Nothing At All

Nothing At All

~Chapter 3 - Atypical~

By Chimpso

“The greatest fear is a failure yet to come.”

Trenchcoat was a pony of the shadows. It wasn't his real name, but it might as well have been. No one knew his real name, or if he even had one. But his clients were not concerned with names, they were concerned with service, and Trenchcoat offered a far less traditional service for those who required it. A service that required a special operator.

He did not operate alone however; clients hired a team, not an individual. Famous for their brief execution and their long signature trench coats, his team, though a mere four in total, had been responsible for some of the most high profile crimes in all of urban Equestria. They made an appearance often enough to earn notoriety, but not so often as to be considered a serious threat. They were hired by anyone, or anything. They were not concerned with who the client was, only if they could deliver. That was all that mattered.

Or at least, that's all that usually mattered, Trenchcoat had certainly been given a shock with his latest client.

The door creaked open behind him.

"They're back Lexic?" He asked, turning away from the papers he had been mulling over to face the pony who had entered the room.

"Yeah boss, they're back," The silver unicorn replied, "Seem mighty pleased with themselves too."

"I wouldn't expect anything less, it was a job well done. But..." He indicated the papers on the desk, and Lexic moved to scoop them up, "We still have work to do."

He pushed open the door, walking into an unimpressive dining room with plain white walls and carpet and a small, cheap table with equally small and cheap chairs. Two ponies, whose upbeat conversation he had interrupted with his entrance, we’re seated on the two chairs on the side of the table not facing him; an olive green pegasus mare with a mane of light pink, and a blue stallion, small in stature and demeanor, who had been sitting coyly listening to the mare’s boasting.

“Well, well,” Trenchcoat grinned, “Look who’s back. I hear everything went well.”

“Heh, it was too easy,” the mare replied in a caustic Manehattan accent, clearly satisfied with the results of her day, “The mother was scared senseless, the father gave us a bit of trouble, but he wasn’t hard to deal with.”

“I take it you did all of the work Bristle,” Trenchcoat interjected, the sarcasm simmering her down somewhat.

“Nah, Tinker done his little act after I jumped ‘em. But he damn near hit me with that paralysis spell of his,” Bristle said, glaring at the smaller unicorn sitting next to her.

“You have wings Bristle, when I say jump, you jump off, just like we practiced.” The unicorn’s voice was soft and indirect, but carried apparent annoyance.

“Yeah, jumping off two other ponies who I’ve just tackled to the ground. You make it sound real easy tinker.”

“Charging a paralysis spell is no picnic, and you know all too well that it conducts...”

“Ok, that’s quite enough.” Trenchcoat interrupted, raising a hoof for silence, “If you two start arguing, we’ll be here all night. And we’re not done yet. Lexic, if you please.”

The silver pony placed the pile of papers held in his magical aura onto the dining table. Trenchcoat went to work sorting out the papers, placing any that were unnecessary to the side and moving a road map of Canterlot to the center, facing the two ponies opposite him. It had several streets and locations highlighted in yellow.

“Now, as you know. We’ve been paid to carry out two grabs. First the parents, then the daughter,” he removed a picture from the now much neater pile and slid it over to the other two ponies, “This is her.”

Bristle picked up the picture and raised an eyebrow, “Looks like a cupcake to me,” the brazen pegasus remarked, “How does she even fly with that hair?”

“Shooting star cutie mark, wouldn’t happen to be in any astronomical field like her parents would she?” Tinker asked, indicating the mark on the flank of the pony in the image.

“Yes, an astronomer,” Trenchcoat replied, “Her parents as well. That’s irrelevant however, what is relevant is that later this evening she will be going into town to see a performance at the Gallivant theater. We know that she’s off to see a friend perform, and I found out that said friend’s performance will take place just after 9. Which means she’ll probably be leaving at around 8 to walk there in ti...”

“Wait, walk?” Bristle asked incredulously, “The girl’s got wings and she walks?”

Trenchcoat nodded. “Yes, and that’s all the better for us. It means that you’ll probably not need to take wing Bristle, if everything goes to plan that is.”

The pegasus scoffed. “Now that’s just no fun. I’d rather chase the little cupcake a little, its been awhile since I’ve been in some air-to-air combat,” she grinned, punching Tinker playfully in the shoulder, “And you could try to aim that paralysis spell at a moving target.”

“Need I remind you both that you’ll have free reign and no involvement from the police on this street only,” Trenchcoat said sternly, tapping the longest highlighted street on the map with the tip of his hoof to drive the point home, “Anything that goes on outside this street, we can’t guarantee our immunity from the law. So please, for the love of Luna, don’t let her run away, or worse, take wing. There’s no way we’ll be able to get her if that happens.”

“It won’t,” Tinker said, “There shouldn’t be a problem.”

“What about you two?” Bristle asked, nodding to Trenchcoat and Lexic, “I don’t suppose you two will be sitting here playing cards while we’re gone?”

“While you are busy with her, Lexic and I will be searching her house.”

“We will?” Lexic asked, surprised at the new information.

“Last minute addition by the client, a higher price if we search the house for anything that may interest them. I’m sure they listed some keywords on a note here somewhere...” Trenchcoat rummaged through the stack of papers and pulled out an envelope. He tilted it, and a rough piece of paper fell into his waiting hoof, “It’s work that’s beneath us, but why not? Money is money. Now, we’ve got a few hours to relax, and then go time. By the way, don’t hurt her, at least not too severely. We’ve been ordered to bring her in unharmed, so try not to do anything drastic,” he narrowed his eyes at the pegasus, “I’m looking at you Bristle.”

She just laughed, “Hey, if the walking marshmallow wants to do things the hard way, I’m not gonna hesitate to toast her a little.”

“Are you sure this floral pattern works Ember?”

“I think it looks magnificent.”

“I know you do, but does it fit? You know, is it suitable?”

“It’s a short, casual performance Turfy, I thought It’d be great, not too flash, but not too plain.

Ember Spark moved to stand beside Turfy Plains, the two of them reflected in the ceiling-high mirror. His orange coat and dashing blonde mane appearing as if it were to set fire to the floral dress and it’s green and brown living mannequin.

“Well,” she huffed, giving him a sidewards glance, “You’ve been mistaken before.”

Ember sighed. He was going to have to say this sooner or later.

“Turfy, look. I don’t want this night to be... negative. It’s a big one for you, and... we need to get this off of our chests.”

"Mmhmm," Turfy hummed.

“I, um...” the blonde unicorn was apprehensive, running a hoof through his mane, he looked up at the mirror again, “I know I have been a little... pushy recently.”

“Mmhmm,” Turfy hummed again, longer this time.

“And I know you didn’t appreciate it, especially with what happened yesterday. So, I’d just like to say I’m sorry.”

Turfy turned to face the somber stallion this time. Ember Spark may have been a magician and deceiver in the past, but at heart he was a genuine soul. His history was laden with great acts of illusion and conjure, mystifying audiences with complex arcane trickery or even simple, physical trickery, but when he would step down and remove the robe of his trade, he was a trustworthy individual. He was a bastion of support for the downtrodden and a pillar of inspiration for the impressionable. He was the friend everyone wanted to have; the friend who just knew. His career was an illustrious one, filled with marvel and prestige, and he never made a mistake. Not one. From the day he had entered the scene, he was a performer of unparalleled accuracy on the stage, starting with a bow and ending with a flourish. He was a profound manifestation of the dream of any stage performer in Equestria.

Such a shame he had thrown it all away.

“I don’t know what was even going through my head, trying to mould you and your performance like that, like you were some piece of clay for me to shape until I saw it right. I know you are, but I’m telling you not to: don’t feel bad about what you said yesterday, I deserved it.”

He had stared at himself in the mirror the whole time, but he hung his head again.

“Ember...” Turfy placed a hoof on his shoulder, concern evident on her face as he looked up to meet her gaze.

“Ember you dolt, you’re so dramatic!” Turfy laughed, and Ember recoiled in surprise at the sudden outburst of mirth from the singer, “I forgive you, I forgave you the moment I had finished demolishing you, because I knew you would understand.”

“Really? You don’t hold it against me?” Ember asked, managing to finally smile.

“Well, that’s a different story,” Turfy replied, “But I know you Ember, I know you care. So don’t worry, it’s fine.”

She had been smiling at him the whole time, and he recoiled in surprise again as she quickly enveloped him into a hug.

“Just don’t let it happen again, okay?” she said, letting him go, but still staring into his eyes. He nodded, the full smile finally showing itself, and she grinned back, a grin that threatened to split apart her face.

“Well, now that that’s over with, where were we.” Turfy turned away from him and moved to the other side of the dressing room, to one of the smaller individual mirrors. “It looks like the dress won’t be an issue, but now I have to work out what to do with this face of mine.” She stuck her tongue out playfully, and Ember caught the action in the reflection of the mirror, he did not want to be around when she jumped into her makeup, he barely had the courage to be around for the end result.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” he laughed, walking over to the dressing room door, "I'm going to go make sure that everything's sorted out with the theater staff. By the way, is Aurea coming tonight?"

"Of course! She got front row seats." Turfy replied merrily.

"Lucky her, I thought they'd have sold out by now."

"I'm not that popular Ember."

"Regardless, I'm sure you'll do great, better than I would have made you do." He said, reaching for the door knob.

She swiveled the chair around to face him, makeup tools ready to go, "Well, I guess only time will tell."

“Of all the nights to do this, it had to be hot night.”

Rubbing at his forehead with a hoof, Tinker frowned at the sweat he felt there. Trenchcoats and hot weather were not a pleasant mix. And with the weather team of Canterlot’s seemingly random manipulation of the local weather it was never something that could be predicted easily.

He looked up just in time to catch Bristle land in the alley behind him, her hooves hitting the ground with an audible clop.

“Showtime?” Tinker asked.

Bristle nodded, “She’s on the way, only two blocks away by the looks of it, you ready?”

“Yeah,” he said, shifting uncomfortably in his coat, “Is it hot out, or is it just me?”

“It’s hot, but I don’t feel a thing up there,” Bristle replied, pointing upwards, “Wind and all.”

“Well, lucky you,” Tinker grumbled in response, peeking outside the alleyway and spotting a figure approaching down the sidewalk at the end of the street, “She’s coming.”

“Right then, I jump on your call, remember that.”

Leaping up into the air and flapping her wings, Bristle disappeared over the roof of the adjacent building, her position for the ambush. Tinker quickly peeked out the alleyway again, the white pony was less than a block away...

Her parents had not come back yet.

They said they’d be back later. Yesterday. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, sometimes they finished up later than expected and got a hotel to stay the night, sometimes they stayed up all night working, but they always came home the next morning or afternoon. It was dark now. And hot.

Stopping under a streetlight to give herself a breather, Aurea silently cursed the muggy weather. After spending the day inside due to the heat, she had been looking forward to the walk during what she believed would be a cool night. No such luck, while there was no sun in the sky, there was heat. The only reprieve was the occasional fleeting zephyr, but while she waited for another one of those, she felt as if she was roasting under her fur.

Concerns about her parents forgotten as she once again began to trudge onwards through the obstinate heat, Aurea reflected on the status of her friend. Turfy Plains’ performance at the Gallivant was nothing particularly special. But although the theater was small, she had apparently almost sold the place out. Ember was likely to be the one responsible for that, his past experience promoting his own shows through poster advertising was what had skyrocketed him into the public spotlight in the first place. His methods were clearly working with his new interest as well. Aurea chuckled. Ember Spark always delivered.

Her face hit the pavement.

Haze. Haze and pain, that’s all her world was at that moment. The burning sensation in her nose, the weight of hooves on her shoulders, the light flooding her vision as she opened her eyes.

The light.

Looking up, a unicorn, brown trenchcoat, horn glowing furiously as beads of sweat slid down his forehead. The sparks flying from the horn, some sort of electrical spell. Powerful?

The uneasy weight on her shoulders, the two hooves, the weight not so severe, distributed to the front more than the back, like a predator waiting to pounce.

Pounce. Electricity. And with electricity comes conductance, and to avoid conductance you’d...

“Now!”

Now.

As soon as she felt the weight come off her shoulders, Aurea rolled to the side. The unicorns horn erupted as a bolt of light hit the sidewalk where she had just been tackled to the ground, exploding in a shower of sparks. The unicorn’s mouth fell open, unable to comprehend what had just happened. A pegasus, hovering above where she had just been laying, looked at the unicorn, clearly as surprised as he was, but as her gaze turned to Aurea, the astronomer's blood ran cold.

Scrambling to her hooves as fast as she could. Aurea turned down the street and ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. There was a shout from behind, probably from the other pegasus. She heard the sound of said pegasus running after her. It was now or never, she was glad now that she hadn’t needed to bring her coat.

Unfurling her wings and diving into the hot air, she again heard a shout behind her, a shout of anger this time, but she didn’t look back. Flapping her underused wings, flying straight ahead down the empty road, slowly gaining altitude and distance, she heard another takeoff behind her.

“Come here, cupcake!”

A powerful burning sensation hit her backside as she felt as if her tail was going to be ripped right off. Yelping in pain, her wings flapping twice as fast to keep herself aloft, she turned to face her antagonist.

The other pegasus, her short pink mane falling over her eyes, had Aurea’s tale gripped firmly in her teeth, flying backward to try and bring her back to the ground. Aurea attempted to fly upwards, but the other pegasus’ pull was too strong and the pain of her tail being pulled was making her eyes water.

Twisting her body around, her wings still flapping profusely in an attempt to keep her in the air, Aurea kicked a hind leg out in desperation. The strike was pathetically weak, but the other pegasus hadn’t been expecting it. As her tail was freed from the jaws of the other pony, Aurea rocketed forward, forcing herself to slow down and fly over a small shop before she crashed right into it’s display window.

Putting as much energy into her wings as possible, she turned her head once more, and whimpered as she saw the other pegasus speeding towards her again. She was gaining too fast.

Aurea braced for the impact, ready to most likely be tackled and fall into the suburbia below her.

A shout from below stopped the pegasus in her tracks. She looked to the ground, where the unicorn was frantically yelling at her and gesturing downwards. She looked back at Aurea, then at the unicorn, then back to Aurea again, giving her a snarl that made the terrified pony’s fur stand on end before flying back to the ground to rejoin her ally.

Aurea realized that she had been frozen in place. He wings moving on instinct to keep her airborne. As reality slapped her in the face, she turned around and flew off as fast as she could into the night.