiots, the worst injury her men get is bruising from the gun kickbacks."

“So is that the end on how you got to Sombra’s? You bit his shoulder and instead of killing you, Sombra decides to take you under his wing and work as an assassin for 13 years?”

"Yeah, pretty much...I mean I did what no one came close to for a long time...showing him how easy he can be to kill. Hell, why do you think he's only seen with Hope around him? She's the only one he trusts as a guard that thinks and as such...she trains the men to be smarter in a fight instead of rushing in guns blazing hoping to hit a target. 

Red then rubbed the back of his head. "Oh..l also wanted to say sorry about Lyra and Bon Bon, they went rogue after being told to leave you alone. Those two stallions who were chasing Rainbow and AJ were gonna be marked for death the second they went after Dash without a cause...since they were given permission to cross through the area and you were used as the fastest means for escape but that changed when their car blew the fuck up...I mean they were gonna die anyway."

Spike sighed. “Yeah yeah...Lyra and Bon Bon wanted to kill me for helping AJ and RD escape from Sombra’s goons...they got what was coming to them...”

Red shrugged his shoulders and swatted his hand down. "Yeah yeah, it's fine...they've gone rogue when they failed to assassinate you...quite frankly I didn't like them anyway..."
> 25: New Alliances
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



MPSG Station - Interrogation Room 1 (Red)



As Spike and Red were talking, Rainbow was a bit confused about something. "Hang on Red, you said Sombra can't attack us?"

Red looked at his sister and nodded. "Yes but as long as you don't go on their territory to cause trouble. Anyone who goes at you will be put on the mafia's hit-list along with a bounty placed on their heads. And as I've said before, if Sombra authorized an attack on you Dash, he wouldn't live to see the next day. "

He walked a bit closer to Dash and held her hand.  "That's the threat I gave him so long ago...but once it was known you were a member of The Solaris Sisters it was amended to if you start a war and get hurt...I can't get involved in that cuz I'll be seen as a traitor if I help you during a war between the families, plus you're a grown mare who makes her own choices."

AJ then noticed something, looking at Red. "Hang on Red." The red pegasus looked at the orange earth pony. "Dash and I were on their turf...we were only collecting protection money from a convenient store, two guys from Sombra's gang just attacked us..."

"Did you two raise any suspicion when you were there?"

"No, they shot at us first..."

"Well I did tell you, they were gonna be executed after taking a pot shot at you guys so I wouldn't mind it that much..." Red replied before walking over to a wall and leaned against it, crossing his arms and his right foot on the wall. "What what I do mind much is that...you have a traitor among you..."

Applejack and Rainbow's pony ears perked up as Spike looked at him like he was crazy. "What are you talking about?!" Red kept looking at the girls. 

"Think back to when I was fighting this idiot..." Red pointed his thumb at Spike, earning an angry look from the dragon. "I tried to tell you guys something..."

"Something about Luna?" Rainbow asked, earning a nod from Red which made the cyan pegasus gasped. "Y-You don't mean....!"

"Yup...I don't know who set it up but she and Sombra have been meeting each other face to face a lot recently...they've set up a truce between The Sombra Mob and The Lunar Division of The Solaris Sisters..."

"Luna and Sombra?!" exclaimed Applejack. "They're workin together?!"

"She sold us out!" yelled Spike, his handcuffs rattling.

"That's not all...they got attacked by celestial members who were shouting 'kill the traitor', I don't know why but someone set Celestia up as trying to kill Luna and Sombra at the same time...so she joined him and...they're making their move tonight to take Celestia down...a war is coming and right now...we need to stop it."

"Oh, shit..." Rainbow said. "Don Celestia got set up..." 

Red held up his hand. "There's more though...that fiasco at the hotel in the countryside where Rainbow got shot? Sombra and Luna didn't authorize it."

"What?" Spike exclaimed. "Those guys weren't under orders from Sombra?"

"That's what I'm saying...someone has pitted the mobs against each other and we need to set a truce before things explode....and I don't think the ones that went after Sombra and Luna were under orders from Celestia either...I just, have this strange feeling..."

"So you saying there might be a separate power? Someone who wants to kill Sombra and Luna making it look like Celestia called the hit?"

"Yes...someone wants to start a war to break out to weaken both sides."

"What the hell..." Rainbow put her hand on her head. "Then...who called the hit?"

"Well Zero found something out...she's been gathering names of all in the mafia members so we could find out who's working for who."

"I'm guessing instead of hearing what she found out, you decided to visit me at the station?" Spike asked.

"Nah, you know that flash-drive I gave to that hot-headed wolf?" Spike nodded as Red continued. "Inside the drive is a list of non-mafia members that live in the mafia territories, so I gave the list to the chiefs so they can evacuate the civilians so they won't get caught in the crossfire and since I was already here...I decided to let you all know the situation..."

"That's great an' all, but did Zero find out who's the main threat?" asked Applejack.

Rainbow looked at AJ. "Maybe Zero doesn't know who the third power is yet...the connections for trying to find out who it is is like a goddamn maze..." 

Red shrugged. "Yeah..."

Just then they heard the door open behind them, they all looked and say Virtus standing there, arching an eyebrow. "The hell are you guys still doing here?"

Red turned around fully to her. "Strategizing...did that list come in handy?"

The wolf nodded. "Yeah, some guards along with my husband Dual are going around and getting civilians to safety."

Red nodded. "That's good, also I'm appalled that you don't recognize me or my sister back at the hospital."

The deputy-chief smirked and chuckled. "Oh please..." She walked up to him and pinched his cheek like a mother who constantly baby's her child. "How could I not forget that cute little fucking smartass face of yours?"

Red smiled a bit. "Good to see you haven't changed a bit..."

Virtus patted his cheek. "I'm surprised that tongue of yours is still intact after all these years..."

"I'm surprised Dual got to balls to marry your ass..." Red replied with a bit of snark.

The busty wolf put her hand on her hip. "We've been dating since we were officers and after that shootout where you became Sombra's bitch, he proposed and we've been married for 12 years...and during those years we took over the MPSG after you blew the last Chief and Deputy-Chief's heads off..."

The red pegasus crossed his arms over his chest. "Those two were on Sombra's payroll and they fucked up, they knew what was gonna happen...and Sombra's MY bitch, if you watched the CCTV once we're gone, you're gonna see."

Virtus gave a small chuckle. "Sure Prism, just keep telling yourself that."

The red pegasus started to get smart with her. "How close have you come to kill him? I've had 4 chances... the first time was simply to get across a simple rule: 'don't touch my sister and he'll live'. The other 3 was his right-hand stopping me and telling me that he had nothing to do with trying to kill my Rainbow..."

Virtus crossed her arms under her breasts. "I could kill him in the blink of an eye if I wanted to...faster than you would ever do...but I'm not going to considering you need a daddy to take care of you like that changeling chick...who I'm shocked isn't tired of your sorry ass yet."

Red smirked. "You mean the same chick who found out who's working for the mob in the entire city, along with whoever is corrupt on the mob's payroll? Also, I had ponies who tried to kill me a lot but look who's still standing?"

Virtus nodded slowly. "Just know that I was never a corrupt guard...never had been and never will be..."

The red pegasus sarcastically applauded her. "Woooow, that's amazing! But let me tell you this...you may not be corrupt, but you're not a good cop...you're a bad cop who acts like an emo chick on her period."

The busty wolf guard growled a bit in anger but she then calmly sighed, chuckling. "I'm not gonna waste my time on you, you know why? It's because you're small fry Prism..." She then walked over to Spike. "Now, would you two along with your redneck pal kindly get out so I can get this dragon into a cell?"

She unlocked Spike's table chains and put his hands behind his back, putting normal handcuffs in them, Spike grunted a bit as Red spoke with a chuckle. "Hehe, you wish...all the accounts of murder you got him on him are all self-defense."

The guard poked her head out from behind Spike and replied. "I also have that he's an associate with The Solaris Sisters Mafia Family, along with Vandalism, Obstruction of Peace, and Reckless Driving...also if it was self-defense he should've called the guards instead of running away...now would you kindly get out of my way so I can do my job?"

"You're embarrassing yourself and Dual, how many would've gone to the defense of someone being targeted by Sombra's crew? And how many would kill the kid for a measly reward of being left alone on beat downs from lower members?"

Virtus crossed her eyebrows at him. "I don't go to your place and tell you how to do your job, right Prism?"

Red shook his head. "Whatever, besides we both know his bail's gonna be paid in under an hour anyway, so let's just skip the paperwork and let him go once his bail's been paid off..."

"I mean unless you somehow got a $20,000 bail on you...this lizard isn't going anywhere."

Red chuckled. "Did you forget why Sombra was after me and Dash?" He then searched the breast pocket of his cloak and took out a big wad of cash, handing it to Virtus who looked at it with an arched eyebrow. "There's 40K in there, 20 for the bail and 20 for the overtime your men are putting in."

The wolf counted the money just to make sure and nodded, putting the cash in her back pocket. "You may be a piece of shit Prism...but you do know the meaning of the word 'business'..."

Red smirked victoriously as Virtus took out small keys and unlocked Spike's handcuffs, the drake rubbing his wrists. "Call yourself lucky Dragan, get out of here..."

"Thanks..." Spike said to Red, who just nodded, Spike's phone then started to ring loudly. "Shit..."

The dragon took his phone out of his pocket and pressed the call button, on the other line he could hear loud gunshots and sounds of screams in the background as Thorax spoke. "SPIKE!! I NEED SOME HELP!!!"

"Jesus Christ Thorax, what's happening?!"

"IT'S SOMBRA AND THE SOLARIS SISTERS!!!! IT'S A FUCKING WAR ZONE OUT HERE, COME TO MY GARAGE NOW!!!!!!"

"Alright, man! Hold tight!" Spike ended the call and looked at his three partners, mainly at Red. "It's Thorax...The Sombra Mob and The Solaris Sisters Mob are exchanging gunfire at his garage...I'm gonna need some help."

"I'm down," said Rainbow.

Applejack agreed. "Same"

Red smirked at the drake and shrugged his shoulders. "Meh what the hell, I won't mind giving you a hand."
> 26: Back at The Garage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[A minute later] Outside of The MPSG Station (Red)


Red, Spike, Rainbow, and Applejack were led out of the station with Virtus and the red pegasus turned to the wolf. "I'm sure you know that we need help with this?"

"Sorry kid, this is your problem...my men are busy getting civilians to safety...it's your job to calm them the fuck down..." Virtus then closed the door of the station behind them.

Red sighed, turning to the 3 Solaris mobsters. "So much for backup..." He took out his phone and flipped it open, dialing in a number and putting it up to his pony ear. 

Zero answered. "What's the trouble Red?"

"Hey, Zero...is the weapon cache near Chase Point clear? We need to arm up." He looked at his new partners and saw them giving him mixed expressions on the weapon cache thing, Rainbow was looking at him with a bit of a disturbed expression, AJ's eye-brow was raised, and Spike looked at him with a blank expression. "What? After everyone was paid off along with the repair bills for the hospital, we still had 80k left over....so after a few years past I used that money along with the money Sombra was paying me for the hits to set up safehouses with Zero's help."

Zero heard what he said. "Is there someone with you?"

"Yeah, I reunited with my sister and I'm gonna help them get rid of this war." 

"Alright...well the weapon cache near Chase is right where you left them...you need firepower?"

"Lots of it." The red pegasus replied. "They're fighting right outside of Thorax's Garage and they got him held up, so since he's Spike's friend, we're gonna get him along with calming them down."

"Alright, I'll get the cache ready for your arrival, they'll be in the safehouse by StarSwirl Avenue, that's the closest safe house near Chase Point."

"Thanks." He hung up the phone and looked at Spike. "Kid you're driving, we're heading to StarSwirl Ave."

"Alright..." Spike looked around and noticed an undercover police car was parked nearby, it was a Custom-made Black Alfa Romeo Giulia. "That should work..."

The dragon quickly went over to the car and began to pick the lock, he began to find the lock tabs and joined them together and prying them a bit just like Flash taught him, he nodded when he heard a click. "Alright, I got it, come on."

Spike opened the driver-side door and got inside, unlocking the doors so Red, Dash, and AJ could climb in as well. Red sat in the passenger seat and RD and AJ sat in the back. The dragon then opened up a small compartment by the key-hole and began to hotwire the car, smiling victoriously when the ignition turned on and the car began to purr like a kitten. "Hell yeah!"

Red chuckled, fastening his seatbelt. "Oh man...the pup's gonna be pissed when she finds out we jacked her car."

Spike put his hand on the wheel after fastening his seatbelt, looking at Red. "Take it as payback for not giving us back up."

The red pegasus looked at the station and saw Virtus looking at them with a shocked expression before turning into a pissed one. "Oh, shit..you better step on it before she tears our limbs apart..."

Spike hit the gas pedal and sped away, Virtus coming out of the station and upholstering her Colt 1911. "RED, YOU FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!!!" She then started firing her gun at the car, the bullets hitting the back windshield and the trunk.

They all slightly ducked but were confused that the bullet didn't go through the windshield despite it getting it, Red chuckled after looking back. "Lucky us that she's paranoid enough to bulletproof the entire car..." He looked forward and the glove compartment and opened it up, seeing a .50 Cal. Desert Eagle with 3 extra magazines inside. "Hey, I found a Desert Eagle in here, anyone wants it?"

AJ held her hand out. "Ah'll take it, If Ah can handle a .50 Caliber Magnum, Ah sure as hell can handle a .50 Caliber Eagle." Red put the big pistol in AJ's hand along with giving her the 3 extra mags, the orange earth pony putting the gun in her left holster, and putting the mags inside the left ammo pouches. 







[An hour later] StarSwirl Ave. Safehouse (Applejack)



After Spike parked the car in front, they all entered the apartment with Red leading the way. They all then came across a large metal closet, Red typed in a code on a keypad near it and it opened up slowly. As the lights all flickering on...Spike, AJ, and RD looked at all the firearms that were in Red's cache, it's like he has his own personal gun store, and the craziest part was...it was a walk-in closet.

As they all walked inside the weapons closet, Applejack walked over to a bunch of sub-machine guns as Spike and RD went to the red pegasus. 

"Jesus Red! You could start a fuckin apocalypse with this shit!" Rainbow exclaimed.

Red shrugged. "Meh this is just one of my caches, I have two others in two other safehouses."

"So you have 3 safe houses and 3 weapon caches?" asked Spike, earning a nod from the pegasus. "You insane bastard..."

AJ picked up an Uzi, inspecting it, Red called out to her. "Careful with that Uzi Apple Cheeks, its custom made to fire tranquilizer darts."

"Oh wait I just remembered something." AJ put down the Uzi and passed by Rainbow who was grabbing a duffle bag from a small locker. “What did the doctors say about that rock skin you discovered?"

"They said it was one of the abilities of the Akuma..." Red held up his fist and it turned into stone right in front of them before going back to regular red fur. "That's all they said, I learned how to control it easily and it became a regular defense ability of mine."

Rainbow walked over to the weapons and started to fill the duffle bag with weapons and ammo for them all. She puts in  Ingram Mac 10s, a Thompson, a Franchi SPAS-12, some Colt 1911s, FN Hi Brownings, and SIG-Sauer P250 Compacts

The crew watched her zip up the bag and walk over to them with it on her shoulder, Red spoke. "Nice choices." 

Applejack gained Red's attention. "You ain't upset we’re gonna be using up your weapons and ammo?”

Red swatted his hand down and shook his head. "Nah I got way too many to ever use....though my other cache has a minigun and an RPG."

Spike nodded. “Okay...now that we got some pieces, let's get to the garage to help Thorax."

"Ah think they're just a few blocks away..." Applejack replied.

Red closed up the cache and the team rushed back outside and they all hopped back into Virtus' car. Spike turning it on and speeding down the street.







[2 minutes later] Thorax's Garage - (Red)


Spike pulled the handbrake and the car spun a bit to the left and completely stopped horizontally, blocking the road so no cars could not enter the area. The entire area was completely civilian free, so it seems that the guards were successful in the evacuation. 

The crew exited the vehicle and saw there were bullet casings on the ground and bodies of Thorax’s bodyguards, a couple of mobster bodies lying near the garage.

"Jesus Christ..." Applejack said in shock on how many bodies were laying around. 

In front of them, they saw 5 goons come out from behind corners, vehicles, and alleyways.

"Hey you four," One of them called out, all of them aiming their automatic weapons and shotguns at them. "King Sombra and Luna Solaris send their regards!"

Red rolls his eyes and sighs, he pulls out a sawn-off shotgun from his cloak and shoots the goon who spoke, taking his head clean off.

The other goons watched the body drop to the ground with surprised expressions, they looked back at Red who was still aiming at them. "Okay... who are you assholes really working for?"

Instead of answering, the remaining four guys fired at them with their guns. RD, AJ, and Spike all scrambled behind the car while Red just simply dodged the bullets and backflipped behind the car. 

The vehicle was taking the bullets like a champ, the sounds of gunfire, ricocheting, and bullet casing hitting the ground filled the entire area. Rainbow opened up the duffle bag full of weapons and yelled at them to grab one.

Spike grabbed a Thompson and holstered an FN Hi Browning, AJ grabbed a Mac 10 and took out her Desert Eagle for some dual-wielding, RD grabbed the Franchi SPAS-12 and hid a SIG-Sauer P250 in her dress, and Red picked up and holstered two Colt 1911s while reloading his sawn-off.

The goons stopped firing and one of them called out to them. "Alright, you bastards...come on out so we can blow your brains out!"

Spike and Rainbow both popped out of hiding, Spike fired his Thompson and Rainbow fired her SPAS-12, dropping three mobsters in fast receptions, hiding back behind the car barely evading incoming fire. 

More goons came out of the alleyways and the garage adding to the number of ponies, dragons, and Griffins wanting them dead.

AJ poked her hand out and blindly fired her Mac 10, spraying the area with bullets till she ran out of the rounds in her mag. She heard a couple of grunts so that gave her confirmation that she wounded some goons.

She grabbed a new clip from the duffle and reloaded her piece as she spoke. "There's a lot of them..."

Red began to think and grinned, looking at Spike. "Hey, Kid, I have an idea."  He then grabbed the car's passenger seat door and used his Akuma strength to pry at the door, tearing it clean off its hinges. He then held the door like it was a shield. "You strong enough to hold this?"

“Y-Yeah...” Spike took the door from Red's hand and held it in front of him easily with his dragon strength. “What’s this for?”

"Remember that the car's bulletproof?" Spike nodded and watched the pegasus rip off another door from the car while speaking. "Take Rainbow and keep her covered while you move up to the garage. AJ and I will follow you with the same method."

“Wait how can I fire my Thompson if I’m holding a shield?" asked Spike. "My aim would be shit!”

"Point it round the side and aim at their feet or use a handgun and save the ammo for later." 

"I got an idea," Rainbow replied, putting her SPAS-12 shotgun back in the bag. "Give me the Thompson and I'll use it to cover us, use the FN Browning you picked up."

Spike handed his Thompson over to his marefriend and he unholstered the FN Hi Browning that he put in his suit.

Red nodded. "Ok, let's get moving on 3..." 

Applejack, Rainbow, and Spike cocked their guns, waiting for Red’s signal. The pegasus held up 3 fingers and began to count backward, as soon as his finger hit 1, they all started to move with their door shields. Red and AJ went to the left and Spike and RD went to the right. 

Red fired his sawn-off with one hand and took out a dragon mobster by blowing away his knees, AJ moved and fired both her Mac and Deagle at 3 goons, killing them quickly. Spike fired his FN-Browning and took out 2 goons with a couple of shots to the torso while Dash occasionally popped up completely exposed so she could mow down incoming mobsters with the Thompson on full auto.

Red rushed at the last couple of dragon goons, bashing them with the door to knock them down while also knocking their guns out of their hands. The pegasus then slammed his foot into one of the dragon's faces very gruesomely, smashing his skull like it was a pumpkin and bashing the last dragon with the door itself, breaking his neck loudly due to the hard force of the swing.

The crew heard a car screeching behind them and saw another car full of goons coming their way, Rainbow calling out. "Shit, more of them!!"

Red pulled a flashbang grenade out of his cloak. "Don't worry, I got this!" 

AJ, Spike, and RD hid behind their door shields as the gang members got out of the car armed to the teeth. Red pulled the pin to the flashbang and threw it at them, quickly reloading his sawn-off.

The goons didn't react fast enough to notice the flashbang when it landed on the hood of their car and it exploded in their faces, blinding them and obstructing their hearing. After hearing the bang, Red popped up and blew one of the goons' kneecaps off along with using his second bullet to decapitate another goon next to him.

As the dead and wounded members fell, Rainbow Dash popped up with her Thompson and fired at the gang in full auto, her bullets pouring into their bodies and spraying blood onto their car. The sound of bodies and guns dropping, along with bullets ricocheting into metal ringed in everyone's ears. Rainbow stopped firing after her Thompson clicked due to an empty mag.

Red stood up and moved over to the goon whose kneecap he blew a hole into and he took out one of his Colt 1911s from his cloak while putting away his sawn-off. 

He slowly pulled back the slide and it cocked loudly, pointing at the wounded pony. "Who do you work for?"

The wounded goon gave out a small raspy laugh, holding his bleeding leg wound. “You will never find out...”

"You can tell me now...or tell Don Sombra as he tortures you for fun even after you tell him..."

“Hehe, Sombra doesn’t like you anymore you disgusting two-faced traitor..." The pony replied, sitting up a little. "He’s gonna have so much fun slowly tearing your skin off as he rapes your sister...”

"Ok, now I know you don't work for him..." Red replied, getting annoyed. "Sombra didn't have many rules for who joins but he has one, he has no rapists, anyone ever crossed that line he kills them slowly and painfully..."

He aimed his .45 at the guy's arm and he planted a bullet into it, the guy screaming in pain. "AAAA, YOU PSYCHOTIC SHIT!!!!"

Red looked at Spike. "Hey, can you breathe fire?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, but why waste our time with this asshole, we're here to save Thorax."

"Because we need to cauterize his arm and leg stump so he can be interrogated and not bleed out..."

Spike went down on one knee and moved the goon's hand away from his leg stump, he then took in some air and breathed a small green flame on the goon's leg stump.

The goon was squirming and was screaming bloody murder as Spike was cauterizing his stump. The pain was too much for him and he went into shock, laying down completely still. 

The purple dragon stopped. "Shit...he went into shock..."

Red sighed, putting his weapons away. "Oh well..." He then looked toward the garage and noticed something. "Hey...did you guys find it odd that there's a car in the middle of the shop when ours is outside and so are the mafia cars?"

They all looked at the car in the garage and they all noticed that Red was right, that car was standing out completely, it wasn't even a mafia car. They all approached the car and looked it over before AJ smelt something rank when she went to the trunk and covered her nose. 

"Landsakes! What the fuck is that?!" She exclaimed, holding her nose. They all went to the trunk and smelt the same thing and they too covered their noses.

"Smells like something's rotting in there..." Red replied.

Spike went in front and he opened up the trunk, gasping and coughing violently as the smell was 100x stronger they all peered inside and saw that Thorax had been killed. his guts were hanging on the outside, his throat was slit and he also has a bullet wound in the head.

"SHIT, THORAX!!!" Spike exclaimed.

Red shook his head. "Not even Sombra or his goons would go that far just to kill a mechanic, this was personal, whoever did this to him had a grudge against him..."

"But wait...this doesn't make any sense..." Applejack added. "Didn't he jus call us an hour ago?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Oh yeah, he did...but he smells like he's been dead for days and he's already starting to decompose..."

Red's ears perked up. "Wait...I don't think he was in trouble, to begin with...he's been dead way before 'he' called us today...these guys were using him as bait to get us into an ambush!!!"

Right as he said that, Red got shot in the back with a sniper rifle bullet along with Spike getting a shot in the chest and Rainbow getting shot in the gut.

Applejack gasped and ran inside the garage before a shadowed assailant came out from behind her and knocked her out with the butt of his gun.

Red was clinging onto life, his hand on the bullet hole in his chest and his other hand on the ground, his blood was dripping passed his fingers and dripped on the ground under him.

He was conscious long enough to see Rainbow get hit and that caused him to growl intensely with anger as he felt something get unlocked inside of him. He looks and sees more thugs arriving in 2 SUVs and that's when it happened, his adrenaline took over as he stood up and let out a primal roar, his eyes were getting black with red pupils and his entire body hardens to stone while long razor-sharp claw formed on his hands and his arms, forearms, and hands were getting bigger and bulkier with muscles his Akuma was now giving him.

He charged at a goon who was coming out of the car with vicious speed and grabbed him by the face with his demon hand, slamming him into the car which splattered him like he was a bug. 

The sniper watches the carnage through his scope and quickly got out of there as the members on the ground began to back up slowly in fear.

Red roared again and began attacking them, grabbing one of them and tearing his head clean off with his teeth and throwing him towards a nearby wall, the mobsters all screamed and fired at Red who in turn unsheathes his claws to do a fast swipe slicing all the mobsters in half all at once, once all the carnage was done his adrenaline faded and he fell on the ground, reverting back into his pony form.
> 27: A Problem That Needs Fixing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[One week later] Ponyville Central Hospital -  [Spike]



Spike gave out a soft painful grunt, he could hear a faint but steady beep ringing near his eardrums and he felt a needle in his right hand. When he started opening his eyes he saw a blurry bright blue light along with hearing a voice that sounded very familiar.

"Spike, Spike are you okay?!"

Spike's vision slowly started to become clear as the bright light became some sort of ceiling, his hearing was coming back too, the faint beeping he was hearing was a heart-rate monitor.

"Spike, talk to me!" 

The drake saw a purple blur take up his vision and his eyes slowly began fixing on it, trying to make a clear image. The image was getting clearer and clearer like a camera finally getting into focus and then he saw who was looking at him, it was his twin sister Barbara, she was wearing a tank-top, cargo shorts, and sandals.

"B-Barb?"

"Spike, you're alright!!!" His sister hugged him very tightly and crying, very happy that her brother's alive. "Oh thank god, I thought you were dead!"

"W-What happened?" asked Spike, sitting up a bit and seeing that he was shirtless and his torso was all bandaged up.

Barb lets go of him and softly places her hand on his chest where the bandage was. "You got hurt."

"Hurt?" Spike then gasped and realized something. "Rainbow and Applejack, are they okay?!"

"Yeah, they're fine...they're right over there." She points to Spike's left.

Spike followed his sister's pointed finger and sees that Rainbow Dash was getting her bandages changed by a doctor and Applejack was sitting on a chair, waving at Spike. Her head was wrapped in a bandage and it had a bit of blood bleeding through it.

"A-And Red...where is he?"

"Over there...." RD beckoned her head to the left and Spike sees that Red was completely bed-ridden. His torso was completely bandaged up and he had a face mask on his face giving him oxygen. 

"What the hell happened to him....?" asked Spike.

"He was barely conscious when we found him." said a familiar male voice coming from the doorway.

AJ, RD, and Spike looked towards the doorway and sees Dual Blade there leaning on the door, He was dressed in a full navy tactical suit with black loafers.  "Sorry to intrude."

Dual took out his police badge from his blazer to RD's doctor after she finished changing her bandages. "Chief Dual Blade of the MPSG, I need to speak with these 3."

The doctor nodded. "Yes, Chief." 

She leaves the room and Dual looks at Barb. "Excuse me Ms. Dragan, but I must speak with them alone. Don't worry, your brother isn't in any type of trouble...we just need him to fix a problem."

Barb nodded and stood up, kissing Spike's head and beginning to walk out of the room but not before stopping and looking at the Police Chief. "Please make sure he comes back to me in one piece Mr. Blade..."

Dual looks at Barb. "I promise Ms. Dragan, you have nothing to worry about." 

The dragoness looked down at the floor, still very hesitant and worried about the whole situation. Dual turned a bit and softly put a caring hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and was given a single nod from the pegasus who was looking straight into her emerald eyes. That reassured her into nodding back with a small smile and continuing on her way, closing the door to the room behind her.

Dual takes off his blazer and puts it on a nearby coat rack, he then pulls up a chair and puts it at an angle where he could see all of them with ease, sitting down on it.

"So, how are you all feeling?" asked Dual.

"Just peachy..." Spike said with a groan. "What the hell happened to us?"

"You and The Dash Siblings were shot with rifles and AJ was hit hard in the head with a butt of a rifle, we only managed to save You, Dash, and Red on the same day but AJ wasn't found until 2 days later. 

AJ rubbed the back of her head. "I barely remember much...but I know I woke up in a dark room somewhere..."

Rainbow spoke up. "So why did you want to talk to us, you want us to put our hands up so you could cuff us?"

"No nothing like that, I'm not arresting you four," Dual replied, he then leaned forward and folded his hands together. "I'm here to tell you that...Celestia Solaris has been murdered."

The entire room was completely silent before Rainbow, AJ, and Spike all exclaimed at the top of their lungs. 

"WHAT?!?!?!?!"

Dual held up his hands. "I know I know, It's terrible...but it's true...shot point-blank at the back of the head."

Rainbow looked down. "Luna and Sombra actually did it...they killed Celestia..."

Spike hit his bed mattress hard. "DAMN IT!!!!!"

Dual looked at them all. "I figured you all know something I don't?"

"Red said that someone set Celestia up to take the fall on attacking Sombra and Luna while saying 'kill the traitor'....so that way Sombra and Luna would attack Celestia and try and kill her."

Dual sighed. "What if I told you three...that killing Don Celestia was Luna and Sombra's objective from the beginning...?"

"W-What are you talking about?" asked Spike.

"I've done some digging while the medics were nursing you guys back to health this past week." The blue pegasus pushed his eye-glasses up with his middle finger and continued. "And it turns out that Sombra and Luna want all the power to themselves so they could get a wish granted by this third presence...Sombra and Luna were planning to kill Celestia from the very beginning, even before a group from The Celestial Division attacked them."

"But Red's warning to Sombra...."

"He's not scared of Red anymore...he and Luna wanted Celestia dealt with by any means necessary...even if it means attacking you guys...and now he and Luna think they're all high and mighty now that Celestia is dead and they rule the city."

RD spoke this time. "But there has to be some kind of a reason..."

"A reason that I don't know besides them being power-hungry...this life you're all in...it makes creatures greedy and creatures with the same desires are willing to team up just to get their way."

"So what do we do?" asked AJ.

"You guys are gonna kill Sombra and Luna...do us all a favor."

"Kill Sombra and Luna?" Spike repeated. 

"Yes, all I know is that now Luna and Sombra are targeting all of you...and are gonna flip this city upside down till they get ahold of you guys...I wouldn't be surprised if that 'third presence' told them that this was their last loose-end before fully taking over the city...taking you guys out."

"But why should we kill them, can't you just give one of your officers a warrant so they could arrest them?" asked Spike.

Dual shook his head. "No, and trust me I would...but the city officials don't want me to interfere...they're afraid that if the MPSG get involved in any criminal activity, our city's reputation would plummet into nothingness. If I give the order for the guards to attack/arrest Sombra or Luna...me and Virtus will either be demoted or terminated on the spot. The mayor said if it has to be done then she wants it dealt with as just another gang-related incident..."

"And that's better than the solar guards doing their job?" asked Rainbow.

"I get the feeling the mayor got paid by Sombra and Luna so the guards won't interfere in their plans for taking us out..." Applejack pondered. 

"Yeah, that makes perfect sense...fucking crooked officials..." Spike concurred. 

Dual sighed. "Look...here's what Virtus and I can do for you guys: I'll tell you where Luna and Sombra are going to be and while you're dealing with them, my wife and I work with Private Investigator Zero and we'll look through everything we can get our hands on: Files, security camera footage, crime scene notes, etc...anything that could at least give us a name or even just a description on who the third party is. In the case of Luna and Sombra, at least that'll wipe away one problem from our minds."

"Where are they gonna be?" asked Spike.

"I looked through the traffic cameras before I got here and right now, Luna and her division are waiting for you in The Everfree Art Gallery..."

"The Everfree Art Gallery? What she doing over there?" asked Applejack.

"Turns out Luna had a feeling that as soon as her sister died, you guys will be coming to kill her as revenge....so instead of staying with Sombra at his penthouse...she took her entire division to a big place just to set up an ambush."

"Luna's always been like that..."  Rainbow replied. "She's always a cautious pony and prefers the element of surprise than just going in all guns blazing."

"And Sombra?" asked AJ.

"He's in his high-end penthouse with his entire squad and Radiant Hope...he's armed his bodyguards to the teeth and made them fully aware that they are to guard him with their lives...he knows that if he's gonna die, he plans to do everything he can to plant you all in the ground right next to him and Hope."

"Guess Sombra's looking for a fight..." Spike replied. 

Rainbow looked down in worry. "Luna was almost like a mother to me...I can't believe that we have to kill her..."

"Same sugarcube..." Applejack agreed. "I don't think I could even bring myself to point a gun at her..."

Spike started to think before sighing. "Looks like it's up to me then..."

AJ and RD both looked at Spike like he was crazy, the cyan pegasus exclaimed. "No Spike, you can't handle Luna on your own!"

"Girls you heard yourselves, you can't stomach killing Luna because you knew her and Celestia for so many years. I've only worked for The Solaris Sisters for 2 years...so I might be able to stomach it a bit better than you two....also I'm not doing this just because you two won't...I'm doing this for the sake of Celestia and for your safety."

The two female mobsters looked at each other and knew Spike was right, they can't stomach killing Luna even if she did betray her sister and the gang, it will never sit right with them. Spike is perfect for the job. 

Spike slowly got up from his bed and just found out he was completely naked. The girls both looked down at Spike's junk with a blush as Dual looked away with an annoyed sigh. Spike grabbed his clothes from the closet and just walked into the bathroom to change, not covering himself.

Applejack looked at Rainbow with a blushed smile. "Hey, RD...you don't mind if I could have a bit of fun with Spike later right~?"

Rainbow giggled. "Nope, I don't mind in the slightest~"

After a few minutes, Spike walked out of the bathroom and was back in his black suit. 

Rainbow and AJ both did a wolf-whistle at the drake, the cyan pegasus speaking. "Looking good handsome~!"

Spike blushed which only earned him a small slap to his back by Dual. "Come on Dragan, we don't have time for flirting..."

"Wait...what about Sombra?" asked Spike.

"I'll get him..." 

Everyone looked at where the voice came from and saw Red had regained consciousness and was starting to slowly sit up, he took his oxygen mask off of his face and spoke in a bit of a raspy voice. "I'll take care of Sombra...I want to know what the fuck his problem is..."

Rainbow stood up and went over to Red's side, her hand on her bandaged stomach. "You can't go Red...look at you, you were barely conscience and you're hooked up to an oxygen tank...you're in no shape to fight."

"Please...this is nothing..." Red replied. "Sombra's my problem that I have to fix...I know his penthouse inside and out...so if it comes down to it...I'll handle it..."

Red stood up from the bed and he was actually wearing dark blue pants under the blanket. He started to unbandage himself and everyone looked at his strong torso seeing that he was completely healed, not a single scar on his body.  

Spike was a bit crossed. "How come you have pants on yet I was naked when I got out of bed?"

Red looked at him. "Oh, the nurse was examining your body while you were knocked out to check if you were okay, guess she forgot to put your clothes back on when she finished..."

"Okay, we're wasting time..." Dual slightly snapped, wanting to end the conversation quickly before they get completely side-tracked. "Dragan, Dash, I'm gonna drive you both to Luna and Sombra..."

Red held up his hand. "Actually...I'll find my own way to Sombra...when I said alone, I mean alone."

Dual shrugged. "Okay fine...suit yourself but you might need this regardless..." He took out a black Colt M1911A1 from the back of his pants and threw it towards Red, who caught it with one hand.

Red took the mag out and pulled the slide back and forth a few times. He then aimed the gun at the wall and slowly pulled the trigger to test the hammer of the gun and it clicked. He nodded and put the mag back into the pistol and pulled the slide back, the weapon cocking loudly. "Not bad Blade, this is a great .45"

"I'm sure you heard where Sombra is?"

"Yep in his big penthouse near the edge of the city...I know where it is." Red put the Colt in the back of his pants and put on his cloak. "I'm also gonna make a stop at one of my weapon caches to get another weapon I may need."

"Alright well anyway, we should go, come on Dragan." Dual stood up and grabbed his blazer from the coat rack, but he was then stopped by Spike.

"Okay but before we go...let me ask you something....what are you gaining out of all this huh?" asked Spike, wondering why Dual, a cop, is doing all of this for them. AJ, Rainbow, and Red all wondered this too and looked at Dual with the same suspicious expressions. 

Dual put on his blazer. "I'm doing this as a favor for Zero...I don't normally make deals with you criminals...but Zero's good creatures..." He then opened the door and looked at the criminals, who looked back at him.

Spike was about to set off before Rainbow and AJ both grabbed his wrist at the same time, Spike looked at both mares and all three of them were blushing. 

"Here...for luck~," Rainbow then kissed Spike fully on the lips with a soft moan, the dragon moaning back. After the kiss with Rainbow she backed up and Applejack took her place, a blush on her face.

"Fer extra luck~," AJ kissed Spike on the lips in full, it lasted a bit longer than Rainbow's but AJ finally let him go. "Come back to us in one piece, alright sugarcube?"

Spike nodded with a deep blush. "Alright." He turned to Dual who was still waiting by the door.

"You ready?"

The dragon nodded. "Let's go."

They then both left the room and closed the door behind them, heading for the art gallery to take care of Luna. 

Red gave out a small sigh and looked at his sister and Applejack. "Alright girls...I'm heading out too, me and Sombra have some business to take care of." He walked toward the door but as soon as he grabbed the doorknob, Rainbow wrapped her arms around him very tightly.

"Please bro...I don't want to lose you again...I just got you back..." Rainbow said with a broken voice, stifling her tears.

Red turned around to look at her little sister, taking her hands into his own. "It's gonna be okay, I promise you...I will come back to you in one piece...Okay, Dashie?"

Dash gave a small gasp, Red has never called her as 'Dashie' in over 12 years, which made fresh tears run down her face. Sure Spike calls her that now, but hearing it from Red's mouth and in his voice, was enough to make Rainbow's inner 9-year-old heart become all warm inside like it used to. She then felt Red's lips touch her forehead lightly, it was like she was a little filly again. 

"Okay?" Red repeated.

Dash gave a small smile and nodded. "Okay, now go out there and kick some ass."

"Gladly." Red lightly rubbed his little sister's mane and he opened up the door to leave the room, heading to Sombra's Penthouse so he could "have a talk" with his old boss.
> 28: A Night's End - (Spike)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[5 minutes later] The Everfree Art Gallery - [Spike]



Dual pulled up his car right in front of the art gallery and he looked at Spike, who was looking at the gallery. 

"This is it...." Spike said. "This is where it ends."

"I know Spike," Dual replied. "But just a heads-up, that building is property of The Solaris Sisters, so those thugs know the place inside and out...just proceed with caution."

"I know, thanks..." 

Spike unlocked the door but he was stopped by the Solar Guard. "Spike. Virtus and Zero found some intel that says Luna has a secret room in there, think maybe you could take a look?"

"Sure, I'll take a look in there..." Spike then saw Dual reach into a small compartment in between them and he took out a Glock 47 Compact from it, giving it to the dragon. "Thanks..." He puts it inside of his suit and he leaves the car, closing the door. 

Dual gives Spike a thumbs up and drives away from the area, leaving the dragon for what needs to be done and he starts climbing up the stairs, the sun glistening off of his scales and causing him to sweat a bit.





Spike opens up the gallery doors and looks around at the huge spacious area, it was filled with sculptures, paintings, murals, and basically everything you can find at a museum. In front of the dragon when he entered the door was an admissions booth with a turnstile gate. 

Spike easily jumped over it but was then met with the sound of two clicks, he looked to his left and saw a unicorn and a griffin pointing two CZ-76s at his head. The dragon slowly raised his hands up in response.

"Ohoho, look at the balls on this guy..." said the griffin.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that you need to pay the fee in order to enter the museum, Dragan?" asked the unicorn, poking Spike with his gun. "Move it."

The two goons lead Spike deeper into the museum, going through another set of big doors, and in front of Spike was Luna herself, standing next to her was Black Shadow and a female bat pony. Black Shadow was armed with an Armsel Striker and the other bat pony was holding an Ingram Mac 10. "Well Well Well, look who's here..."

Spike slowly lowers his hands. "Luna..."

"So what did that Solar Guard Dual tell you, Sir Spike? Kill me and Sombra and all is forgiven?" asked Luna. "I expected more from you really...you can't get rid of us...the Mafia never forgets."

"Why did you do this Luna...you sold all of us out..." Spike growled. "You betrayed me, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and even your sister...your own sister."

"My own sister? Pff...she was only getting in my way of true power." She held out her hands. "Look at me now! Ever since someone told me I had to take control in order to get what I wanted...my life turned around. Look at them all Spike, they trust me now...all they ever trusted was my whore of a sister...and now that I'm with Sombra's gang, I feel free....free to do whatever I want."

"SO ALL THIS KILLING IS WHAT YOU WANT?!?!" yelled Spike. "ME, RAINBOW, AND AJ TRUSTED YOU!!!!"

"If it helps me get to be number 1 and get from under my sister's shadow, then so be it." Luna slowly walked over to Spike, her chest lightly pressing onto his, as she looked into his green reptilian eyes with her sparkling light blue ones. Her hand went onto Spike's cheek. "Ya know Sir Spike...when I first saw you, I've always thought you were kind of charming...If you want, I can spare you and we can rule this city together~" She moved the front part of her dress a bit down so Spike could see more of her cleavage.

Luna smirked victoriously when Spike looked down at her chest, but after a few moments, Spike looked back up into her eyes. "No, I'll never join you..." 

Luna frowned and replied with a small sigh. "Hm...that's too bad...I've always really liked you, Sir Spike...then again Tia did too...and look what happened to her..." 

Spike gave a small growl as Luna continued. "Well I best be off...oh and don't worry Sir Spike, me and Sombra will cry together at the funeral." She then gave Spike a small kiss on the lips and backed up from him, fixing her dress back to its normal position. "Don't worry about your sister Barb. Sombra and I will take care of her after we tell her you got into an unfortunate accident..."

She and her two bodyguards started to walk away. "Boys, take care of him...and please don't make him suffer, he's my favorite employee." She then turned to look at Spike again. "Oh and Sir Spike? Don't worry about a thing, this isn't personal, it's just business." She turned back around and continued walking away with her bodyguards.

Spike was very slowly putting his hands down in front of him and took out the Glock 47 he was hiding in his suit. The unicorn and griffin pulled the slides back on their guns and as soon as Spike heard the click, he quickly ducked and shot the griffin under his chin, the bullet going right through him and coming out of the top of his head.

Before the unicorn could react, Spike kicked the gun out of his hand and shot him two times in his torso, the bullets hitting his heart and one of his lungs. Both of the goons fell down completely dead, puddles of blood coming out of both of them. 

Due to the shots, Luna peaked out of the door to see if Spike was dealt with but was met with a scary image of Spike standing menacingly over two dead bodies, he looked at Luna and pointed his gun at her. The dark blue alicorn quickly closed the door and got out of the way as three bullet holes were made into the wooden doors, courtesy of Spike, she sighed of relief and looked at Black Shadow, seeing that he was okay. But when she looked at the other bat pony that was supposed to protect her, she saw that she was shot in the chest.

The bat pony fell to the floor pretty much dead, Luna went over to her body and picked up the Mac 10 so she could use it herself, as she looked for extra mags on the bat pony she looked at Black Shadow. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, CALL THE REST OF OUR GUYS!!!!"

Black Shadow used his hands to whistle like he was hailing a cab, that's when 3 goons came running toward them holding big guns and he pointed to the door. "Kill him!"

The goons burst through the doors and began firing at Spike who quickly hid behind a pillar. He blindly fired his Glock at them and in response, they all hid behind cover as well. One goon popped up and fired at Spike's pillar with a Thompson, after he stopped firing Spike popped out and shot him straight in the neck. 

The other two popped up and fired at the dragon and he started running to the next pillar, bullets were flying everywhere behind him and hitting a few paintings. Spike fired back at them and getting one of them in the shoulder. He dodge-rolled behind the next pillar and he reloaded his Glock.

"Shit, Fuck..." Spike said to himself. "Okay...1...2...3!"

He came out of hiding and fired at the guy whom he got in the shoulder, getting him in the chest and the head. Before the third goon could react, Spike quickly jumped and dived to the side, shooting him rapidly in the chest.

The dragon grunted when he hit the floor and saw them both fall to the floor dead. Spike panted heavily and got up, throwing away his empty Glock 47 and picking up a goon's Thompson and both CZ-76 pistole with two extra mags each from goons that held him hostage.

Spike burst through the doors Luna and Black Shadow went through and jumped over the body of the female bat pony. As he ran through the hallway he just barely avoided a couple of shots from more goons that were coming his way. Spike made short work of them by firing his Thompson at them dropping them one by one.

Spike headed up some stairs and shot two more goons on the way up, throwing away his empty Thompson and taking out the two CZ-76s for some duel-wielding. He hid behind cover when he saw 4 mobsters with shotguns, he saw another doorway and quickly made his way through it after shooting the lock.

The room that Spike entered was a sort of surveillance room, there were monitors and a logo for the security company. He also saw that a small box near the keyboard, he opened it out of curiosity and smirked when he saw what was in there, a bunch of M67 hand grenades.

The goons were looking around for Spike and they hadn't noticed the open door to the surveillance room yet. Spike waited for them to pass by just beyond the door so he could take out one of the grenades and pull the pin. He then threw it behind them and the safety latch flew off as soon as he let it go. One of them looked back and noticed the grenade when it landed but before he could warn the others, they all blew up to smithereens, huge blood splatters, intestines, and charred limbs were all over the place when Spike looked at the damages. 

"Shit..." Spike said to himself, he looked at the remaining grenades and he puts an extra grenade in his suit pocket just for safekeeping. "Alright...where are you assholes..." He turns to the monitors, putting both of his CZ-76s on the desk and finds the key-card to activate the security cameras. He searches through all the monitors and sees Luna using a key and revealing a secret room hidden inside of a wall on the 3rd floor. "That must be the hidden room Dual was talking about..."

He looks at the next monitor and sees Black Shadow running downstairs with five other goons armed with M249s and M60s. And of course, they were heading Spike's way.  "Shit..."

Spike began searching the cupboards for a stronger weapon since he found grenades in the room. He tried to open up a locker but it was padlocked, he stood back and grabbed one of his CZ-76's from the desk and shot at the padlock, which made it spark and bust open, Spike opened the locker and to his surprise, he found an MP5K inside of it but no extra ammo, so he had to make these shots count.

He grabbed the MP5K after putting the pistols away in his coat, he then pulled the pins of all the grenades in the box and quickly got the hell away from the room where all the grenades exploded at once, destroying the entire surveillance room so no one will track him down where he'd be in the museum when searching for him. 

He hid behind cover and aimed his MP5K very carefully, closing one eye so he could look down at the gun's sights to have better aim. He saw Black Shadow and the 5 random mobsters with light-machine guns enter his sights and with very careful aim, he shot one of them right in the face, splattering his brains all over the goon behind him.

While they were under instant shock, Spike began to fire his gun in full-auto at them, getting the fourth goon in the torso a bunch of times. The remaining 4 mobsters (counting Black Shadow) jumped out of the way and fired back at Spike. The dragon hiding as incoming bullets zipped by him and ricocheted off the walls and hit the paintings.

Spike stood up after they stopped firing and he fired back at them with his MP5K. "SUCK LEAD YOU PECKER FUCKS!!!!!" He kills one goon by shooting him in the chest and he quickly ducked back into cover to avoid incoming fire, he took out the mag of his MP5K and saw that he was out of ammo. "FUCK!" He threw it away in anger and takes out both of his two CZ-76s.

He gets up after they stopped firing and fired at them with both of his pistols as he runs their way, taking down fourth goon with a couple of headshots, hiding behind the wall by the doorway so he could reload them. 

"Come on Spike, why fight?" Black Shadow called out. "All you have to do is surrender and then just close your eyes so I could shoot in between them, Luna did say she didn't want you to suffer."

"Fuck off Shadow!!" Spike called. "It's over for you, Luna, and the rest of your Lunar Division!!"

He put the CZ-76 he was holding in his right hand into his suit and replaced it with the extra grenade he had kept. He pulled the pin with his teeth, threw it at Shadow, and the 5th mobster, the safety latch flew off as soon as he let it go. "EAT THIS!!!!"

"SHIT, GRENADE!!!!!" Black Shadow shouted diving out of the way but the last goon couldn't react in time and he blew the hell up. His blood, intestines, and charred limbs were all over the place. 

Spike switched his CZ-76 to his right hand and he looked around the corner at the damage, seeing the remains of the 5th mobster. He then heard groans of pain and coughing, he slowly walked over to where the noise was coming from while aiming his gun in front of him. There he saw Shadow holding his Striker with one hand the reason why being is that he lost his left arm due to being caught in the blast radius of the grenade.

Shadow was panting very heavily due to already losing a lot of blood, he slowly pointed his automatic shotgun at Spike with his single hand and he tried to pull the trigger but it was stuck due to the gun being jammed. Knowing he can't unjam it due to his single arm, he just dropped it on the floor in defeat, sighing.

Spike slowly put his handgun inside his suit and bent down to pick up the Armsel Striker that Black Shadow dropped, speaking to him in a growl. "Here let me help you with that..." He pulled the hammer back and it made a loud click, knowing that it unjammed successfully, he then stood up and aimed the Striker with one hand at Black Shadow who was scowling at him. 

"Who the hell are you...?"

"My name is Spike Dragan, motherfucker..." Spike pulled the trigger and with a huge blast, Black Shadow's head exploded like it was a watermelon, chunks of his head and brains spattered everywhere, even onto Spike's face.

"One down..." Spike dropped the Striker onto the floor with a loud metallic clatter. "One to go..." Spike took out his CZ-76 from inside his jacket and made his way upstairs to the third floor where Luna was waiting for him, his handgun aimed in front of him C.A.R. style. 





Spike opened the doors leading to the third room and he kept walking very slowly, his dress shoes making loud echoey clops on the museum's marble floors, he then heard the sound of high-heels and the sound of a gun clicking. He looked at where the sound was coming from and saw Luna there aiming an Ingram Mac 10 at him. Before he could properly react, Luna pulled the trigger on her submachine gun and fired at Spike in full-auto, a few bullets hitting Spike in the side. 

"AH!!" Spike put his hand on where she shot him and he shot at her back with his handgun which made her quickly hide behind cover. Spike quickly hid behind cover too and took his hand away from his wound, looking at it and showing blood on his hand. "Oh fuck me..."

"This is it, Sir Spike!!" Luna called out. "This is where it ends!!"

"Yeah...THE END FOR YOU!!!!" Spike fired his gun at her cover and the shots only ricocheted again, Luna shot at him with her Mac 10 again which made the dragon quickly hide again, taking out the magazine and replacing it with a fresh one. "Come on Luna, its easy...why don't you tell me where this third presence is...or better yet who it is, and I might actually spare your ass!"

"Please, even I don't know who it is, I was just told to team up with Sombra and kill Celestia. And then all my dreams would come true," Luna called out as she loaded a new clip in her gun. "But since I knew that killing my sister would spark a quarrel with you, Madam Applejack, Madam Rainbow Dash, and Sir Red...Sombra and I both agreed to deal with you guys once the job was done so we could fully be in control."

"Whatever, We're gonna stop all three of you...starting with ME STOPPING YOU!!!!" 

"WELL THEN COME ON THINE LIZARD AND TRY TO KILL US IF YOU CAN!!!!" 

Spike fired his gun at Luna and she conversely fired back. Luna managed to hit Spike's shoulder and Spike managed to hit Luna's arm. Luna and Spike both grunted in pain and went back in cover, Spike moving to a new pillar to get a new angle on the alicorn.

Luna fired her Mac 10 at Spike again but missed when he went back into cover, which gave Spike the chance to pop out of cover again and shoot her in her three times in the side. The alicorn grunted with each shot and actually made her back hit the wall in pain, her blood sprayed a bit on the wall and when she slid down it created a small blood wipe on the wall.

Luna panted a bit and slowly began to stand up, shooting her gun at where Spike was, the dragon hiding again. The alicorn coughed in her hand and saw a few droplets of blood on them. She groaned "Oh fuck..."  She began to slowly limp away with her hand holding her bullet wounds. "I'm getting out of here..."

Spike saw her trying to limp away, so he used the final bullet in his magazine to plant a bullet into her back, making her fall down in intense pain. 

As the dragon began slowly approaching Luna's downed state, the alicorn turned onto her back and panted heavily, her hand slightly shaking while she was aiming her Ingram at him but when she pulled the trigger, all she got was an empty click.

"Should've saved a bullet or two..." Spike said, taking out the empty clip from his CZ-76 and reloading it with a new magazine.

Luna weakly threw her Mac 10 at Spike but the dragon just easily sidestepped it, his handgun pointing at Luna as the alicorn was slowly crawling backwards while he was walking slowly toward her. "You know Luna...for the last 2 years while working for you and Celestia...all I've ever done was kill...I killed for my family, I killed for Rainbow Dash and Applejack, and I killed every fucker that got in my way...but this one, this one is for me." Luna's back hit the wall which made her tense up a bit, Spike still aiming at her.

"Oh and Luna, don't worry about a thing...this isn't personal, it's just business...." He fired his gun at her stomach, which made Luna jolt and scream in intense pain, her hand going on her gut. 

Spike slowly aimed a bit more up as Luna looked at him angrily with gritted teeth. "Fuck you!"

The dragon pulled the trigger and with a loud bang, he planted a bullet right in her forehead, the cap coming out of the other side and the wall behind her was now sprayed with blood, chunks of brain, and even some pieces of hair. Spike watched as brain chunks were sliding down the wall and Luna's head slumped forward.

Spike released his grip on his handgun and it clattered loudly onto the marble floor which also created a loud echo which he was pretty sure everyone would hear. 

Spike then sighed deeply and bent down towards Luna's corpse and dug through her pockets, finding her car keys, a key to the secret room Dual said to check out, and her wallet. 

Spike made his way to the secret room he saw Luna enter inside of when he watched the security cameras. He used the key he got from Luna and a key card he found in her wallet to open the door, seeing a whole bunch of stuff inside. He saw cash, money plates, weapons, a computer, and even some documents that incriminated Luna and the rest of the Solaris Sisters over the past few years, like properties they owned.

Spike approached the computer and moved the mouse a bit, seeing that it was still on. He then had an interesting idea that would benefit Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. He used Luna's credit card to gain access to her bank account to see how much money she had in her bank, seeing over $105,000,000 in it.

Spike knew Luna wouldn't need it anymore due to the current events so he transferred the money and splits it between Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and himself. He gave Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and himself $35M each, he has a feeling they may need it. 

After completely cleaning out Luna's entire bank account, he put her wallet down on the desk and grabbed a nearby empty duffle-bag. He then starts putting in the wads of cash, money plates, and the documents on the places The Solaris Sisters owned along with some of the guns inside of the room. 

Spike zipped up the bag but before he left, he saw another duffle-bag and saw that it was full of something, he opened it up and saw that it was filled to the brim with C4 explosives along with a wireless detonator. Spike then felt the need to put these to good use, he took the bag with him and began to go to work.







[2 hours later]



After sticking up the 9th C4 on the third-floor pillar near the gas pipes, Spike was looking around for a place to put the 10th and final C4 charge, he walked by Luna's corpse and just looked at it angrily in disgust, he then looked at the wall near her and it gave him an idea. He went down and stuck the C4 right on the wall next to Luna's corpse as a final "Fuck you" to her.

He stood up and flipped her the bird as he walked out the building with the bag he filled with all the stuff from the secret room and the detonator for the C4, he hoped it was enough to take down the entire building and all the evil in it.

He found Luna's car outside in the museum parking lot and opened up the trunk, putting the bag inside of it. He looked at the museum one more time and gave it another middle finger before getting into the car and starting the engine. He looked at the museum through the rearview mirror and then at the C4 detonator in his hand.

He started to slowly drive away and after he was a good distance away, he turned off the safety and squeezed the detonator's trigger. The explosives all went off at once and due to the places Spike had planted them, it managed to take down the entire museum in a huge fiery explosion, debris was flying everywhere and the entire street was getting covered in dust from the building.

Spike didn't even look back at the explosion as he drove away with all the money, the plates, the weapons. 

"Have fun in the afterlife, Luna..."
> 29: A Shadow's Edge - (Red)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



[2 minutes later] Outside of the Hospital - (Red)


Red opened the hospital exit just in time to see Dual and Spike speed away in Dual's undercover squad car, Red pulled out his cell phone and speed-dialed Zero, beginning to walk in the opposite direction of Spike and Dual.

"Red, what's up?"

"Zero, I'm gonna need some firepower...me and Sombra are gonna have a little chat if you catch my meaning..." 

"Yeah, I got it..." Zero sighed. "Well, what can ya do...Sombra knew what would happen...want to know where your closest weapon cache is?"

"No actually, I want you to load some weapons up in your car for me...I need a .45 suppressor, a Spaz-12, an MP5-SD, and my sword...I also need my combat knife...think you can get me those?"

"Yeah, I got it...but where do you need them dropped off?"

"Meet me at Sombra's penthouse, the one that's just across The Manticore Exwy near the outskirts of town."

"Alright got it, but be careful on your way there...I heard that Sombra sent some guys after you." 

Red smirked when he heard that. "The more the merrier...." He then ended the call and just kept walking nonchalantly, putting his hood on and his hands in his pockets.

Red knew that if Sombra sent hitmen after him, he's gonna wait for them to come to him. 







[30 minutes later] Streets of Manticore


Red rounded a corner and saw a black Jaguar Xf sedan coming his way, there was no doubt in his mind that those were the goons Sombra sent to take him down. The red pegasus slowly took out the Colt 1911 that Dual gave him and he cocked it, he then pointed it at the car and began shooting at the windshield like an idiot so he could get their attention. 

The goons in the car ducked when Red's bullets hit and broke their windshield, that it made them pull out their own weapons and shoot back at him, the red stallion dodging bullets like a pro and sprinting into a nearby alleyway, a single bullet grazing his shoulder. Sombra's hitmen stopped the car and 3 of them began to slowly enter the alleyway while the driver stayed in the car, their weapons pointed in front of them with their goal in mind: Kill Redsopine Dash. 

Red was hiding behind a dumpster and was quietly watching them, he then looked at his small shoulder cut and puts his hand on it, seeing some blood on it. "Shit...I'm lacking..."

He saw one of them find him, the guy pointing his AK-47 at him. Red quickly kicked the gun away from him and elbowed him in the face, which of course cost him his hiding spot when the other 2 mobsters saw him attack their teammate. Red picked up the guy he punched and snapped his wrist, making him drop his AK on the floor.

As the mobster screamed in pain, the red stallion held the guy in front of him and took out his Colt 1911, and aimed it over the mobster's shoulder, using him as a shield. "Come on fuckers, just try and shoot me...but I warn you...shoot and I fucking blow his brains out." he aimed the gun sideways and pressed it against his shield's head. "I want you to drop your weapons and give me your car...I just want to have a word with my old boss..."

Both goons looked at each other and they held their hands up, dropping their weapons on the floor. Red nodded at them and he knocked out his shield with a hard smack to the head with his gun. He then dropped him slowly and walked over to the next two, still aiming at them. He then used his leg to roundhouse kick both of them unconscious in one swing, still aiming his weapon at both of them as he stepped over them. 

He looked down and picked up the Remington 870 one of the goons dropped and he put his Colt 1911 back in his cloak. 

As Red was slowly leaving the alleyway he saw that the remaining mobster, who was in the driver seat, was jamming out a bit while he waited for his comrades. He was bobbing his head and hitting the wheel lightly like there was a song playing in his head. Red used this moment to slowly sneak around the back of the car and slowly walked menacingly toward the driver seat, holding the Remington shotgun with one hand.

The goon looked at his left view mirror and saw Red there, looking at him with menacing eyes that were practically staring right into his soul along with a crooked smile to match. As he slowly looked up, he saw the real Red looking right at him with full eye-contact through the closed window, still maintaining the same insane look on his face.



Red then opened up the car door with his left hand and grabbed the guy's tie, pulling him right out of the car with full force, aiming the shotgun at him, the goon putting up his hands in response. "I'm taking your car...if you warn Sombra and I'm gonna find your ass." He then did a small half turn and flipped the gun backward, the stock pointing at the goon now. Red then proceeded to slam the gun's stock right onto the guy's throat, which made the goon drop to his knees and hold his throat with one hand while he coughed and choked uncontrollably.

Red just watched with no sympathy as the goon dropped onto the road still trying to catch his breath but he couldn't because of how hard Red hit his throat with the gun. The red pegasus just nonchalantly dropped the shotgun on the ground and got into the goon's car, driving away so he could get to Sombra's penthouse faster.

The red pegasus swerved past several different cars with extreme precision and made perfectly sharp turns, his mind completely set on killing Sombra after everything he tried to do to him, Spike, AJ, and even his little sister Rainbow Dash.







[1 hour later] Sombra's Penthouse


Red's car screeched very loudly to a stop, causing black tire marks to appear behind him along with a mist of car smoke. He looked to his left and sees Sombra's high-end penthouse on top of a hill with two black gates and pathways leading to the front doors.

He slowly got out of the car and took out his pistol from inside his cloak, cocking it with loud clicks. He then slowly backed up a bit and right on cue, he saw Zero's car pull up in front of him. But to his actual surprise, when the window rolled down he saw Virtus staring at him. 

"You, what are you doing in Zero's car?" asked Red.

"Did you forget Prism?" Virtus replied nonchalantly. "My husband and I are working together with Zero. I thought he told you at the hospital."

"He did, I just half-expected Zero to give me my gear, not a hardass wolf pup with an anger problem..." Red snarked, smirking as he walked toward the car's trunk, Virtus continuing to speak.

"I don't have time to fight with you ya little shit, just take your equipment and plant a bullet in Sombra's forehead."

Red opened up the trunk and smiled when he saw the gear she bought him. He took the 45. Suppressor and took out his Colt 1911, screwing it on so his gunshots wouldn't be heard. He then grabbed the Spaz-12 and the MP5SD, putting them both inside of his cloak along with grabbing his sheathed knife and sword, snapping it onto his person.

Red closed the trunk and tapped the car two times signaling Virtus to drive away, she gave him a thumbs up and moved the gear shift to drive, the female wolf driving away from the area.







Inside the Penthouse Office


Sombra was currently sitting back in his chair with Hope sitting down on his lap and facing him. Both of them were currently sharing a loving kiss with Sombra lightly rubbing Hope's ass.

Hope broke the kiss with Sombra and she began to open up her blouse, exposing her bra covered chest to him which made the black unicorn smirk in response. He then leaned in and began to lick and lightly bite Hope's neck, the female unicorn shivering and moaning with pleasure.

Sombra slowly grabbed Hope's bra and just when he was about to pull it down, he heard the phone on his desk start to ring, making the two ponies sigh with annoyance that they were interrupted. 

Sombra put the call on speaker and spoke into it as Hope began to close her dress shirt. "This better be important..."

"Sir, Redsopine Dash has entered the property, we have him on the cameras." The mobster replied. "Should we engage?"

Sombra looked at Hope and she shook her head, King Sombra looking back at the phone. "No, don't engage yet...we're gonna box in that fucker..."

"A-Are you sure?" The mobster was confused by his boss' orders to not engage.

Sombra gave a low growl, both from the fact that he was interrupted with his session with Hope and that this guy was questioning him. "Are you questioning my orders, Michaels?" 

"U-Uhm n-n-n-no sir, I u-understand." Michaels frantically replied, not wanting to get on his boss's bad side.

"THEN DON'T FUCKING ENGAGE HIM TILL WE GOT HIM BOXED IN!!!!!" Sombra then slammed the phone back on the hook and put his hand on his head, breathing very heavily.

Hope put her hands on Sombra's shoulders, making him look at her. "It's gonna be okay Coal, I won't let anything happen to you when Red gets inside the building."

The Don smiled at her. "Thank you Radiant, I can always count on you...also promise me this, if I end up biting it...get out of this life and leave town, I don't want you to continue this life...this isn't where you belong."

"Don't be crazy, Coal. I'll never leave your side and to make sure I never do, I'm going to continue your work when you leave this world."

Sombra looked down and sighed. "Just promise me that one day you'll leave this life."

Hope gave a single nod. "Okay, I'll at least promise you that."

The gray unicorn smiled and softly put his hand on Hope's cheek. "Thank you"

Hope smiled back at him and then both of them closed the gap between them, their lips once again touching as they shared another kiss and began to continue where they left off.







Outside of The Penthouse



Red opened the doors and walked inside the penthouse all nonchalant like while starting to look around. He slowly took out his suppressed M1911A1 from the holster inside of his cloak and pointed it in front of him, looking down the sights while slowly beginning to stalk. 

He didn't notice that out from behind him, some of Sombra's men began to follow him while pointing assault rifles and sub-machine guns at him. Some of their guns had laser-pointers so their aim would be 100% perfect. 

Red kept going till he arrived at one of the penthouse's many parlors and in front of him was a large staircase, he slowly began to approach it.

"FREEZE!!!!" 

Red nonchalantly stopped in his tracks and looked behind him in the corner of his eye to see around 15 guys all aiming at him with rifles, sub-machine guns, and shotguns. He looked in front of him and saw 1 stallion come out of hiding and he came running down the staircase to aim at him with an AK-63 that had the stock folded.

The red pegasus slowly put his hands up in the air where his ambushers could see them, his suppressed .45 dangling on his right index finger.

"Drop the gun Red!" another one shouted, Red listened and moved his index finger down a little bit, his gun dropping onto the floor with a loud metallic clatter right by his right foot.

One of the guys in front of him walked toward him slowly, cocking his AK loudly, aiming at Red's head while beginning to walk closer to him. "I'm gonna enjoy blowing your head off..." Red looked at the guy's gun and started to analyze his movements while he approached him, he knew exactly how he was gonna get out of this. 

As soon as he got close enough, Red chopped him right in his throat with his right hand the suddenness of the chop made the stallion gasp and grip his throat tightly, dropping his gun so he can hold it with two hands. 

As soon as the guy let go, Red kicked him away and maneuvered his right hand so the AK could land perfectly in it, he then immediately started to fire it at the 15 guys that ambushed him from behind with only one hand.

To almost no surprise from him, he managed to take down 5 guys with the gun before it ran out of ammo. He then threw it at the guy closest to him and while he was distracted, the red pegasus grabbed him and reached into the guy's suit to take out a Glock 17 from it.

Red grabbed the slide with his mouth and he cocked the pistol, turning the guy around so he can use him as a shield. He then proceeded to land 9 perfect headshots on the other mobsters, their bodies all dropping to the ground while they were bleeding from their bullet wounds to their domes. 

He turned the gun horizontally and pressed it to his shield's head. "Where the fuck is Sombra?"

"He's in his office!" The mobster blurted out. "Please don't kill me Red!"

Red let go of his shield and grabbed the guy's shoulder, squeezing it super hard which made a loud crunch, the member felt himself getting drowsy and all of his muscles were now getting heavy and non-responsive. He hit the ground face first, completely knocked out and Red just looked at him.

The red pegasus then took the mag out of the Glock, popped the extra bullet out of the chamber, and turned on the safety, dropping it on the unconscious mobster. He then picked his suppressed Colt back up and kept on walking, climbing up the stairs that were in front of him.





Red quickly hid behind cover when he saw 5 more goons race toward him and began firing at him. He took out his MP5SSD and quickly disposed of them.

As he continued making his way he saw 5 more goons coming his way but instead of guns, they were holding knives and swords. Red put his MP5 away and took out his combat knife from its sleeve, flipping it in his hand before holding it with the blade pointing to the side. 

As they all ran towards him all at once, Red kicked away a mare that was rushing him, and his leg wrapped around her neck, crushing it quickly to knock her out. He slashes a stallion's leg and delivered an uppercut his jaw and quickly disposed of the next goon with a knife stab to the gut and an elbow to the face. 

Red grunted when he felt a knife slash on his back from a griffin and he turned around quickly to catch his knife hand before he stabbed him, bringing it around quickly and made him stab himself with his own dagger. He pushes him into the final guy and he took him down with a grab and flipping him over his shoulder.

Red was looking at the creatures he took down and some parts of his body were covered in blood. He took out his Spaz-12 and cocked it, continuing on his way to Sombra and just quickly blasting away any male gangsters/knocking out any females gangsters with the shotgun, taking down a total of 30 mafia members. 

He saw one final staircase, making him slip his Spaz-12 back into his cloak and then taking out his Colt 1911. He slowly unscrewed the suppressor from the barrel, knowing that Sombra was close by and he didn’t need it anymore.







Inside the Penthouse Office



Hope grabbed her clothes off the floor and began to get dressed after her little session with Sombra, looking at her boss. "Alright Coal...I'm off to take care of Red, I'm gonna do everything I can to keep him from entering."

Sombra looked at her and nodded, grabbing his button-down shirt and just throwing it on. "Okay, please be careful...I don't want you to get killed just because of me..."

"It's not you that caused this to happen, it was her," Hope replied, grabbing her sword and clipping it onto her person.

"Regardless, just be careful." Sombra walked over to Hope and kissed her on the lips, the unicorn returning it fully, he watched her walk out of the office as he began to get dressed as well. 





Redsopine finally reached the top of the stairs and sighed as he looked at the slash wound that he got from the griffin, it kept bleeding.

"Damn...I’m running out of practice for this shit…” He looked forward and saw Hope waiting for him alone, holding a katana and tanto sword in each hand.

"Stand aside Hope, this is between me and Sombra, he broke the arrangement and he knew the price for it."

Hope twirls her swords and got into a fighting stance. "No can do Red, Sombra means the world to me...and he told me that we must do everything to put you in the ground right next to us when you or Dragan arrived. So of course, I have to fulfill that promise, you are not getting to Sombra unless you fight me, only one of us can walk up those stairs and through those doors. And I intend to make that someone me."

"Hope, you're like a mother to me and I don't want to hurt you, but I know I won't change your mind. But I'm not going to kill you, I know the old man...he would rather you take over when he's dead so I will make this quick."

Red gets into a combat stance and looks at hope with both his eyes, his left eye reptilian and scarred, before rushing forward and kicking off the wall, slashing at Hope with his sword as he flips past her. Hope dodged his attack and she easily slashed his back.

"Come on Red, we both know that I taught you everything you know about fighting with blades..."

Red stands up straight as his back wound began to bleed profusely. "Maybe so, but I never really showed you all of my tricks did I?"

Hope saw that the Red she slashed had burst into shadows and the real Red was right behind her, his blade pressing against her neck. "A little trick I picked up from a few of the jobs when I'm not working for the old man, it's called a mana copy, they don't last long but can be very useful in a fight...I don't want to hurt you so please just move aside...next time I won't hold back."

Hope headbutted his face and he gripped his snout, letting her go and backing up. Red and Hope then proceeded to beat the ever-living crap out of each other.

Red and Hope's swords continued to clash with metallic clangs and sparks as they stared into each other's eyes with anger. Hope slashed at Red as the pegasus dodged and pushed her, but the unicorn returned with an elbow and a hard punch to the face, making him drop his sword.

Hope dropped her sword as well and they began to fistfight each other, their fists and their kicks connecting perfectly as they battled. Hope pushed Red against a wall and she tried to punch his face but he moved out of the way causing her to punch a hole in the wall. 

Red tucked his leg in and kicked her off of him and they went back to punching and kicking each other. There were moments where they stopped and they just panted out of tiredness while looking into each other's eyes.

Hope and Red backed up and were both weak from the amount of punching and kicking they both received and gave to their opponent. After a few minutes, Hope just collapsed, completely exhausted and drowsy. 

Red showed a small claw showing on one of his fingers and it was dripping small chemical. "Sorry Hope, I need to get to Sombra...this chemical just makes you drowsy and tired, it's not lethal."

The red pegasus was slowly heading to the stairs, taking out his Colt 1911, cocking the slide so loudly that it echoed in the room. Hope tried to reach out to stop him but only managing to remove his cloak which just exposed his strong and scarred torso. 





Red walked up the stairs, his mouth still bloody from the rustle he had with Hope, his Colt 1911 was in his hand and he was squeezing it tightly, knowing full well that it was almost over since Spike was dealing with Luna...all he had to do was take out Sombra.

Red opened the door to Sombra’s office and aimed his pistol at him, he saw Sombra had his back to him and he was looking out the window with a glass in his hand.

Sombra saw Red in the window’s reflection and gave a small smirk, fully knowing why he came back. “Hell of a sight ain’t it?” He asked. “When I arrived in this town it was a goddamn piece of shit...me and Luna used to talk about all the accomplishments we’d do with it...”

Sombra turned around and Red looked at him angrily. “Show me your hands...”

“Whatever happened between us is over Red...it ended the second you opened the doors and came inside my office instead of Hope...”

Red squinted his eyes as Sombra looked to the left. “Want a drink?”

It took a few seconds for Red to answer. “Alright...”

His old boss nodded and brought a bottle of Apple Family Cider to his desk as Red lowered his gun. “I was gonna give this to Hope as a present...but now I don’t think she’ll find it useful anymore...had this imported from Appaloosa and everything.” He poured two glasses of the cider right in front of Red to show he wasn’t gonna poison him or anything remotely similar. “It was even brewed by the famous Braeburn himself.” He gave him the glass and sighed. “Sit down...I ain’t going nowhere...”

Red sat down in front of Sombra’s desk and took a glass of cider, the Don doing the same. “Saude”

Red gave a small smile. “Saude...” Both ponies clinked glasses together and took a drink. “Man, I always love Apple Family Cider.”

Sombra nodded. “Yep, that Braeburn is a genius.”

He then sighed. “Ya know Red...I want to tell you a few things...I used to be bullied every day when I was a child. I never had any friends and everyone always struck me as being weird and others used to beat me up every day...But then one day, I met a girl that came up to me after I have gotten beaten up again...”

“My guess would be that girl was Hope?”

“Yeah, after she helped me...we did everything together when we were kids, but when the darkness consumed me...I turned into a totally different pony, but Hope never lost her will to help me.” Sombra put his glass down. “She kept me relatively sane for so many years and when the darkness finally left me...I came to realize without her, I would’ve been a complete shadow...I couldn’t imagine life without her.

Red nodded and took a final drink from his glass. “Yet here we are...”

“Heh yeah...My closest friend is dead and I’m having a drink with her killer.”  Unbeknownst to Sombra, Red didn't kill Hope but he just decided to keep quiet about it since it's not gonna matter. He watched Sombra push the bottle of cider over to him. “You can have that...I don’t need it anymore.”

The red stallion took it and poured himself another drink as Sombra spoke again. “You know why I did all of this Red? Because someone offered me an opportunity to have everything I could ever want with Hope if I just teamed up with Luna...who I’m sure is being dealt with as we speak?”

“Yep...Dragan is dealing with her right now...” Red confirmed.

“Of course...anyway, I jumped at the opportunity of me and Luna working together, if it meant I could spend the rest of my life with Hope by my side...I was down for that. And now I notice that it was all a bunch of bullshit...”

Red gave a small chuckle. “Yep...whoever this pony is, really fucked you.”

“You could say that again.” Both Red and Sombra shared a chuckle. “Ya know, the first day I saw you 12 years ago...I said to myself, this kid might actually cause my gang to change...and boy was I right.”

Both ponies finished their glasses and Red sat up, taking the bottle of cider. Sombra remained seated and looked at Red. “Take care Red...just remember this won’t be the last time we see each other...”

“I know...”

Red took out his combat knife and he jumped over Sombra's desk, plunging the knife deep into his heart. Sombra gasped and grabbed Red's hand as he looked straight into his eyes. "FFFFuck..." Red twisted the blade and yanked it out, blood gushing from Sombra's wound like a water spout, he then slowly closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair with his mouth hanging open.

Hope slowly entered the office and saw Red kick Sombra right out of the office window, his dead body plummeting to the ground. 

The dark blue unicorn was already crying and her head was on the floor, mourning the loss of her lover as Red deeply sighed and slowly cleaned the blood off of his knife with his hand and slipped it back into its sleeve. "What a waste..."

He looked at Hope who continued to cry. "I'm sorry Hope...it had to be done, he and Luna started a war that needed to be stopped because they killed Celestia."

Hope looked at Red and started to slowly stand up. "Red...you're wrong..."

"What?" He fully turned around and looked at her confused.

"Coal and Luna didn't kill Celestia...in fact that was someone else, she told us to take you guys down because she stated that you're after her and promised to let us keep the city after we killed you guys...but now it turns out she was just using us so she doesn't have to get her hands dirty...making us take the fall for murdering Celestia so she'd get off completely scot-free after you take us all out."

"She?" Red repeated. "Who's she?"

"....Twilight Sparkle...."
> 30: The REAL Main Threat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Sombra's Penthouse Office - [Red]



"Twilight...No, this can't be." Red ran over to the window where he kicked Sombra out and looked down at his dead body, the wind blowing through his mane. "No...NO!!!!!"

Red turned around, and with intense anger, he flipped over Sombra's desk. "FUCK!!!!!!!!" 

He sighed and put his hand on his head, running his fingers through his front bangs. "When I get my hands on that purple bitch...I'm gonna fucking kill her!"

Hope took off her vest and slammed it on the ground; tears were still running down her cheeks. "Red...we need to do something about Twilight."

Red pointed at her and balled his hand into a fist. "You're right...but Dashie, Dragan, and AJ aren't gonna like this...knowing that we just killed Luna and Sombra, but they weren't the main cause for all of this bullshit!" Just from that sentence, Red punched a hole in a wall. "GOD DAMN IT!"

Hope walked over to Red and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright, Red...none of this is your fault..."

"Like hell, it isn't..." The red pegasus replied, turning around to look at her with a completely distraught face, "If I saw this from the beginning, Sombra wouldn't have had to die by my hand...because of her, I was forced to kill somepony that was like a father to me."

Hope couldn't hear this anymore; she slapped Red across the face very hard, the sound echoing throughout the office. "Get ahold of yourself, Dash!" The red pegasus just placed his hand on his cheek as the grayish-purple unicorn continued. "That was a long time ago, there's nothing you could've done then, but you could still do something now. The best thing you could do right now, Red...is to stop that bitch from hurting anyone else." Red stayed silent as Hope handed him his brown cloak. "Right?"

Red looked at his cloak and took it from her hand, looking at it and then at her nodding in agreement. "Right." He swung his cloak around and put it on. "We got to warn the others."

"We?" asked Hope, earning a nod from the pegasus.

"Yeah, 'We,' you're gonna help Me, Dragan, Dashie, and AJ takedown Twilight."

Hope was very hesitant. "I don't know...before you wanted to kill me, but now you want me to help you?"

"I was never gonna kill you. Sombra was the target; remember I just stunned you?" 

"I'm still not so sure..."

Red sighed. "Look Radiant, I know I killed Sombra, but that was because Twilight made me think that he was the main threat to this all-out gang war due to the death of Celestia, but now I know everything. We need all the help we can get."

Hope's arctic blue eyes looked into Red's bright yellow eyes, and she nodded with agreement. "Yeah, you're right..." She took her Glock 19 from her holster and pulled it back, the gun cocking loudly. "Let's go get her."

She walked over to a nearby wardrobe in the office, and she began to change out of her office clothes in front of Red.







[5 Minutes Later] Outside of Sombra's Penthouse



Red walked through the gate with Hope, who's gotten changed into a more punk-style outfit. She wore blue jeans with a belt holster holding her Glock, black work boots, and an open black leather jacket. She was also still wearing her white dress shirt, but she opened it up slightly to show off a little bit of cleavage and her bra. 

Both of them went to the car the red pegasus stole from one of Sombra's goons, and he quickly drove them out of there.  After getting enough distance between them and the penthouse, Red took out his cell phone and began typing in a number, putting the device to his ear. 

Dual answered from the other line. "Hello?"

"Blade, it's me."

"Dash? Did you take care of Sombra?" 

Red was looking at Hope in the corner of his eye, turning a corner. "Yeah, he's done, but we got a problem...Luna and Sombra weren't the main threat."

"What are you talking about?" asked Dual, confused.

"It turns out that they weren't the ones who executed Celestia. It was actually Twilight Sparkle...she's the real cause of all of this."

"Twilight Sparkle?!" exclaimed Dual. "SHE killed Celestia? But from our Solar Guard files, Twilight and Celestia are really close."

"Yeah? Well, that file is complete bullshit; she's the one." Red replied, running a red light. "Is there anything else you could bring up about her?"

"Virtus, Zero, and I are on it. Get Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow from the hospital and meet us at your hideout near Blue Street."

"Got it, and hey, I also got Radiant Hope with me. She's gonna be helping us from now on."

"You sure we could trust her?"

"Yes, I'm 100% sure."

"Alright then, get over here as fast as you can." 

Red nodded and ended the call, putting his foot down on the gas after turning another corner, the engine roaring. "My best friend Zero put us in contact with these two Solar Guard chiefs. They go by the names of Dual Blade and Virtus Darkpaw. Careful with Darkpaw, she could be a bit hot-headed..."

"Noted," Hope replied while looking forward. 

Red practically flew past a dark alleyway and what he and Hope didn't notice was that around 3 black vans snaked their way out of the darkness and began following them.







Outside of Ponyville Central Hospital - [Spike]



Spike pulled up in front of the hospital in Luna's car and got out of it, sighing deeply. He felt the soft breeze blow through his hair as he closed the door. He went to the trunk and opened up the trunk, picking up the duffle bag full of files, weapons, and money plates he collected from Luna's secret room. 

His dress shoes clicked loudly as he walked through the entrance of the hospital, nodding at the receptionist as he walked past her. When he entered RD and AJ's room, he was surprised to see them talking with Twilight, sitting on Red's bed with her legs crossed. She wore a dark purple strapless dress with a slit on the side which showed her left leg, and around her waist was a belt holster that was holding a Beretta PX4 Storm.

"Twilight? What are you doing here?" asked Spike, closing the door.

"Dual, Virtus, and Zero told me about the situation, and I thought I could come here and say congratulations on stopping the war on the city." 

"Oh well, thanks," Spike replied, a bit confused. "Why didn't Dual and Virtus contact you sooner?"

Rainbow Dash jumped in. "Oh, she told them that she was currently looking into the whereabouts of this third party."

Applejack nodded. "She said somethin' about not trustin' Dual an' Virtus...sayin' that they could be the potential third party."

"Really?" Spike questioned. "What would Dual and Virtus gain if they were to betray us?" 

"Well, for one," Twilight interjected. "They're feds, they could easily off us because we're criminals and make this city 'cleaner', even though that's all bullshit...but anyway, Zero called me and told me to pick up the bag that contains the contents of Luna's secret room." She then looked down at the duffle bag. "Is that the bag?"

The purple dragon looked down at the bag and picked it up. "Oh yeah, it is. Why does Zero want it?"

Twilight stood up. "She told me that you had certain files in there that are crucial to the investigation, maybe to tell us who the secret party is. Now hand over the bag, Dragan." Spike noticed that the purple alicorn sounded a bit too eager when she said that sentence.

He arched an eyebrow and looked down, sensing that something didn't feel right. He saw that Twilight's right hand was very close to grabbing her gun.

Before Spike could say anything, they all heard the sound of loud tire screeches from outside. Spike, Twilight, RD, and AJ ran to the window and saw Red and Hope getting out.

Hope looked up at the window and gasped when she saw who was there. "RED, LOOK!!!"

The red pegasus looked up at the window Hope was looking at and gasped when he saw Twilight was with Spike and the girls. "GUYS!!! GET AWAY FROM HER!!!!"

"What are you talking about, bro?!" Rainbow called out. "And why is that woman with you?!"

"Why do you have Radiant Hope with you?! I thought you were supposed to kill her!!" Spike called out as well.

"I don't trust him," Twilight interjected. 

"GUYS, TWILIGHT IS THE THIRD PARTY!!!!!" Hope called out. "SHE KILLED CELESTIA AND FRAMED LUNA AND SOMBRA!!!!!!"

Twilight growled and unholstered out her Beretta PX4 Storm, hitting Spike over the head with it. The purple dragon grunted loudly in pain and went onto the floor. Twilight then quickly grabbed the duffle bag out of his hand and ran out of the room with it while AJ and RD took out their guns and fired at the door, missing her.

"FUCK!!!!" exclaimed Red, he and Hope were about to run inside, but they both stopped when they heard loud tire screeches behind them, seeing the 3 black vans that, unbeknownst to them, were tailing them. 

Twilight looked to the right and saw the receptionist take out a small Colt Detective Special. Before she could get a chance to aim at her properly, Twilight quickly disposed of her with a single headshot.

Her body fell onto the ground with a loud thud as Twilight burst through the Hospital entrance, smiling when she saw her goons had arrived. 

"KILL THEM ALL, MAKE SURE THEY'RE NO SURVIVORS!!!!" yelled Twilight at the top of her lungs, getting the hell out of there on foot with the duffle bag. 

Red took out his Colt 1911 and aimed at Twilight, but before he could fire, a few bullets whizzed past his head which in turn made him and Hope duck down behind their car as a big gunfight ensues. 

"DRAGAN, GET DOWN HERE!!!!!!!" Red yelled. "JACK, DASHIE, STAY UP THERE AND COVER US!!!!"

Spike quickly took out his gun and ran outside to help Red and Hope while Applejack and RD covered them from the window.

Red quickly disposed of 3 goons with a few shots, and Hope shot 5 guys in the head. Spike burst through the doors and shot one guy repeatedly while in turn, taking a shot in the shoulder. Spike somersaulted, and his back hit the car with a metal thud; panting heavily, he heard Red call him. 

"Hey, Dragan?" Spike looked at Red, and he oversaw him carefully opening up the driver's side door and taking out a Colt Commando that was under the seat. "Think you could handle this?"

"Woah, Jesus Christ!" Spike exclaimed as he grabbed the carbine rifle from him. "How'd you get this?"

"The goon I stole this car from had it under his seat," Red replied. "Which really explains a lot considering he had an M1014 shotgun."

"Gee, thanks, man." Spike looked to the right and re-focused on the gunfight. 

He heard the shooting stop and saw a single goon was trying to surprise him with an IMI Uzi 9mm. He quickly got rid of him with 3 shots to the chest. Spike them stood up, and with the Commando on full auto, he disposed of 5 more guys before they all hid, and he ran out of ammo on his magazine. 

He ducked back down behind the car, avoiding more gunfire as there were only 5 members left.

"We're losing people!" yelled one goon. A female dragon took out a grenade from her suit and looked at him. "I got this; just keep going!"

Twilight's henchmen kept firing at the car and at the window where RD and AJ were. Applejack took out the empty mag from her Desert Eagle and quickly loaded a fresh clip into the weld, unlocking the slide back to its normal position.

The female dragon pulled the pin from the grenade and readied her throwing arm. "TAKE THIS!!!" Before she threw it, her head got blown off courtesy of Applejack. The dragon fell hard onto the road, her hand letting go of the grenade, and as soon as she did, the safety latch popped off.

The 3 members who were closest to the grenade tried to run out of the way before it exploded. Still, it successfully blew up 2 of the members to smithereens and took out one of their vans, debris flying everywhere as the explosion rose very high.

The third member was missing a leg and was coughing very loudly as he started to crawl away, the final unscathed member was shooting an M4A1 at Spike, Red, and the girls but Spike and Red both shut that shit down with a few shots from Spike's Colt Commando and Red's Colt 1911. 

The member with a missing leg kept trying to crawl away, Spike and Red began approaching him. The goon looked back and took out a Colt Detective Special, but Spike quickly kicked it out of his hand before he could do anything with it.

"Where's Twilight going?" asked Red, the girls all catching up with them. 

"Screw you!" replied the goon.

"Bad start, asshole," said Spike, going down on one knee and put down his Commando, grabbing the guy's shirt and pulling him up so he could be face to face with him. "Listen to us bitch; we don't want you. We want your boss, Twilight. Where the fuck is she going?"

"H-How should I know?" asked the goon, playing dumb. Red then went down on one knee in front of the goon's leg wound and held up two fingers, two claws unsheathing from his fingers and began to insert them into his leg wound, the goon screaming super loud in pain as he felt the red pegasus push his claws into his missing leg wound.

"Red, that's enough," Spike said without looking at the pegasus, Red stopped and took his claws out of the guy's wound, and Spike resumed talking to him. "Did he jog your memory?"

"I'LL TELL YA, I'LL TELL YA, JUST DON'T HURT ME NO MORE!!!!!" cried the goon. "TWILIGHT'S GOING TO HER HIDEOUT, IT'S AN ABANDONED WAREHOUSE ON JASPER AVE, BY THE WEST DRAGON FREEWAY!!!!!"

Spike looked at Red and the girls, and they all looked at each other, Applejack speaking up. "Let's get 'em inside the hospital."

Spike grabbed the guy from the ground and propped him onto his shoulder, carrying him into the hospital and putting him on one of the hospital beds, the goon crying a bit the whole way through.

Spike looked at a doctor who came out of hiding, pointing at the goon he placed down on the bed. "Take care of this guy and keep a close eye on him; otherwise, I'm coming for you."

The doctor nodded nervously and walked inside the room to take care of the goon while Spike walked back outside where Red and the girls were waiting for him.

"Alright, Dragan," Red said as Spike stood next to them. "Get Dual on the wire."

Spike took out his cell phone and dialed Dual's number, putting the phone on speaker, the blue pegasus picking up and speaking on the other line. "Hello?"

"Dual, it's Spike. I got you on speakerphone." 

"Oh hey guys, what's the trouble?"

"Well, for one, Twilight got away with the bag that Spike filled with the contents of Luna's secret room," Rainbow told him. "Now we received an address from one of Twilight's goons, and we want to make sure it's legit."

Virtus spoke now. "Okay, what's the address?"

"It's a Warehouse on Jasper Ave. near The West Dragon Freeway." Hope replied. 

"Okay, give me a second." They all heard keyboard clicks on the phone, and then it stopped, Virtus speaking again. "Alright, I found it; let me just look at the street light camera footage." 

They heard a few mouse clicks, and they heard Zero speak this time. "Wow...looks like Twilight's not there alone. There are a  bunch of guys outside that are armed to the teeth."

"Shit..." Spike said, looking at Red. "We're gonna need some serious weaponry."

Red nodded at him. "Don't worry; I got us all covered."

"Go get 'em guys. Good luck and call if you need anything," Dual said, closing the call. 

Spike closed his phone and slipped it into his pocket. He saw AJ looking a bit uneasy. "Is something wrong, AJ?"

"Guys, Ah don' know about this..." Applejack told Spike. "Ah' don think we should go there...This feels like a trap..."

"Yeah, it does..." Rainbow Dash replied, looking at AJ. "But we're going anyway. This is the best info we got, and maybe going to her hideout would give us a clue on where she's planning on going next.

"Dashie's right," Red replied with a nod. "it's our best bet; we have to go there to see what Twilight's next move is." 

Applejack sighed, nodding. "You guys are right; let's do this."

Red got into the driver's seat of one of the undamaged vans from Twilight's henchmen. Rainbow got into the passenger seat, and Spike went into the back with the rest of the team. 

The red pegasus pulled out from the hospital and began driving toward one of his weapon caches where they could arm up for their assault on Twilight's warehouse.
> 31: The Warehouse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Jasper Ave. Abandoned Warehouse - [Spike]



After grabbing the weapons, Red stopped the car a little ways from the warehouse, staking it out with Spike, Rainbow, AJ, and Hope. They saw two dragons standing outside of it with AK-47s. 

"Okay, so what's the plan?" asked Rainbow Dash, looking at her brother and Spike.

"It's simple: We go in there, find Twilight, kill the bitch in cold blood, and we get on with our lives," Red replied, taking out his sawn-off shotgun and loading it. 

"Little quick on the trigger there, aren't you?" asked Spike. 

"I can't take this. It's because of her that I killed Sombra with my own hand!" snapped Red. "Every second that bitch breathes is another second that's gotten me angry!" The red pegasus got out of the car and started marching toward the two men.

"Red, wait!" Spike called out, but he watched as Red disposed of the two guards out in front with both of his sawn-off bullets, their heads getting blown clean off their own shoulders. 

"YOU CAN EITHER HELP ME OR STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" The red pegasus yelled, going inside. The remaining members heard loud gunshots and saw bright flashes coming from the warehouse. 

After a few minutes, it all just stopped. All the sound that they hear now is the low hum of the car's engine. 

"Wut happened?" asked Applejack, concerned at how fast the gunfire just stopped so suddenly but then she saw a figure in the window. "Wait...is that Red?" Everyone looked at the figure in the window, and they indeed saw that it was Red, holding his shotgun in front of him. 

"Oh, thank god, he's still alive." Rainbow sighed in relief. 

"Wait...who's that?!" Spike pointed out, a figure was right behind Red, and they knocked him out with his gun, they saw the pegasus fall to the floor, and they all gasped when they saw the figure aiming at them with an M4A1.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!!!!!!!!!" yelled Hope. What followed was a hail of gunfire from the window. All of them ducked down as bullets hit the windshield and the car itself, sparks flying up as every bullet hit the car. 

Spike took out a SIG Sauer P226 from his suit jacket and rolled down his window. He proceeded to stick his body out the window and shot at the window, making the shooter stop shooting and drop down into cover. 

"Applejack, grab the Dragunov from the trunk and shoot the fucker!!!" yelled Spike, getting out of the car. "I'll keep him entertained!"

"Got it!" AJ quickly got out of the car and went to the trunk to grab the Russian sniper rifle from it.

The shooter popped back up and shot at the car again, but his attention from it veered away after Spike shot at him again. The dragon sprinted toward a dumpster and dived toward it, getting behind it as the shooter fired at him in full auto.

AJ opened the door to the passenger side and aimed the Dragunov, looking through the scope. She found the shooter and saw a very familiar face. "Flash...."

Rainbow looked at AJ. "What?"

"It's Flash Sentry!!!" yelled Applejack. "He's the one shooting at us!"

Hope sighed, facepalming. "Of course, that idiot's working with Twilight!"

Applejack's hands then started to tremble, which started to do a number on her aim. "Okay...ah can do this!" She heard Spike call out from a distance. 

"APPLEJACK, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! SHOOT THE FUCKER!!!!!!!"

Applejack took a deep breath and pulled the trigger with a bit of hesitation, the Dragunov went bang, and the bullet hit Flash right in the chest; the pegasus yelled and fell down his assault was finally done. AJ felt horrible because she had to shoot Flash Sentry; he was always good to her and RD when working with Celestia and Luna.

Spike ran over to the car. "AJ, come on, we're gonna go inside to find Red. Rainbow, Hope, stay here and take down anybody that comes within a hundred miles. Besides us, of course."

The purple dragon ran over to the warehouse with Applejack after she put the rifle inside the car. As soon as they opened the door, they were immediately shot at by multiple enemies that Red didn't takedown. Both of them went behind metal poles as cover and looked at each other.

AJ took out her Desert Eagle from her leg holster and nodded at Spike, the dragon nodding back. Both of them then popped out of cover and shot at the gunman shooting at them, taking down two of them before having to reload. Spike saw an AK next to a dead body that was a few feet from them. He looked at AJ, and she nodded, popping out of cover and firing at Twilight's men.

Spike came out of hiding and ran over to the AK on the floor, somersaulting and successfully grabbing it, going behind a metal block. He then proceeded to pop up and shoot at the mobsters in full auto, successfully getting the rest of them. 

After that small fight, Spike and Applejack looked around, realizing that they didn't have to fight much, considering Red took out most of the guys.

Spike dropped the AK and took his P226 back out, running up the stairs with AJ following him. 

They burst through a set of doors and saw Flash still clinging to life from the chest wound that AJ gave him. 

"Flash..." Spike gasped. "I can't believe this..."

"Spike...it's been a while," Flash choked. "How's it been since you got arrested for causing a ruckus at the cafe?" 

"What are you doing here...Twilight's the bad guy here. Why are you helping her?!" demanded Spike.

"Eh, I have my reasons," Flash replied. "Twi promised me $1,000,000 to join her; also, I'm not the one you should be worried about right now."

"What?!" The purple dragon then felt a tough blow to the head, knocking him down onto the floor. He grunted when he hit the ground and turned his head, looking at who hit him.

"Ah told you we shouldn't ave' come ere...."  Applejack said coldly, pointing her Desert Eagle at Spike. "Now ah have to take care of business...throw away yer guns Spike...."

Spike threw away his P226 and took out a small Snub Nose Revolver, throwing that away too. He looked at AJ, watching her rack the slide on her gun, aiming it at Spike.

"Twilight put a huge price on us, Spike..." Applejack revealed. "But for me to cooperate, she said I could have mah own crew in her gang..." 

Spike was staring down the barrel of Applejack's gun as Flash watched the scene unfold with a smile. The orange mare felt a pair of eyes looking at her from behind; she looked at the corner of her eye and sighed deeply.

"What are you waiting for?!" Flash yelled. "Shoot!"

Applejack just stayed silent and quickly pointed the gun at Flash, firing it at him and getting him straight in the head, his brains coming out and splattering on the wall behind him. Spike was panting heavily and looked at Flash's dead body before looking back up at Applejack. "See? Ah, I can't do it...Ah, love you too much, Spike..."

Spike looked behind AJ and saw Twilight pointing her PX4 at them while holding a big suitcase. 

"Applejack!!!!!!"

AJ looked behind her and gasped. Twilight pulled the trigger, and her gun fired at her, but what shocked everyone in the room was Red suddenly regaining consciousness and jumping right in front of AJ, taking the bullet for himself. He fell with a thud and clutched his bullet hole.

Twilight sighed, shaking her head. "Damn, it was just getting interesting too...I was really looking forward to watching you two kill each other...but I guess you can't have everything, can you?"

Both Spike and AJ growled; Twilight pointed her gun at the cowgirl now. "Now, let's try this again, shall we?"

"Twilight." Both of them heard a click from behind Twilight. The alicorn looked behind her and saw her own brother Shining Armor pointing a Kel-Tec PF-9 at her. "The killing has gone too far...you said we were just gonna kill Celestia so we could run the gang fairly."

"Well, there's been a change of plans, Shining..." Twilight replied. "These things happen....there's nothing I can do to change that."

"Drop the gun and the money, right now, little sis...." Shining demanded. "You've gone insane...you've changed far too much after Mom and Dad died...."

"That was an accident...nothing happened..." Twilight replied a bit hesitantly. "They just got killed in a car accident..."

"An accident that YOU caused!" Shining yelled. "You think I didn't know that you killed our parents because you were playing with the brake wires? Then, after that day, you kept lying to the police that you didn't do it! Then after that day...I saw your take on this new persona. You turned into a monster..."

Twilight just stayed silent before chuckling a bit. "Ya know, Shining, you're funny. Telling me that I made this new persona...when really this was my plan from the very beginning." She quickly spun around and shot Shining two times in the stomach, the white unicorn grunting and falling on the ground. "Ya know something Shining...you should've listened to those thoughts of yours...knowing that I don't need you anymore...So long." She fired her gun and planted a single bullet right into Shining's forehead, murdering her own family member in cold blood.

Both Spike and AJ gasped when they saw Twilight execute her own brother right in front of them. "Alright...that's done...so Spike, AJ? Since you two were my most favorite employees while working for the Dons...here's what's gonna happen...I'm going to go to the airport with my money, say goodbye to this piece of shit city, while you two stay here and get burned alive in this warehouse."

Before either of them could answer, Twilight took out a lighter from her dress and threw it into the room she came out of; it then quickly burst into flames. She walked forward a little bit, and the room exploded due to the propane tanks that were in there. 

She kept the gun trained on Spike and Applejack as she walked past them and went down the stairs to escape. Spike looked at Applejack with a worried look. "AJ, go after her!"

Applejack nodded and went after Twilight after picking up her gun from the floor. The purple dragon then ran over to Red, who was still on the floor with a bullet hole in his chest, courtesy of Twilight. "Come on, Red, we have to go!"

The red pegasus coughed up a lot of blood, looking at the dragon. "Spike...she shot me in the lung...you can't save me...."

"No, don't say that, man, we're gonna get you out!" He tried to pick up Red, but the pegasus turned on his rock skin to make him heavier so Spike could stop trying. 

"Spike, knock it off...it's too late for me...." Red then looked at Spike with a genuine look in his eye. "Listen to me...take care of Dashie for me...she's a wonderful mare, the way I see how much you both care for each other...it warms my heart on watching her smile...I apologize for how much of a dick I was...I was just angry on watching my little Dashie growing up... promise me...you'll cherish her and love her with all of your heart. Also, please tell her...that despite our short time together lately, it was very nice to see her face again after so many years...and that I'm sorry for how our lives ended up..."

"Of course...I promise..." Spike replied. Both of the guys then grabbed each other's hands and gripped them tightly as a sign of respect; they held this while the flames grew bigger and started to edge closer to them. The red pegasus then slowly closed his eyes and his grip loosened on Spike's hand, the dragon seeing that he stopped breathing. So death had finally come for Red after so many years of killing for King Sombra.

Spike heard glass breaking with knocked him out of his frozen state. He looked at Red's dead body one more time in his arms before letting him go gently. He then grabbed Red's Sawn-off shotgun from the floor as a memento and ran downstairs to escape the fires.





Applejack ran out of the burning building and was immediately getting showered with gunfire. She quickly hid behind a dumpster and saw RD and Hope in a gunfight with a few of Twilight's goons. She saw Twilight jump into a black van and the gunmen followed her inside, but they didn't stop shooting. 

The van screeched loudly and drove quickly away, the sounds of gunfire getting further and further away. Finally, Rainbow shouted in frustration.

"FUCK, WE ALMOST FUCKING HAD HER!!!!!!!

Applejack got out of hiding and looked behind her, seeing Spike covered in soot from the fire. "Oh Spike, thank god!" she hugged him tightly and then began to help him walk away from the burning warehouse over to the car.

Rainbow and Hope were happy that both of them were okay, but...someone was missing.

"Wait, Spike?" asked Rainbow. "Where's my brother?!"

Spike looked down. "Rainbow...I'm so sorry..."

"W-What do you mean...Spike? SPIKE!?" 

Spike took out Red's sawn-off shotgun from his coat and showed it to RD, the rainbow maned pegasus realizing exactly what he means.

She began to get hysterical. "No...NO... NO!!!! NOT RED!!!!! PLEASE!!!! HE CAN'T BE DEAD!!!!!" 

"Twilight shot him in one of his internal organs...we couldn't save him..." Spike hugged Rainbow Dash, and she cried into his chest, getting his suit wet with tears. "He did tell me something..."

Rainbow looked up at Spike. "What did he say?"

"He said that despite the short time of you two getting back together, it was very nice to see your face again after so many years finally and that he's very sorry for how your lives ended up." 

Rainbow gasped. "Big brother said that?"

"Yes, he also said that he will always love you, my little Dashie." Even though Red didn't actually say that, Spike thought it would've been what Red said.

That last sentence made Dash cry, even more, going back into Spike's chest to cry some more.

"Did you guys manage to find out where Twilight's heading now?" asked Hope, wanting to change this horrible subject.

"Yeah," replied Applejack. "She's on her way to the airport. She's plannin' to escape Manicore. Probably on Celestia and Luna's private jet."

"Shit, we better get going...if this crazy purple bitch manages to leave the country, it's all over!" exclaimed Hope. "We have to get going right now!"

Spike looks down at Rainbow, who stopped crying but was still face buried in his chest. "You ready, Rainbow?"

"Yeah..." She took her face out of his chest and wiped her eyes, putting on an angry expression, grabbing her brother’s sawn-off shotgun out of Spike’s hand. "This bitch is going down!!!"

All of the girls and Spike got into the car and quickly drove away from the burning Warehouse, all of them determined to get to the airport and END all of this, once and for all.
> 32: Airport Madness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



The Streets of Manticore [A Couple Minutes Later] 



Spike, Hope, Rainbow, and Applejack were speeding down Bridlewood Blvd. and dodging cars left and right, determined to get rid of Twilight once and for all.

"Applejack, get Dual on the wire," Spike yelled, swerving around another corner. "Tell them we know where Twilight is going!"

Applejack nodded and speed-dialed Dual to let him know what was going on, putting the phone on speakerphone so everyone could hear.

The blue pegasus picked up on the other end. "Hello?"

"Dual, we know where Twilight is heading!" Spike exclaimed. "She's heading to Prime City International!"

"The airport!?" Virtus asked.

"Yeah, she's gonna flee the country on Celestia and Luna's private jet with the money and plates, if she manages to leave Manticore Prime City, we're all fucked!" replied Applejack. 

"We have to get down to the airport runway without anyone from Twilight's posse taking us down or we're done!" Hope added.

"Shit, okay. I'll let security at the front gate know you're on your way there, they'll clear any civilians inside." Zero replied. 

"Okay thanks, Zero!" replied Spike. 

Rainbow spoke up. "Wait, Zero?" 

"Yes, Rainbow?"

"She got Red...."

There was a moment of silence on the phone before Zero gasped, her voice starting to break. "No...no...not Red..."

"We'll let you know when the job is done, wish us luck," Spike replied, ending the call.

"I'm going to make her fucking pay..." sneered Rainbow. 

"We're all gonna make her pay babe," Spike replied. "I promise, she's gonna get hers...she has to answer for everything she's done to us."

"Celestia, Luna, Coal (Sombra), Thorax, Shining...." Hope growled. "And even Red...she's gonna answer for ALL OF IT!"

Applejack took out her magnum revolver and opened the cylinder to check her ammo, spinning it with her hand and putting it back into place when she saw it was full. "The last thing Twilight's gonna see...is the barrel of my gun."

Just then, a bullet hit the windshield, it didn't go through because of the windshield being bulletproof, but they all ducked their heads in reflex. Out in front of them was a red sedan and a goon was shooting at them with a Mac 10.

"SHIT looks like we got company!!" exclaimed Spike. "Someone throw them some lead!!"

Hope opened the glove compartment and took a Beretta M12 out of it, pulling the handle back to cock it. "Don't worry, I got these pricks!" She rolled down her window and shot at the car with the gun in full auto. 

Both cars were speeding down the Manticore streets all the way out of the city and into the countryside, as another car full of Twilight's assassins drove up behind Spike's car. It then proceeded to ram them very violently, making the occupants all jolt forward.

Rainbow growled, no one was going to stop her from killing Twilight, she grabbed the grip of her Glock 17 and pulled it out of her holster quickly; starting to blast the car behind them, her bullets hitting the windshield and grills.

Spike was maneuvering the car, swerving left and right to avoid the oncoming gunfire from Twilight's posse as the sounds of gunfire from Hope and Rainbow ringed in his ears. 

Hope kept rapid-firing the car in front of them, her bullets making an uneven harmony when every single one hit metal. She quickly got back inside to avoid oncoming gunfire from the gang member as she took out a new clip for her M12 and replaced the old empty one with precision. 

"Spike, I got an idea: keep the car steady and when I give you the word, you turn the wheel and swerve to the right!"  The dragon nodded, understanding and getting himself ready.

The goon in front of them kept shooting at them with the Mac 10 before stopping, having to reload. With that, Hope pokes her body out the window again and shot at the car, purposefully making it turn to the left, exposing the gas tank to her sights.

"There we go." The unicorn closed one of her eyes and very carefully looked down the sights of the M12 at the gas tank. 

"Take this!" She planted three bullets into the tank which made fuel leak out of it and one final bullet caused the liquid to catch on fire.

"SPIKE NOW!!!!!"

The dragon immediately made their car swerve to the right and they went onto the opposite lane. All of them watched as the gang car that was originally behind them crashed headfirst into the gang car that was originally in front of them. And because of Hope shooting the gas tank, both cars immediately exploded with a very loud 'BOOM' when they impacted each other. 

The team watched the flames climb very high as tires, glass, and other car parts seemingly fell from out of the sky. Spike went back onto the right lane as another explosion from the cars went off behind them. 

"Nice plan, Hope!" Applejack encouraged. 

"Don't celebrate yet guys," Rainbow exclaimed, seeing a huge truck was behind them. "We got more company!!" 

The purple dragon looked at his rearview mirror and nearly shat himself when he saw the truck. "HOW THE FUCK?!?!"

The goon sitting in the passenger seat of the truck cab opened the door and balanced on the cab steps as he pointed a CZ 85 at Spike's car and started shooting at it, the bullets going clean through the armor and making spark flies.

"FUCK, THEY HAVE ARMOR-PIERCING BULLETS!!!!" yelled Applejack, ducking down in her seat. 

Spike was turning the wheel, going left and right trying to dodge as many bullets as he could. "DAMN IT, WHERE'S THE ENTRANCE TUNNEL WHEN WE NEED IT?!?!"

Hope gasped and pointed in front. "SPIKE LOOK!!!" The dragon looked forward and saw that the crew was closing in on the Prime City International entrance tunnel; which in turn, made him smirk. 

"Okay, you big bastard." Spike grabbed the stick shift and shifted it to the next gear, putting his foot on the gas so the car could gain speed, the tunnel getting closer and closer. "Let's see you if you can fit through!"

The truck driver picked up speed when he saw Spike go faster but when he saw the tunnel, he gasped, quickly hitting the brakes hard.

The shooter next to him grabbed onto the door when he felt the brakes, his finger accidentally firing his gun in the air and it flew out of his hand, landing onto the blurring road.

Spike and the girls zoomed through the tunnel with a ton of speed, the truck driver still pushing on the brakes, the truck not stopping immediately because of how fast he was going and the trailer was pushing him along the road.

"BRACE!!!!!" The driver yelled, as the truck swerved to the left and was heading straight for the tunnel that could no way take the entire truck inside of it. 

Because of that swerve, the passenger door slammed shut onto the shooter's fingers, making him scream in intense agony. "AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!" He tries to open the door back up to then slam right into the side of the tunnel when the truck crashed cab first into it; his blood and insides splattering onto some of the brickwork like he was a ketchup-filled water balloon.







Prime City International Airport



Spike and the girls made it to the other side of the tunnel after getting away from the truck, the loud sounds of aircraft taking off and landing ringed in all their ears. Hope gasped when she saw what was in front of them.

"Guys look! Twilight!" Hope yelled, pointing ahead. All of them looked ahead and they indeed saw Twilight holding the suitcase of money and heading inside the airport terminal. 

The purple unicorn saw them and gasped. "FUCK!!" She quickly ran inside the terminal and was quickly replaced by 3 goons all holding huge automatic weapons.

"SPIIIKE!!!!" exclaimed Rainbow, hoping he's seeing what she sees.

"Yeah I see them! Hang on!!" Spike replied as all three of Twilight's goons proceeded to fire at their car in full auto, hitting everything from the windshield, grills, and were even aiming for the tires. 

Spike and the girls all ducked down as bullets whizzed passed their heads, breaking the windshield completely. The purple dragon did everything he could to try and evade the bullets but no matter which way he turned, the bullets all seemed to follow them like the goons were somehow auto-aiming at them.

As the fired, Hope tried to fight back with her M12 but as soon as she sat up to aim, one of the bullets hit the gun out of her hand and another grazed her left shoulder, she quickly ducked back down to avoid more incoming fire as her shoulder started to lightly bleed. 

Spike also got grazed on the shoulder by a stray bullet, which caused him to grunt and let go of the wheel for a second. Another bullet then hit one of the tires, completely popping it, which they all heard. 

Spike tried to gain control of the car again only to realize they were turning to the right way too violently. "OH FUCK!!!!!"

The car screech very loudly when it turned and it tilted before starting to roll and flip a few times like it was some kind of dangerous carnivel ride: the sounds of crashing glass, clanging parts, and the sounds of Spike and the girls all bracing themselves tolled loudly. The car stopped rolling and was now upside down, dragging onto the road a good distance away from the airport entrance before violently hitting a concrete pillar, the death trap completely stopping.

Twilight's goons stopped firing their weapons for a bit and just looked at the damage, watching the car smoke and groan loudly. They all looked at each other before all nodding at the same time, continuing to fire at the downed car, using up the last of their bullets. As soon as they saw the car's smoke turn into fire and their guns clicked empty, they stopped firing and smirked.

"There...no way they could've survived that." The female mobster said, leading the other two mobsters back into the airport to follow Twilight.