Revelation

Chapters

The Fair
A Warm Welcome
Hooked On Ponyville
The Neighbors
Power Outage
Alive and kickin'
This wasn't in the job description...
Mean, green, fixing machine

The Fair

Booker stood back, his daughter placed upon his shoulders, gaining a better vantage point from the sea of ponies gathered before him. The object of the crowd's attention was an ornate throne, 'Twilight' seated upon it, speaking down to the base of the throne. Weaving his way through the crowd, which to his benefit, gave him a wide berth, he approached the throne, and discovered an ood group, involving Pith (whom he'd nicknamed), Rainbow, the pink-maned pegasus, and that dual-headed demon of a mutt, surpisingly docile for the moment.

"...hooves are tied, you said it was a fair trade." Twilight finished.

Booker stepped forward, his free hand digging into a pocket in order to fish out his badge. They should at least know what a police officer is, right? Now was as good a time as any to get his foot in the door, maybe give them an idea of what he was capable of, at least.

His hopes, small as they were, were soon crushed beneath the heavy, iron wheels of fate, ground into a fine powder, and burnt to a crisp as rainbow-mane spoke up.

"Yeah, I said it," she said "but I was wrong! I did want that book, a lot- I said I wanted it more than anything in all of Equestria-"

Booker's lunch threatened to eject itself out of his stomach, and out his mouth.

"-but there's no thing that's as worth as much to me as a friend."

'Then why did you trade in the first place?' Booker thought 'Have some goddamn common sense.'

Then he realized, why did he care?

Then the answer came to him, in one, simple word.

Employment.

"I...I might've forgotten that for a little bit..." she admitted sheepishly.

'No kidding.' Booker thought sarcastically.

"...but it's true!" she continued "Which means there's no way this trade can be fair!"

'She does have a small point, but that's-'

"Oh, come on! That's-" the mare in the pith helmet began.

'Here it comes.' he thought, his badge prepared.

"-*sniff*, the sweetest thing I've ever heard...okay! The trade's off!" she declared.

Booker's sanity deflated as the crowd around him burst into cheers and shouts of joy, apparently elated at the resolution.

'Wait...what?' he thought 'What the hell? That's...that's it?'

He was actually a little disappointed.

'That's all? No screaming? No shouting? No mobs armed to the teeth with pitchforks? Just 'Oh, you were wrong, we'll just solve this as peacefully as possible'?'

Finding work here might be harder than he'd originally thought, if the equine creatures were this agreeable...

Anna shifted on his shoulders as Rainbow gave Pith a book, then proceeded to tackle the pink-haired pegasus. The dog-like beast then pounced upon the two winged-horses, both heads happily licking at their muzzles.

'That thing has more mood swings than Maria when she...'

The Pinkerton pushed the thought from his mind, just as the painful memories of Anna's mother took its place.

'Block it out, block it out.' he repeated inwardly, shaking his head, as if doing so would remove the images from his mind.

"And with that, I declare this trial, and this year's Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange- over!" the purple hybrid said, a gavel encased in a magenta glow banging against the armrest of the throne she was sitting on.

Slightly bitter, and a bit perturbed, Booker turned, Anna still on his shoulders, and wound his way around the dissipating crowd of horses. The vendors lining the street were beginning to pack up, breaking down tents and carefully placing their wares into boxes. Some utilized the horns on their heads- others, such as those with wings and no extra appendages at all used either their hooves or their mouths, variation usually depending on what the vendor had to trade.

'This place is too damn colorful...' he realized, glancing around.

Twilight stepped down from the throne, immediately swarmed by ponies gathered before it, including her friends. Stallion, mare, and foal alike began congratulating her on absolving the dispute. A blushing Twilight, unused to the attention, found herself desperately wishing Booker would appear, dispersing the crowd with his club, as he'd done earlier that day. Alas, the biped, nor his foal, were nowhere to be found, leaving the six amongst the ponies lauding her. An orange hoof popped up, waving her over as she caught a glimpse of a blonde lock of mane, as well as a brown stetson bobbing up and down in the crowd.

"Twilight! Over here, Twilight!" her friend called.

The lavender princess 'excuse me'd' and 'thank you'd' her way through the crowd, and practically fell into the palomino mare's hooves, exhausted.

"Why don't we go an' get our seat on th' train?" she shouted over the crowd.

Twilight nodded, then staggered to her hooves, following her friend as the herd steadily dispersed around her, much to her relief. Her other friends joined soon after, keeping up at a moderate trot.

Booker stepped in line, just behind a magenta mare with a golden mane, waiting with his daughter to board the train. The platform they stood on led onto a small train, the roof of the cars appearing to be no higher than his shoulders.

'Of course the goddamn train is pony-sized.' he groaned.

True, Anna would probably be able to actually stand up in it comfortably- but for him, it'd be like trying to fit himself into a hole in the ground. A small, very cramped hole in the ground. Not that he was complaining, a small train was better than being shot at.

The magenta mare boarded the cabin, and Booker stepped forward, a dollar-fifty already prepared.

"Will this cover the ticket?" he asked, showing the conductor the money.

The unicorn hummed, taking the bill and coins into his magic, the horn atop his head glowing.

"Sorry fella," the stallion said, shoving the money back into Booker's hand "I don't know what kinda sham you're tryin' to pull, but the train ride costs three bits, at least."

"What the hell are bits?" Booker asked, adjusting Anna in one arm.

"Currency." the stallion stated "Coins, you know? Cash?"
"I know what money is." Booker replied irritably, rolling his eyes.
"Then go on over to the currency exchange window." the conductor said, equally annoyed.
"Listen pal, I get out of line, and I'm going to be stuck here awhile, get me? Just let me on the goddamn train!"
"Not without a ticket!"
"Then give me one you sonofa-"

"What's going on here?"

Booker and the stallion turned, finding the Twilight mare and a small herd approaching, Rainbow and Pink-hair included.

"Your highness!" the conductor gushed, bowing.

The hybrid blushed, the red on her cheeks a stark contrast to her lavender coat.

"Please, don't bow," she said kindly "now, what seems to be the trouble?"

"This vagrant is trying to board the train without paying." the conductor said, jabbing a hoof at Booker.

Twilight glanced between the conductor-pony and the bipeds.

"May they ride with us?" she asked.
"But- but are you sure you want him to be riding in the royal carriage with the rest of you?"
"I'm sure." she said with confidence.

Booker cocked an eyebrow, curious as to why the princess horse was getting him out of his mess. The conductor, none-too pleased, bowed, allowing the seven, as well as Booker and Anna passage onto the train. Booker followed the six mares, plus one scaled-thing he couldn't quite identify, through the train, and into one of the rear cars.

"What was that all about?" he finally asked, closing the door behind him.
The princess sat at one of the seats, a large box of books next to her.

"Just...a little payback for rescuing me from that crowd."
"Yeah...'rescued'..." Rainbow snorted.

Booker was actually speechless- not that he was expecting this sort of thing to happen, but it still came as a shock to him.

"Well...uh...thank you..." he murmured, sitting with Anna in the aisle across from where the seven were seated.

Author's Note

I feel this is more of an interlude than an actual chapter. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and as always, you know what to do. :pinkiesmile:

A Warm Welcome

Booker snorted as he awoke, rubbing at his face as he tiredly sat up on the bench. He blearily took into account just where he was- but not before his head struck the overhead compartment above the seat. Wincing in pain, he realized it was dark outside the windows of the train car, a dark navy enveloping the landscape as pristine white stars dotted the skies.

"Ow! Damn it..." he grumbled, sitting up slowly this time as he rubbed his head.

As he did so, he realized that a certain little girl was missing from his immediate reach.

"Anna?!" he cried shooting up.

His heart raced as he was immediately silenced by the purple hybrid, her horn aglow as a book rested between her hooves, a pair of red, wire-framed glasses perched on her muzzle.

"Trouble sleeping, Mr. DeWitt?" Twilight asked, turning the page.

The car jumped, forcing the occupants to bounce a bit. Not that they noticed, all of them were asleep, save Twilight and himself.

"Where's Anna?" he asked, straight to the point.

Twilight nodded over her shoulder, towards the back of the car. Booker's head swiveled to the left, and found Anna dozing peacefully, sandwiched between the yellow pegasus and the purpleand green reptile. The former of which embracing his daughter with her wings, while Spike's head lay in Anna's lap, small as it was.

'How did she get over there?' he wondered.
The possibility that she wandered around while he was asleep crossed his mind.

The sight made his head ache, reminding him of the situation he was in.

'Stupid Booker, stupid.'

"So, tell me about yourself." Twilight said, another page turning.

"Heh, don't see why I should." Booker replied, reclining in his seat.

Twilight was nonplussed by his bluntness, and instead continued reading.

"I can tell you about me, then you can tell me about you, if you'd like."
"OCD, aren't you?"

The hybrid rolled her eyes as she sighed, the book closing.

"Why are you so bitter, Mr. DeWitt?" she asked simply.
"Why are you so annoying, Mrs. Sparkle?" he retorted.
"'Miss', not 'missus', I'm not married."
"Figured someone in your position would be."

Her purple face darkened, her muzzle reddening until it was almost completely scarlet.

'Didn't know horses could blush.' he thought.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, sounding more like the yellow one.

"Well you're a princess, aren't you? You must have stallions knockin' down your door."

Her face grew redder.

"Or, y'know, giant lizards, whatever floats your boat." Booker said, nodding to Spike.

"Now wait just a minute!" she shouted.

Rainbow groaned in distress, eliciting another round of sleepy groans from the rest of the group.

The princess shrank, and realized her error, a sheepish smile splitting her muzzle.

Booker cocked an eyebrow, confused at her behavior, shooting another glance to the sleeping, gecko-like creature beside Anna.

"That's why you keep him around, isn't it? As a consort?"

Twilight took a deep breath, her chest puffing out as she calmed herself.

"Yes, I love Spike," the princess said "but it's familial love, like with you and..."

"Anna." Booker said, filling the silence.
"Like you and Anna."

He nodded in understanding, taking a moment to rub his jaw as he met Twilight's gaze.

"Besides," she continued, after a short pause "I'm not much of a princess, I was just recently coronated- this was one of my first official duties as royalty."
"Wouldn't have guessed." Booker said, genuinely surprised.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?"
"It's obvious you have leadership skills," Booker stated "you just don't like ordering others."
"What gave you that idea?"
"What happened at the fair, for one thing."

Her ears flipped backwards, slapping against her skull as her head ducked low. She muttered out something about someone named Celestia.

"I'm going to get some more shut-eye," Booker groaned, reclining on the bench once more "wake me when we get to the next station."

Twilight nodded.

"The tear is closing! You've got to come through now!"

"I don't want to get caught in-between!"

"It's fine! You've got to hurry!"

"Fine? Are you mad?!"

"No! The tear is stable! You'll not get caught in-between, I promise!"

"If I get caught, it's going to be a very long time before we see each other again!"

"Hey, hey! The deal's off, you hear me? The deal's off!"

An aging man, a bundle in his arms, stepped through the ever-shifting hole in the wall.

Booker grabbed at the man, yanking his arm just as he stepped through.

"Shut it down! Shut down the machine!" the man shouted to the two behind him, appearing to be blackened shadows behind him.

"It's becoming unstable!"

"Shut it DOWN!" he roared, briefly yanking the fragile bundle in his arms towards himself.

Booker fought back, gritting his teeth as he tried to take back his daughter, crying out in distress as she was swiftly moved back and forth, her face tinged green.

"It's ready! You've got to pull her through!"

The man gave one final tug, pulling Anna through the anomaly.

"Give me back my daughter! NO!"

The portal closed, Anna disappearing from his life forever.

He numbly looked down, and didn't see his hands, as he'd expected.

Two stumps, that was it, most of his forearms missing.

Blood spurted from the appendages, splattering against the dirty cobblestone.
It landed wetly, dripping morbidly down the wall.

A cry of anguish escaped his lips, and he collapsed, his head striking the ground with such force that it too began to bleed.

He didn't care.
Anna was gone.

"Mr. DeWitt! Mr. DeWitt! Please," a voice sobbed, breaking him out of his sleep "please wake up, Anna's right- right here! She's perfectly f-fine!"

Booker's eyes shot open, finding himself to be in the train car. Quickly sitting up, he once again, struck his head on the baggage compartment above.

"Sonofabitch!" he shouted, holding his head.

"Daddy okay?" Anna asked, toddling up to him, grabbing his free arm.

Anna by his side, the pain in his head was quickly forgotten. Taking her hand into his, Booker sat up, mindful of the compartment.

"Daddy's fine, sweetie." he said, a small smile on his face.

Anna smiled, her small teeth showing.

"'kay."

She then went to embrace Fluttershy, much to the latter's surprise.

"Soft." Anna murmured into the pegasus' chest.

Fluttershy blushed, her muzzle tinged red as she hesitantly let a wing drape gently over the young girl.

"Anyway..." Booker muttered "who woke me up?"
"None of us did, Mr. DeWitt." Twilight responded, confusion evident on her features "You were having a nightmare, I was about to wake you, when you...erm..."

He nodded, standing. He checked his belongings, then followed the purple princess out of the train car, Anna and Fluttershy close behind.

'She'd better not get too attached to her...' he thought 'I can barely feed either of us, let alone a pony.'

Then again, these ponies could talk, and had trains, as well as fairs, whose to say they didn't have homes, as well? Entire cities- hell, and entire country of horses. It was like the cavalry all over again...except for the gunfire, and cannons, and wails of pain...

'Goddamn place is going to kill us...' he thought, stepping off the train.

The car let out a squeak as a result as a relief from his weight from it, as if groaning in exhaustion from having to carry him all the way here. Wherever here was, that is.

"Welcome to Ponyville!" the pink mare shouted, a party favor hanging from her mouth as she stood on her hind legs, her forehooves in the air. A wave of balloons and confetti literally fell out of nowhere, littering the station platform with the small bits.

'God damn it.'

Hooked On Ponyville

"Weeeellll?" Pinkie asked "Are you surprised? Are ya? Are ya?"

'Surprised is an understatement...' Booker thought to himself.

"...yeah, guess I am..." Booker stated, almost no excitement in his voice.

The pink mare squealed in glee, and zipped down the street, faster than anything he'd ever seen. He had no words- he could only wonder what kind of hellhole he'd stepped into by accepting this job.

"She always that hyperactive?" he asked.

"Don't let her fool you, she's smarter than she looks." Applejack stated as the group exited the train station.

"Not what I asked..." Booker grumbled as Anna squirmed in his grasp.

"Well, life's never borin' with Pinkie around."

"Heh, I'll bet."

The group fell silent as they walked into the small village, Anna's fussing the only thing breaking the silence.

"Hey Twi, why don't you ask Mr. DeWitt about his super-power?" Rainbow piped up.

'I swear to god, she's going to get it...not today, not tomorrow, but she will...'

The purple princess stopped, then turned to stare at the both of them.

"What? What do you mean, 'super-power'?" she asked, confusion on her features.

"It was so awesome! You should've been there!" the cyan mare gushed "The orthros had Anna in its clutches, then- then he lifted it into the air without even touching it!"

'Is it possible for her to say something and not exaggerate it?'

Twilight cocked a brow, glancing between Rainbow and himself.

"Yeah, I know- you'd think it's just magic; but get this, he doesn't have a horn! Isn't that awesome?!" she said, pointing a hoof at him.

The man in question took offense to being referred to like a science experiment, and spoke his piece.

"It's not-"

"It most certainly is!" Twilight all but shouted, shattering Booker's eardrums "Beings that can use magic without a horn are scarce in Equestria! A certain draconequus being the only one."

"Oh did I hear my name being called?" a disembodied voice echoed, making Booker jump.

A sudden white flash enveloped his vision, and something that could only be described as a creature straight out of of hell appeared before him. The mix-and-match creature was grinning like a madman, staring at him intently with its red pupils.

"What in the-"

"Hello," it said, baffling Booker "I'm Discord, master of Chaos and Disharmony."

The thing held out its only paw, confusing Booker.

"So..." Booker began "...you must be the one I file a complaint to."

A beat of silence, and the creature began to chuckle, then chortle, then devolved into all-out laughter. The thing howled as it rolled on its back.

"I say something funny?" Booker asked, unamused.

The thing's laughter died down, wiping a tear from the larger of its eyes.

"Well, it was funny to me." Discord said, looking around at the indignant looks he was recieving from the herd, save Fluttershy.

Discord then seized Booker's free hand, shaking it up and down rapidly.

"I can't tell you how refreshing it is to finally have another non-equine to talk to!" he said, grinning manically.

"Ahem," Twilight interuppted "we're right here, you know!"

Discord rolled his eyes, then disappeared in a flash. The demon-creature then reappeared in another flash beside Fluttershy.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that," Discord said, making the pegasus squeak as he picked her up "I find our little chats just so entertaining."

He rubbed his knuckles into the pegasus' flowing mane, making the pony in question blush heavily.

Booker rolled his eyes, and addressed Twilight; ignoring the strange creature's odd behavior.

"I need to go, where can I talk to someone about housing?"

"You'd need to go and talk to Mayor Mare, I suppose," she replied after awhile, not noticing the man's eye twitch "and there's always the message board at town hall."

"Huh...thanks..." Booker stated, glancing around at the crowd suddenly gathered around them "where would the town hall be?"

Twilight pointed down the street, to a tall, carousel-like building standing in the center of a circle of thatched-roof houses.

"Uh..." he began "...see ya around."

He turned on his heel, and began walking towards the town hall, leaving the six ponies, baby dragon, and draconequus in the street, along with the few ponies watching the group curiously.

"Hmmph, how rude," Rarity commented, brushing a lock of purple mane out of her eyes "though he did seem like quite a gentlecolt- and that cravat looks simply dashing on him! I'm not quite so sure about the rest of the ensemble though...perhaps he'd allow me..."

The unicorn blushed, discovering herself the focus of her closest friends.

"Well...I can't help it if his style intrigues me."

"That makes two of us..." Twilight grumbled, just loud enough for her friends to hear.

"Me three," Applejack stated "something about that fella don't sit right with me."

"I-I- think he was a very nice...um...whatever he is..."

"Ah ain't sayin' it was a bad feelin'," Applejack responded "it's like...ya bite into an apple, and it tastes like an orange."

"Ugh, I absolutely hate that." Discord chimed in, much to the palomino mare's annoyance "What? I do! It completely ruins my taste buds. I'd much rather taste plums than oranges."

"Anyway," Applejack continued "dignitary or not, I say we should just be on the look out."

"I don't think that would be enough." Twilight responded, rubbing her chin in thought.

"Whatever do you mean? He's a completely unknown species to us." Rarity stated.

"Exactly...which is why I think it'd be best if we get to know him- maybe if we find out why he does what he does, it'll explain any behavior he might have down the road."

"I don't know what you guys are so worked up about," Spike said, causing the mare's gazes to turn to him "I think he's alright- he's like a mix between a dragon and a pony."

"How do ya figure that?" Applejack asked, genuinely curious.

"Well...how do I explain this..."

The baby dragon began to pace back and forth, chewing at the tips of a claw.

"It's like...he's mean, like a dragon, but he only lets it show to ponies he doesn't like...and then it's like he's a totally different guy when he's around Anna."

"I suppose you have point, Spike." Rarity agreed, forcing a furious blush to work its way onto the dragon's features "I mean, not all ponies are...shall we say...civilized, as you and I."

"I think you're all just being silly." Discord stated with finality, disappearing.

"Good riddance..." Rainbow mumbled.

"Much as I hate to admit it, Discord does have a point- we could avoid a lot of trouble if we just get to know him."

The seven were unanimous in their decision.

Booker set Anna down as he approached the center of town, leading the small girl firmly by the hand.

"Well, this is it." he muttered to himself.

The message board was easy enough to find- it was just a simple bulletin board tacked to the side of the carousel-like building, right next to the set of double doors that led into it.

"Lodging...lodging..." he muttered to himself, looking up and down the assortment of papers stapled to the board.

"Bingo." he stated, finding a few papers requesting a room to rent.

Wanted: Roommate- must share bed, must pay half of utilities. No foals and/or pets.

~Blocky Bluff

'Well, that's out...'

Room for rent: must be clean, preferable if not loud or noisy.

~The Great and Powerful Trixie

'Damn it...'

Housemate requested.

Foals and pets accepted.

Utilities can be shared if possible.

~Ditzy Doo

'Simple enough,' he thought, ripping the paper off the board 'just need to go to...728 Haydrop Lane...'

He wanted to bash his head against a brick wall; maybe then he'd be put out of his misery. He plucked Anna off the ground, paper still in hand, and began to search for the address listed- the sooner he could settle in with whoever this Ditzy character was, the sooner he'd be able to figure out what he was supposed to do here. If he was lucky, he'd maybe even be able to find a steady-paying job; living paycheck to paycheck was risky enough as it was.

The Neighbors

Booker rapped on the wooden door before him, glancing down at his daughter before the door creaked open, a smiling, grey pony with wings on the other side. The horse's cross-eyed stare caught his attention immediately, and the brilliant gold coloring on its mane and tail right after.

"Er, I'm here to see about a living arrangement?" Booker asked, Anna attempting with all her might to hug the colorful pony.

The equine in question stared at him for a moment, the wonky eye shifting slightly as the pony smiled.

"Oh, of course!" she exclaimed "I'm so glad somepony decided to take up my offer! Please, come in!"

Booker eyed her as he entered the small building, holding onto Anna tightly as he did so. Taking notice of dozens of pictures lining the walls, he spied the cross-eyed mare with two other ponies- both of them being unicorns. One was a bit shorter than the gold-maned pegasus, donning a bright-pink coat, with a purple mane.

'How the hell does that work?' Booker wondered to himself 'Genetics are going to be a bitch to figure out...'

The other pony was considerably shorter than the other two, with the same coloring as the pegasus. Booker could just make out a small stump sticking out of its mane.

"So, what brings you to Ponyville?" 'Ditzy' asked cheerfully as she led him down the hall.

The pair entered a small living room, equipped with a three-person couch, a coffee table, and a love-seat against the far wall.

"Work." Booker responded curtly, wincing afterwards.

'Better learn to be a bit nicer around her,' the man thought as his head brushed against the low ceiling 'if she will be my future landlord.'

"I know how that goes..." the mare responded, her ears flipping to faintly slap against her skull.

Booker was surprised, seeing the pony be able to empathize with his...unique...situation. He resolved to get used to it, knowing he'd rather have a conversation with a pink pony than drunk and rowdy at the nearest saloon. Well, maybe he wouldn't go that far.

"Well," the mare began "The bathroom's down the hall, third door on the left, the guest...er...your...room is the second on the right. Mine is the second on the left."

"Good to know," Booker stated, rubbing his chin "anything else I need to know?"

"I've got a daughter, she's eight," Ditzy said "her name's Dinky, would you like to meet her?"

'Not really.'

"Of course."

The pegasus turned, trotting to the back of the house, leaving Booker and Anna alone in the small living room.

"Well, what do you think?" Booker asked rhetorically, looking down at his daughter as he did so.

"Pretty." Anna responded simply.

Booker face-palmed, grunting to himself as he readjusted the bag over his shoulder.

'Keep forgetting she's a kid...' he thought.

The blonde pegasus returned, the same, small unicorn from the pictures trailing behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks when spying Booker, making the man suddenly uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Muffin," the mare began "this is...um...uh..."

"Booker."

"This is Booker, and his foal...um...er..."

"Anna."

"Anna! This is Booker and Anna; they'll be staying with us for a little while!"

The small unicorn scuffed her hoof on the floor as she stared downward, barely making any eye-contact with either Booker or Anna.

Ditzy looked at Booker, then at the unicorn, then back at Booker. A huge smile suddenly split her muzzle as she flitted into the air.

"Oh! I know! Muffin, why don't you go and play with Anna for a little bit? Mr. Booker and I can talk out here for a little while."

The unicorn hemmed and hawed, before finally relenting with her mother's decision. She motioned for Anna to follow her, though appearing to be as unenthusiastic as possible about it.

Anna looked up at him, pleading with him to let her go and play, like a normal child. Booker thought for a bit, then deemed it safe for his daughter to go, releasing her hand. The effect was immediate- Anna shot to the unicorn, making the latter rear back in surprise. The unicorn bolted down the hall, his daughter following her.

"Can I get you anything?" Ditzy asked "Water? Tea?"

"No, thank you," Booker said.

"Well come on in and sit down," the pegasus said, motioning to the couch "I'd really like to hear all about you."

'Shit...'

"I'm a...private investigator." Booker finally said.

"Ooh, that sounds exciting!" the cross-eyed pegasus exclaimed.

'More than you know...'

"Momma, I'm hungry." Dinky stated as she trotted into the room.

"Oh dear, is it that late?" Ditzy stated, surprised as she stared up at the clock on the opposite wall.

"No, Anna and I just wanted to have a snack." the filly stated.

Ditzy sighed in relief, and turned to Booker.

"If you'll excuse me..."

"No problem-" Booker said, standing.

The man bashed his skull against the ceiling.

'God dammit...' he moaned inwardly, rubbing his throbbing scalp.

"I'll help with whatever you need." Booker said, offering his assistance.

"No no, I insist!" she replied, her wings flitting "You're my guest!"

"Not for long," Booker responded "if we live here, we split everything."

'You're pushing it, Booker- you're not even living here yet.' he thought to himself, wondering is there were some way he could reverse what he'd just said.

"That's...that's so nice of you..." the mare said, almost too quietly to hear.

Booker cocked an eyebrow, and shrugged.

"Nothin' I wouldn't a' done." he said.

"Oh...well...there're some crackers in the cupboard in the kitchen, an-and some peanut butter!"

Booker waved, acknowledging that he'd heard her as he headed into the kitchen, Anna and the filly following.

'Since when the hell did I become a babysitter?' he thought, spying the filly following him.

He assumed he'd better get used to it, because he had a feeling that this entire pastel-colored world was out to get him.

Power Outage

Booker sat on the relatively small couch in Ditzy's living room, Anna on one side and Dinky on the other. The two children were currently fast asleep, having run off to dream land some time in that past few hours. Booker himself didn't quite remember what the three of them were doing, he remembered talking with Dinky, with the occasional input from Anna, and now the two of them were suddenly asleep. Ditzy trotted into the room, one eye watching the three of them, the other focused on the wall to the left of her, making her appear cross-eyed.

"It looks like my little muffin is getting acquainted with you and Anna." the pegasus giggled, trotting towards the couch.

Booker studied her face, shuddering briefly at the cross-eyed pegasus.

"What?" she inquired.

"Doesn't that...hurt?" Booker asked vaguely, gesturing to his face, knowing full-well that this wasn't the best way he could've worded the question.

"Sometimes, yeah," she replied, not seeming to be off-put at all by his phrasing "it used to hurt a lot worse when I was a filly."

Booker felt a twinge of guilt, having asked when he only knew the mare and her daughter for less that forty-eight hours. Booker adjusted himself, tempted to stand, but not wanting to disturb the positions of the sleeping children he was sandwiched between.

"My eyes really don't bother me all that much..." Ditzy said quietly.

Booker's eyes widened, realizing that the kind mare was angry at his question.

"H-How did you know I...?"

"S-Sometimes I can tell if somepony's lying...your facial expressions were a bit of a giveaway...but...your face is vaguely like a pony's...so...sorry if I offended you."

Booker sat in silence, staring at the pegasus, jaw agape. He then allowed a small smirk to spread across his face, directed at the backpedaling pony.

"We could've used someone like you on the force, back home."

Booker strolled casually down the street, away from Ditzy's house. To the casual observer, they might've said that he was out for a walk, heading in no particular direction. Colgate, however, was not a casual observer, as she watched him pass the window to her shop.

"Hey Cole?" her friend, Lyra, seated in the dentist char, her jaw hanging open "You mind finishing? I promised Bonnie I'd-"

"Uh-huh," the blue-coated pony replied absently "they're in the cupboard, Lyra."

"Seriously, I think the meds are starting to wear off-" Lyra stated "and I'd rather not have gaping holes in my teeth for my date."

Colegate shook her head, her two-toned mane bouncing over her eyes as she turned away from the window, and back to the task at hoof.

"I know you're obsessed with bipeds and everything-" Lyra began as Colegate pressed a hoof on the magic-powered box that sat on the floor, attached to the drill in her magic "but you really shouldn't get distracted from your work- more businesses go belly up that way."

"I'm not obsessed with bipeds," Colgate huffed, rolling her eyes "it's how they can walk on two legs that get me."

"I'm an accountant, not an anthropologist." Lyra replied.

"And a scientist, and a social worker, and a notary republic," Colgate chuckled, trying to make herself heard over the whine of the drill "how you manage all of that, I'll never know."

"Living next door to Pinkie Pie helps." Lyra said, trying to giggle herself, but was stopped by the drill in her mouth.

"I'll bet, for a mare who you'd think eats so much sugar, she's never had a cavity, as long as I've known her."

"It takes all kinds..." Lyra stated.

Colgate nodded in agreement, shooting a glance out the front door of her shop.

"He's not going to come in, you know," Lyra stated, trying to keep Colgate's attention while she had a sharp, rotating piece of metal in her mouth "even if he did, there's no telling when he would."

"How do you know it's a 'he'?" Colgate asked suspiciously.

"His foal calls him 'Daddy', what conclusion would you draw from that?"

"Oh, he has a foal...a single parent, how brave..." she whispered to herself dreamily.

"Can you just finish my teeth? I really need to get going." Lyra said impatiently.

Colgate shook herself out of her daze, and came back to the task at hand, carefully highlighting the problem areas of Lyra's mouth with her magic as her drill attacked them.

[hr}

Booker stared at the barracks-like building that Ditzy had described to him earlier, the very one that could jumpstart his career in Equina or whatever the hell it was called.

"Hello?" Booker called, pushing open the door to the building, the Vigors in the bag over his shoulder clinking together as he did so "Is anyone here?"

"Over here." a gray-coated stallion with a matching golden helmet and armor said, seated at a desk.

Booker assumed this must be one of the 'Royal Guard' that he'd heard about around town.

"Yes, I'd like to apply for a private contractor's license?" he asked.

"We don't accept mercenaries here, buzz off pal." the stallion stated gruffly, not looking up from the parchment he was scribbling on.

"I'm an officer of the law, not a damned mercenary," Booker spat, stepping closer to the desk "I'm a detective."

"Why the buck would you want to be a detective?" the stallion said, finally glancing up, now noticing Booker's full stature "Th-that's one of the lowest ranks the Royal Guard offers, just ahead of Corporal and Private."

"I'm a private investigator, I'd like to apply for a license." Booker repeated sternly, loosing his patience with the gray-coated stallion.

"Alright then," the stallion replied with a shrug, lifting a heavy packet of papers out of a drawer of his desk "here's the written test, we'll begin your physicals next week."

"Can't we do them sooner?" Booker inquired.

"No exceptions, come back next Wednesday." the stallion huffed bluntly, staring once more at his paperwork.

An hourglass raised itself onto the desk as Booker sat down, enveloped in an amber aura.

"You have two hours to finish the test, any more than that, and you automatically fail."

Booker nodded, and began the test, scratching on it with a short pencil he'd produced from his pocket.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Miss Twilight?" Ditzy asked, two bottles sitting between herself and the purple unicorn "I mean, these belong to Mister DeWitt, I'd be breaking his trust if I just gave them to you!"

"I agree," Twilight nodded "which is why I couldn't possibly ask you to do such a thing, I just want to take samples of the liquids inside, for study."

"Oh...well...I suppose that would be alright...there wouldn't be any real damage, I guess..."

"I'll only take half a vial, how does that sound?" Twilight said, producing two vials out of her saddlebags.

"I...I guess so...I mean, you're not really stealing anything..."

"I promise that whatever's left over, I'll bring right back, Pinkie Promise."

"O...okay..."

Twilight sat on her haunches, tongue sticking out of her muzzle as as she stared at the liquids contained in the two vials. Her results so far weren't much, and she was beginning to feel a panic attack coming on. Where did the strength lie in the mysterious liquids? who made them? What purpose did they serve?

These questions, and many more, filtered through her mind as she took two eyedroppers and dunked them into each of the vials. Pulling a petri dish over the smooth surface of her worktable, she squeezed the bulbs of the droppers, forcing a droplet to fall out each dropper. Green and purple mixed together, fizzling and crackling as Twilight backed away from the bench, fully prepared to run up the steps if necessary.

The concoction in the dish hissed violently as electricity crackled and sparked around it. Violet streaks of lightning shot across the lab, dancing and arching as Twilight ducked, fearful of what the end result of the experiment might be.

The dish burst, emitting a loud, almost explosion-like noise. Twilights ears popped as she covered her head, her hooves protecting her face from the wrath of the out-of-control experiment.

"Wow, cool!" a small, childish voice stated.

Twilight uncovered her eyes, lifting her goggles so they rested above her horn. Her jaw dropped in disbelief when she spied a completely purple filly with green eyes, no taller than her stomach, standing on the bench, above the petri dish. Her mane was composed of jagged crystal formations, sparkling and crackling.

"Where's my daddy?" it asked in the same voice, though raising in volume "I know you're not my daddy! Where's my daddy?!"

"Twilight- is everything okay down-"

The filly suddenly disappeared in a flash of dark lightning, slithering through the air as it hissed, discharging itself into the air. Spike ducked in the open doorway as it passed over him, coming dangerously close to electrocuting him.

"Twilight..." Spike murmured, standing back up.

"I honestly have no idea, Spike..." Twilight said tiredly, then passed out right on the steps.

Booker sat, staring at the test, wondering just what the hell he was supposed to do in case of magical build-up caused by something called an 'inhibitor ring', when the front door to the office blew open, startling the stallion at the desk, forcing him to fall out of his chair as a whirlwind blew into the office. The blur popped, transforming into a small horse. The thing landed on the floor with a clunk, then bounded into his lap, surprising the ever-living-hell out of him.

"Found you, daddy!" it shrieked, the familiar sound of Shock Jockey arching back and forth between the crystals that made up its mane.

'Sonofabitch...' Booker thought to himself as the creature placed its forehooves on his chest.

"Now I get to hide, and you seek, right?" it asked, grinning curiously.

Booker couldn't think of a proper response to this...this...thing, filly...

"Isn't it...that how it works?" she said, her grin wavering.

"Eh...yeah, that's...that's it alright..." he said, wondering why the hell he was so calm around the thing that had just called him 'daddy'.

"Oh, good," the filly said, sighing in relief "I wouldn't have wanted to get it wrong."

Booker cocked an brow, glancing back and forth between the guardstallion and the Vigor-like pony.

"I've got a...uh...personal issue to deal with..." Booker began.

The guard rolled his eyes, and flipped the hourglass.

"Come back and take the exam after your physicals."

"Is that standard?" Booker asked.

"No, but I feel as if that's about as close as I'm going to get with you."

"I'll be back." Booker said, standing. The filly, incidentally, clung to his vest like a magnet, further confusing the man it was attached to.

"I'm sure you will." the guard responded bluntly.

"We're we going daddy?" it asked, still hanging onto the front of Booker's jacket.

Booker looked down, meeting the filly's green eyes.

"Well...uh..."

'What the hell should I do?' he wondered 'Should I try and take her to Ditzy's? Who the hell should I ask about this kind of thing?'

"Uh...why don't we go home? You must be tired." Booker suggested.

"Nope! I feel as energetic as a penny in a light socket!" she cheered, swinging from his vest as he walked, then her face quickly turned into one of confusion "What's a penny? What's a light socket?"

Author's Note

Before you ask- no, not every Vigor is going to be a pony. How the whole thing occurred will be explained.

Alive and kickin'

"So...let me get this straight..." Booker muttered, rubbing tiredly at his face as "Shock-Jockey" and Anna slept peacefully beside him on Ditzy's sofa "you stole an unknown, highly powerful substance, which you knew nothing about...and mixed them..."

Twilight nodded sheepishly, blushing as she tried to keep eye contact with Booker.

"You're fuckin' insane..." Booker muttered to the princess.

"You...you're not mad?" Twilight asked.

"Oh no, I'm mad- really mad, you and I are going to have a talk about this in the morning..."

Twilight's ears splayed back as her head lowered, not able to look Booker in the eye.

"Which two did you use?" Booker asked, genuinely curious.

"I...I don't know..." Twilight replied, thinking back "I...one was green, and the other was purple..."

"So you mixed Shock Jockey, and...either Possession or Charge," Booker guessed "though given, I think it's safe to assume it was the former."

"Um...how did it happen?" Ditzy asked, mirroring what Booker was thinking.

"I'm not so sure..." Twilight admitted, then looking to Booker "...this 'Possession', what does it do?"

"Exactly what it is," Booker replied "somehow it tricks the target into fighting for you."

"What practical application would this have in real life?" Ditzy asked "And why would you need somepony to fight for you?"

"It's...just the way things were, back home." Booker half-lied.

Twilight adopted a curious expression, then shook her head, presumably to continue thinking.

"If that's the case...then that could very well be the answer!" Twilight answered excitedly.

"I'm afraid I don't follow." Booker stated.

"Me too." Ditzy agreed.

"Well, it's plausible that the power of the Possession was boosted by the natural thaumaturge channels flowing through the air, and when it was combined with the..."

"Shock-Jockey."

"Er, yes- when combined with the Shock-Jockey, it must've resulted in a magical collapse of the thaumati circulating in the air."

"What?" Booker asked.

"Or maybe a magnetic dissonance in the thermosphere, where the natural laws of magic didn't agree with the supernatural powers of the liquids." Ditzy suggested.

"That could very well be a-" Twilight stopped, then stared at Ditzy "how did you know about that?"

Ditzy shrugged modestly.

"Living with two unicorns gives you some motivation to do some light reading, in case of accidents..." Ditzy said, blushing.

"Just what the hell are you two talking about?" Booker asked, his head starting to ache.

"Just some theories, Mr. DeWitt," Twilight replied, then grew concerned "...did you not understand any of that?"

"Not a word." Booker replied.

Twilight went slack-jawed.

"Bu-But- surely your kind must have an advanced knowledge of magic in order to create such powerful potions!"

"Potion, Vigor- hell, they could be both, but it sure as hell doesn't seem like magic to me..."

"I...I...how? Tell me how a your kind, a race with no knowledge of advanced spellbinding or potion-making, could make the liquids!"

"I've got no idea, Sparkle," Booker said, then cringed "I know it's at least one-part science, the rest? You got me."

"I...I need to think on this..." Twilight said, staring at the floor as she rubbed her head "thank you for having me, Ditzy."

"No problem, the three of us hardly have visitors!" Ditzy replied cheerfully.

Twilight walked to the door, then gave a backward glance as she left, slowly closing the door.

Booker rubbed his eyes and stood, mindful of the ceiling this time. Taking both Anna and the purple-maned foal into his arms, he followed Ditzy, whom had slid a wing under Dinky, and carried her on her back.

Booker traversed the hall, and entered a small room. Carefully setting them both on the bed, he allowed Ditzy to do the same.

"Mister DeWitt?" Ditzy asked.

"Yeah?" the tired man answered.

"Are you alright?"

"No...I don't think so."

Booker jumped as a feathery wing eased around his stomach.

Using his foot, Booker slowly pushed Ditzy away from him, and walked to his room. He then eased the door closed, leaving Ditzy in the hall.

"Oh...um...okay-"

This wasn't in the job description...

Author's Note

I own neither the Bioshock or My Little Pony franchises, those belong to 2k and Hasbro, respectively.

This is the first time I've written for a character like Booker, and as such, I've never used this much swearing in a story- like, ever.

Well, Booker went and got himself tangled up into another mess, didn't he? And this time, Anna's involved. R&R, I'm still trying to get Booker's character. Don't be afraid to point out any mistakes either :pinkiesmile: If you'd like to be a proofreader/editor/whatever-else, just PM me if you're interested.

This wasn't in the job description...

Booker's head shot up from his desk, littered with old case papers and an empty whiskey bottle. He stood, his chair squeaking as he caught sight of the calendar on his desk, reading July 3rd, 1896. Grumbling to himself, he rubbed his face, feeling the beginnings of a crop of facial hair. Pulling uncomfortably at his red ascot, he glanced around the dark office- shaking off the last of his sleepiness as he turned, taking the thin string attached to the top of the window. The slats opened, allowing the sun, and by extension, the brilliant sunlight through the window, and into the office, reflecting off of his badge, and the other few metallic objects in the room. Facing the office once more, another succession of knocks made themselves known on his front door as he withdrew his pistol from its holster, ready to blast whoever was on the other side.

'It better not be who I think it is' he thought vehemently, his hand gripping the brass doorknob.

If it was, he had a nice surprise for him- in the form of a rifle he kept hidden beneath his desk, just in case. Popping the door open, he shoved his pistol through, his entire body following, blocking the door.

He was met with a small boy, his tan shirt and a small white block on the breast surprising him.

"T-telegram...fo-for...Mr. D-DeWitt?" he stammered, his terror-filled eyes focused on the barrel of the gun he was staring down.
Booker silently sighed in relief, then holstered his pistol, much to the relief of the boy.

Taking it, the boy darted away from the door, and down the street, running as fast as his legs could carry him, his mission complete.
'As if my reputation wasn't bad enough...' he thought sarcastically.

Glancing over the telegram, he read it several times, just to be sure it wasn't a practical joke.

DeWitt Investigations. Stop.

Situation Dire. Stop.

Help needed immediately. Stop.

Sum of $5000 dollars to be paid. Stop.

Booker choked on the last line- his eyes going wide as he read over the letter multiple times. Flipping the card over, he found an address, one in the next town over, if he wasn't mistaken. Already thinking on the pay-off, he ran through a scenario in his head- do the job, get paid, and walk away with 5k weighing down his wallet, which would in-turn, support Anna and himself for a long while- if he was careful with his budget, that is...

Slamming the wooden door shut, he turned to look at the other door occupying the adjacent wall to the right.

'That's right...I'll have to find someone to watch Anna...' he thought, finding his daughter to be at the front of his mind 'Way to go, Booker- always putting your daughter first...'

Walking to the door, he opened it, then peered out, wincing as the sunrays temporarily blinded him. Living in a housing complex, his neighbors were literally a stone's throw from his office. Stopping at the door next to his, he knocked- waiting for someone to answer.

The door opened, stopped by a chain attached to the wall next to it.

"Hello?" came a motherly voice "Oh, Booker! How nice to see you~!"

The chain unlocked itself, and the door opened fully, allowing him the full view of the woman on the other side. She brushed a blonde lock out of her face as her other hand smoothed her conservative blue dress, in the process of being sown, if the needle and thread hanging from it was any indication. She wasn't very old, though not very young at the same time. (Booker had the decency to have never asked her age)

"Mrs. Winston," he greeted "how's the family?"
"Wonderful!" she replied cheerfully "And little Anna?"
"Same." he replied.

The two stood in awkward silence for a moment. Booker coughed into his fist, then spoke once more.

"So...I was wondering if you could watch Anna for a few hours."

The smile on her face fell.

"I'm sorry, dear," the woman said "we're taking a vacation to Georgia in a few days, and I've still got so much packing to do..."
"Right- well, sorry to bother you."
"No trouble," she said, still forlorn "I'm sorry, again."
"It's alright." he replied, walking back to his office.

It was most certainly not alright, he couldn't just take Anna with her to a job; could he? He mentally slapped himself- of course he couldn't! There were rules to follow, and there was no place for a child in his line of work! But...he couldn't just leave her alone...what if she found a bottle, and cut herself on it? What if she found his pistol and-

'Stop that train of thought right there' he thought, coming down from his panic attack as his mind focused on other things.

What if the job was a phony? What if it was just someone waiting inside a dark building, a rifle pointed between his eyes. He had a lot of enemies, it was a possibility. Of course, that risk came with every offer he took, especially with the last one...

'Shake it off, Booker' he thought to himself, re-entering his office.

Just thinking about what happened at Columbia gave him a headache, much less that he actually made it through that hot mess.

Anna's door creaked open just as he flopped into the chair behind his desk, the small three-year-old toddling into the room. Peering over his desk, he spied her as she continued to search for him, oblivious to his presence behind her. He found himself smiling a bit at his daughter's antics, her adorable little face questionably searching the room. She soon forgot all about him, and spun in place, making a game of it as she giggled. Anna then toppled over, falling onto her rump. Her look of happiness then turned to one of sorrow as her eyes welled with tears.

"Goddammit..." he muttered to himself, practically jumping over his desk to get to Anna before her wailing got too severe.

Picking her up, he bounced her in his arms, which she found great pleasure in- her tears slowly switching to giggles.

He said nothing as he continued to amuse Anna, trying everything from toying with her hair, to tickling her. Spinning on his heels, he jumped back as he spied one of the Lutece twins idly flipping through his desk drawers.

"I see you've cut back on the alcohol." she stated, her eyes briefly meeting his.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" he shouted, shielding Anna from the woman.
"I imagine you don't have the same neighbors for more than a week, screaming like that."

She looked up in time to find gun pointed at her.

"You've got ten seconds." he growled, cocking the hammer of the gun.

"It's simple, really," she said "my brother and I decided it would be best to take a vacation, he's...oh...has the Cold War begun yet?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Booker asked, still not letting his guard down.
"Oh dear, I'm in the wrong time period," she stated, further confusing the man "oh well, might as well enjoy it, I suppose."
"Five seconds."
"In short, I'm here to babysit."
"There's no way in hell I'd ever give her to you!" he spat.
"I'm not asking you to give her to me, I'm asking if I can watch her while you're out."

He shot her a flat look.

"Time's up." he said.

"If you'd be so kind as to let me finish," she said irritably "Comstock might be dead, but you are still alive, extending my contract to you- from this point on, you could say that I'm under your employment."
"How...how the hell does that work?"
"There's really no short answer, and I have no desire to go into it with you at the moment."
"So...no?"
"Yes"
"How can I trust you with her?" he asked, nodding down to the girl in his arms.
"My contract with you clearly states that no harm is to come to Elizabeth whilst under the care of my brother or myself." she said, presenting him with an official-looking document.

Booker snatched it out of her grasp, and briefly grazed over it, taking in the general meaning of the text written upon it.
"Why should I care what a damned piece of paper says what you can and can't do?"
"You wrote it"
"No I didn't"
"Well- a different version of you did, same thing, I suppose."
"By that logic, you and your brother are the same person."
"We are."

They shared a hard glare for a few moments, before Booker begrudgingly placed Anna in the woman's arms, Anna herself struggling in the exchange. He pushed down the horrid memory of doing the same thing to her three years ago, and here he was, doing it again.

'Way to learn from your mistakes'

"I'd better find both of you here when I come back." he threatened, being sure to show her his pistol one last time, before exiting the room, a hint of nervousness etched into his features.

The door closed, leaving Booker's silhouette on the glass. Rosalind then looked down at Anna, the young girl regarding her with curiosity.

"Well...he's got a .1% chance of coming back, that's something, isn't it?"

Anna cooed in response, happily tugging at the woman's green tie.

Booker stepped off the wagon, tipping the driver as he patted his pockets, searching for anything that might've fallen out on the ride over. Removing the telegram from his breast pocket, he checked the address to be sure it was correct. ; he wouldn't want an incident like the one that transpired earlier that day. The setting dusk painted everything a tinge of purple as he walked along the dirt path, dusting his boots as he went. Stopping down the street, he came to an old sawmill, the facility since abandoned for who-the-hell-knew-why.

"Hello?" he called into the darkened building, stepping over the threshold as he withdrew his pistol "It's Booker DeWitt, you and I have an arrangement?"

Something fell off of a sawdust-covered table, kicking up debris as it scurried across the dirtied floor, delving further into the mill.

Booker coughed into his sleeve as the sawdust irritated his throat and lungs, clogging them as he hacked into his elbow. The dust finally settled, and he waved his hand through the air, pushing back any excess floating through the air. Gun at the ready, he probed further into the mill, his boots thudding lightly as the floorboards beneath them creaked with every step.

"We've been expecting you, Mr. DeWitt." a female voice said, as smooth as molasses.

Booker spun on his heels, frantically searching the room for the body the voice belonged to. Something moved in the shadows, and he raised his pistol, pointing it towards the ceiling.

"You'd better come out, right now!" he shouted into the darkness "I'm a lawman! Any harm comes to me, it'll be a federal offense on your head!"

"I find that statement crass." another voice said, that of a male.

"I do believe we should reveal ourselves, if only for his sake, brother" the female voice said.

Booker was doing his best to keep a cool head as the two voices chattered in the darkness, only confusing him more as he tried to figure out just where they were coming from. He was stopped, as a tall figure slunk in the shadows, towards him as a rustling sound could be heard. He pointed his gun at it, cocking the hammer.

"Stay right there." he said, squinting at the figure, trying to get a better look at it.

"Pointing weapons at everything will get you nowhere in life." the male voice commented.

"Oh, I find some necessity in it." the female replied.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" he shouted.

"There's no need to yell," the female chided "you may call me Constance."
"And I Aeolus." the male said.

"Good to meet you- now just who in the hell are you two?" Booker said, eerily calm as he searched for the other person in the room.

"My my, such language."
"It's to be expected with his sort."

"Doesn't answer my question." Booker said flatly.

"Straight to the point, isn't he?" Aeolus said.
"A rather useful trait." Constance replied.

'What the hell have I gotten myself into?' he wondered.

A bright light suddenly flickered to life from above, blinding him as he dropped his gun. It clattered to the floor as his eyesight recovered, revealing to him the tall figure. He stared, jaw agape as his brain struggled to regain control of his body.

"Holy shit..." he murmured, his gun forgotten for the moment.

The tall figure stood at least a whole head taller than him, dressed in a gleaming, white gown. There were several things that surprised him- the two heads, and the equine features being chief among them.

"I'm surprised he hasn't had a breakdown." one head whispered to the other.

"Not that surprising." the other responded.

Booker finally managed to get his mouth to work.

"What the hell?! What in the....what?!"

"Mr. DeWitt." the female, Constance, he remembered, stated, her no-nonsense tone gripping him.

"We have need of your services," Aeolus said "and we need your answer as soon as possible."
"What?" Booker said, still a bit dazed after the blow he'd been dealt.

'A goddamn horse...on two legs...'

Columbia was just a drop in the bucket, compared to this. Now he'd seen everything, and was definitely sure he didn't want to see anymore.

"I've half a mind to slap him." Aeolus muttered.

The two long, white furred arms came down upon his shoulders, shaking him out of his haze. He shook his head, consciousness returning as he attempted to stare into two sets of eyes, one ocean blue, the other emerald green.

"Mr. DeWitt, time is of the essence," Constance said "we need an answer."

Booker, however, was captivated by her sheer beauty, her sparkling green eyes staring into his own. Her soft muzzle perfectly shaped as-

He recoiled, shaking his head wildly as he tried to clear it of the images buzzing through his head.

'What in the world...?' he thought, clutching his head.

He looked up, and saw the two...er, one? The, um, the figure, nonplussed.

"Your answer?" Aeolus asked.

He thought of the money, what good it could do, for his daughter, and himself; he weighed the risks with the reward, and found the latter greatly exceeding the former. He then remembered Anna, still in his office, along with Rosalind.

"I- I can't." he spat out.

Both pairs of eyes grew wide.

"And why would that be?" Aeolus asked, no anger in his voice.

"Anna." he responded simply, that one word explaining everything.

Both of the heads nodded in understanding.

"We foresaw this, Mr. DeWitt," Constance said "which is why-"

The hand on her side of the torso reached out, the pristine, furred hand a stark contrast to the darkness just beyond the pool of light encasing them. A small hand emerged from the darkness, the biped-equine's clasping around it. The rest of the body following, revealing itself to be a familiar form.

Booker quickly snatched Anna from the equine's grip, shielding her protectively as he plucked his gun from the floor. Questions began filtering into his head- just who were these circus freaks, and how the hell did they know everything about him?

"The Luteces set me up, didn't they?"
"Why do you automatically assume it was them?"
"They're always popping in when they're not wanted."

"When they're not wanted, perhaps, but always when they're needed"

"You keep your hands off of my daughter, or I'll put a bullet in you before you can say 'whoops'." he threatened, checking Anna for any possible cuts or scrapes.
"Noted." Aeolus said.
"Now, as for where you'll be heading, Mr. DeWitt-"

"Who said I accepted the job?"
"Your daughter is going with you," Constance said, as if it were a trivial matter "now then, you'll-"
"I'm not putting my daughter in harm's way- not again." he said, cutting her off once more.

"Your commission will be somewhere safe, Mr. DeWitt, your daughter will be in no danger there."
"And I'm the damned chief of police."
"I suppose you'll just have to take our word for it, won't you?" Aeolus said, tossing him a satchel out of thin air.

Booker caught it, much to his surprise, and opened it, finding every vigor he'd used in Columbia inside...along with a sky-hook.

"If it's so damned safe, why the hell do I need these?" he questioned, cocking an eyebrow as he presented the bag's contents.
"It was Rosalind's idea." Aeolus responded.
"Just in case." Constance clarified.

"Uh-huh- and where exactly am I going?"
"The both of you, are going to Equestria." Constance said.

With that, Booker's vision went black as he collapsed to the floor, sawdust kicking up as a smaller figure fell across his body, logic telling him it was Anna.

Something was pulling at his ascot, constricting it around his neck as he steadily opened his eyes, feeling sunlight upon them. Well, he was outside, that was a good thing wasn't it? Rubbing the back of his hand against his face, he sat up, forcing Anna to flop backward, into his lap.

"Well aren't you a smart one." he said, a small smile coming to him as his daughter giggled.

Glancing around, he took in his surroundings, finding Anna and himself placed behind a striped tent, bars of red and white running down the sides. He silently prayed that he wasn't at the Columbia Fair- but...Anna was here...and there was no point in going to Columbia, so...

He stopped himself before a migraine could develop- he wasn't in the mood for any games. His fears were soon quelled, as the scent of actual grass reached his nostrils, as well as the scent of food cooking some distance away. The chatter of a large crowd also peaked his interest- if he wasn't in Columbia, where was he? What was it that...horse? Horses, said? Equestrian something? As he stood, his belongings slung over his shoulder, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He numbly felt Anna's hand in his own as a spike of uncertainty shot through him.

'Just what the hell am I supposed to do here?' he wondered.

He found this to be first and foremost in his mind, and an enormous error on their part. What was the point of sending him here, if he didn't have a damn clue what he was supposed to be doing? Undercover? Riot control? P.I.?

'Whatever it is...I'd better be getting paid...'

He began the journey out from behind the tent, holding Anna firmly by the hand as he walked out into what looked like the main thoroughfare of a large market, and, oddly enough, more horses talking and trading with one another.

'Ironic that I was in the cavalry...' he thought, crossing the dirt street to a vendor.

Walking right up to the stall, he waited, one of the horses occupied with something further inside the tent.

"'Scuse me, could I have some service here?" he asked, rapping on the wooden stand attached to the tent.

"Of course! What can I do...for...you..."

'It speaks English, of course the mutant horses speak English, why wouldn't they?'

The horse's eyes grew wide (wider, since they were already taking up almost her entire head), her orange mane peeking out from under her pith helmet. He found it funny that the horse was wearing a green safari shirt, on top of the fact the horse already had a pale yellow coat.

That was another thing- why were the ponies here every color of rainbow, and then some?

Booker scratched at his face, before composing himself.

"Where are we?" he asked.
"Did you get hit in the head or somethin', honey?" the mare asked.

'I must've, to wind up in this place...' he thought bitterly.

"I just need directions, Miss." he said.

'Can't believe I addressed a horse as 'miss''

"You're at the Rainbow Falls Trader's Exchange," she replied, motioning to the busy crowd, most of whom were regarding them with curious stares "best place to get anything!"

'Rainbow Falls? You've got to be kidding me...'

"Anything, huh?" he said, mostly to himself as he continued to glance at the vendors all around them.
"Yep, if you've got somethin' to trade, chances are, there's somepony who wants it."

"Huh..."

"Now sweetie, you got somethin' to unload, or you just gonna stand there?"

"Uh, no- thanks, I'll just...be on my way"
"Alrighty then, come on back if'n you've got somethin'."

Walking down the street, holding Anna firmly, Booker continued to glance at the tents as he passed them, not staying in one place for too long as he wound his way around the large market place.

'How long does this place go on for?' he wondered, carefully side-stepping many of the small horses crowding the street.

Subjected to Elizabeth's...uniqueness, Booker'd seen a lot of things- but this, he was sure, took the cake. It looked like something that Anna would think of...

Trailing off, he glanced down at his daughter, who was currently taking in everything around her. Her stomach soon rumbled, the small girl blushing as she peered up at him questioningly.

"'Scuse me" he said, catching the attention of a cobalt-blue horse.

The horse's large eyes widened, and it zipped away, galloping full speed in the opposite direction.

'This might be harder than I thought...'

'This might be harder than I thought...' Twilight thought to herself, watching the small filly dart away, thanks in no small part to Pinkie Pie.

"Did anyone see? I don't think they did" the pink mare affirmed, climbing off of Twilight.
"Pinkie, why did you do that?" the purple alicorn asked "I was just about to get rid of my books!"
"The rules of the Exchange clearly states, that both ponies must be happy with the trade- I couldn't just let you trade for something useless!" the mare said, extending a scroll from above.

'What's that even hanging from?' she asked herself.

She shook her head, knowing better than to question Pinkie's antics, remembering the trouble it caused her last time.

"Luckily, I'm here to help!" Pinkie said ecstatically, hopping up to a podium that hadn't been there a minute ago.

Donning a hat, striped-shirt, and false mustache, Pinkie began attracting ponies to the small table she'd set up.

As more ponies gathered, Twilight could only blush as she shrank back, attempting to hide herself from the crowd. She knew full well that she couldn't, being that it was her stall.

A biped caught her attention weaving through the sea of ponies gathered around the table, all still bidding what they had. Twilight saw the foal in the taller's grasp, and wondered if the both of them were new to the exchange, given the stallion looked like he had no clue where he was going. She regarded it with a curious expression as it reached into its side, pulling out a small club with the hand not holding onto the foal. Raising it in the air, a sudden blast scared her out of her wits, along with the ponies gathered before her. Panicking, they bolted, running away from her stand as Pinkie was nonplussed by the small explosion.

"Hey! What's the idea?" she asked, her getup suddenly gone.
"Crowd control-" he- the voice was too low to be female, stated, pocketing club-like object "-they can get out of hand if it got any larger than that."

'That's a bit of an overstatement...' Twilight thought as the hairless biped readjusted his saddlebag.

Pinkie's lip quivered.

"B-but-"
"It's just as well, Pinkie," Twilight said, "they should want my books because they really wanted them, not just because they belong to a princess."

The taller biped regarded her with a cocked eyebrow, the smaller one with fascination.

"Now I've seen everything." the stallion said, his hand rubbing his face.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Nothing." he stated, shaking his head.

Twilight approached the biped, her hoof outstretched.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you."

"Name's Booker...er, same, I guess..."

"Pardon me if I'm blunt, but- just what are you?" the princess asked, circling the stallion and his foal, looking him up and down.

"I could ask you the same thing." Booker replied, purposely dodging the question.

The foal's stomach rumbled, and 'Booker' looked down at her, before picking her up, much to the foal's enjoyment.

"Sorry, gotta go" he said simply, walking through the crowd gathered to find out what happened.

They parted as he approached, letting him pass as Twilight continued to stare at him, his behavior intriguing her as she thought more on his appearance.

'Maybe I should look into his species when we-'

Realization came to her, as she realized the biped had avoided her! He was getting away! He could at least be kind enough to give her his last name!

With that, the lavender alicorn took off after this 'Booker', Pinkie following as she kept up, hopping a few feet at a time.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Booker looked over his shoulder, and found the purple and pink ponies following him, weaving through the crowd. He picked up the pace, and ducked behind one of the vendor's tents, narrowly avoiding his pursuers. Taking a breath, he bent over, both hands on his knees.

'Wait a minute...' he thought, his mind registering that Anna wasn't with him.

"Anna? ANNA!" he shouted, calling for her as he wandered back into the bustling street.

Most of the ponies gave him a wide berth as he continued yelling, cupping his hands around his mouth as he frantically scanned the area- the young girl nowhere in sight.

Flying down the road, he dodged a cart coming down the street, barely missing it as he ran past an orange regular pony, and a white horse with a purple mane, donning a horn.

"Anna!" he called continuing to furiously search for his daughter.

"Uh...did y'all see that?" Applejack asked, rubbing her eyes with a hoof.

"How could I miss it?" Rarity replied, the baffled unicorn watching the strange creature yelling 'Anna' repeatedly "What do you suppose that was all about?"

"I ain't sure...think it had somethin' ta do with that smaller thing we saw wanderin' around?"
"It's a possibility," Rarity admitted "they do look quite similar..."
"Ya think it needs help? It looked pretty worried..."

"That's an excellent idea, Applejack," she affirmed "and perhaps a certain third party could decide which of us is the better friend?"
"We can, but I can tell y'all right now- he'll pick me."
"Are you so sure?"
"Yep, ah'm willin' ta give up my pie pan fer yer fancy jewelery."
"And I told you, that I will gladly let you get said pan if you take my things, along with yours."

"Then I reckon we'd better let him decide"
"I suppose we shall"

"Anna? Anna sweetie, where are you?" Booker called, peeking through the cracks in the tents he passed, hoping to at least find her passing one of them.

He was growing frantic- what if he never found her? What if someone took her? What if he had a repeat situation with Elizabeth? Missing for almost another twenty years? He couldn't stand the thought, how was he supposed to cope with it if it actually happened?

'Stay calm Booker,' he thought, steeling himself as he continued his search 'panicking will only make things worse.'

Convincing himself that his daughter was fine for the moment, he practically flew down the street, desperately searching for any sign of Anna.

"Anna!" he called.

Plenty of horses, still no sign of his daughter- sighing to himself, he tiredly continued his mission.

Twilight ducked behind a cart carrying several crates, each one containing a chicken. She'd made it just in time, the creature almost spotted her- the whole purpose of following him was to find out more about his species, if that happened, this whole thing would be pointless!

Pinkie bounded up behind her, staring at the clothed creature from behind her.

"Twilight." the pink mare said, causing the purple alicorn's ear to flick in response.

"Shh." the princess hushed, straining to get a better view of him.

"Twilight."

"Pinkie!" Twilight shushed.

"Twilight, I've got something important to tell you."

"What is it Pinkie?"

"Why don't you just go walk up to him and ask him?"
"How did you-"
"You've been muttering to yourself for the past few minutes."

"Pinkie- I just can't go up and...and talk to him." Twilight stated.
"Why not?" she inquired.
"What if he's royalty? An important dignitary from his land, sent here to see our way of life?"
"So? You're a princess, you're royalty too- you'd just...talk about royal things!"

"But what if he isn't a prince? What if he's just somepony we've never seen before?"

Pinkie facehoofed, and gave Twilight the most serious look she could muster.

"Then you'll have lots to talk about!" she giggled, dragging Twilight behind her as she hopped towards the creature.

The princess stuttered as her friend plopped her beside 'Booker'- she turned, and prepared to scold her friend, only to find the pink mare zipping down the street- presumably to find their other friends. She tapped her hooves together nervously as she glanced up at him, the bipedal creature oblivious to her presence.

"Um, excuse me sir-"

It spun on its heels, making her jump. He stared down at her with a manic look in his eye.

"Have you found her? Have you found Anna?" he asked, taking her by the shoulders.
"I-I-I-"

"Nevermind, I'll do it myself-"

He trailed off, whirling around once more as he muttered to himself worriedly.

'Is this normal behavior for his species?' she wondered.

A shrill scream filled the air, and Booker's head shot up. Dashing away, the biped ran towards the source of the noise- what had made it, Twilight had no clue. Yet she found herself following, at any rate, and was curious to know more about Booker, as well as who this 'Anna' was. Was it the foal? Or maybe a spouse?

She found herself thinking too much on it, and instead decided to investigate further into the matter, running after Booker- the biped's height making him easy to follow.

Booker's boots pounded against the road as he ran, following the distinct sound of Anna's scream. He took a sharp right, and soon came to a dead-end, nothing but vendor tents surrounding him. Swearing under his breath, he turned and ran the other way, making his way past a small collection of oddly shaped lamps, as well as a horse with a rainbow for a mane. His mind demanded that he stop and question it, but his heart was louder, telling him to keep going, rushing through the crowded street. A gathering of the horses exclaimed in protest as he pushed past them, practically stepping over them as he ignored them.

"Anna?" he called, hoping his daughter would hear him.

Running into an open area, he spied her, a large, two headed dog furiously licking at her face, the small girl laughing as it did so.

"Hey- hey! Get away from her!" he shouted, running towards the beast.

It spun, and growled at him, both sets of teeth barring themselves as its hackles raised themselves. He decidedly couldn't just use his pistol, one reason being that he would be shooting the thing right in front of his daughter- the other being that the thing was chained to a post, meaning that it probably belonged to one of the horses wandering around her. That could spell trouble for him if he wasn't careful.

Opening his bag, he removed the bottle of Bucking Bronco from it, the black and orange symbol of the horse on the topper staring back at him. Popping off the top, he downed some of the liquid, the almost-sour stuff sliding down his throat, pushing the bottle back into his satchel. As he did so, his hands were already began to crack and fray, looking like they'd been laying out in the sun too long, and dry as a desert.

The initial queasiness had passed, and Booker held his hand out towards the dual-headed dog. His palm spread, sweat ran down his forehead as the dog was lifted into the air, hovering a few feet off the ground. It figured out what was going on, and it snapped it jaws fruitlessly as it hung in the air. Booker approached Anna quickly, and took her firmly by the hand, leading her away from the dog before the vigor's power wore off. Picking her up, as to not lose her again, he hugged her for all she was worth, squeezing her tightly against him. She wrapped her arms around him, returning the affection. Holding her out, he began to admonish her, happy that she was safe.

"Don't you ever run off like that again, young lady!" he said.

The young girl giggled happily, then touched his nose, her small fingers gently pinching it.

"Love you too..." he muttered, his attempt at parenting shot down.

"Just what in the hay was that?" a scratchy voice behind him asked.

He turned, his expression one of confusion as he discovered the rainbow-horse he'd darted past earlier, as well as a yellow coated one with a voluminous mane of pink.

"Um...magic?" he tried.
"How? You don't have a horn." the horse pointed out, shooting him a glare.
"Is there a problem with that?" he deadpanned.

The mare grew panicked, and tried to defend herself.

"No! No- it's not like that, just- how the hay can you use magic if you don't have a horn?" she said hurriedly, glancing around to the crowd behind them.
"Practice" he responded, deciding to keep the answer short.

"But how?!" she pressed.
"None of your business" he replied curtly, turning away.
"Hey! I'm not finished with you!"
"But I am, bye"

"Rude." Rainbow said.
"I'm sure he had a good reason," Fluttershy suggested softly "he did have his foal with him."

"Yeah, probably...let's follow him!"
"Oh, but...what about your book? We still need to get this lamp back to the mythical creatures vendor."

The pegasus' head alternated between the mysterious creature, and Fluttershy, trying to decide which would get her the first-edition faster.

"Yeah, you're right," Rainbow conceeded, trotting in the opposite direction, her friend following "we'll probably see it again- if somepony else gets that book, it'll be gone forever!"

'Note to self, subject 'Booker' is capable of levitation,' Twilight thought to herself, slipping past a tent, where a dark grey unicorn stallion and a rose-colored crystal pony were haggling with what they had 'subject is extremely defensive of his foal.'

She continued compiling the information about 'Booker' in her head, sorting everything she knew about him in neat, mental piles.

'You'd learn a lot more if you followed Pinkie's advice.' a small part of her brain stated.

The princess quickly squashed it.

'I can't just waltz up to him, I need to go about this scientifically- if I embarrassed myself...I...I...'

'It can't hurt, you can talk to him- you're basically the MC here, it'll be a 'meeting amongst royals' to him-'

'But-'

'If he isn't, you'll just be a friendly princess greeting him- after all, wasn't it us that said we didn't want to sit on a pedestal all day?'

"Whatcha doin', Twilight?" Pinkie asked.
She jumped, surprised at her friend's sudden appearance.
"Pinkie..." she said, holding a hoof over her heart.
Her friend giggled, then joined Twilight in watching the biped and his daughter.

'Alright, here goes nothing...'

Twilight took a deep breath, realizing that, once again, she'd let something small almost get the best of her. Her inner reasoning was correct, and she should have nothing to fear from chatting with a mysterious creature that she'd never heard of. Steeling herself, the princess took a single step forward, fully prepared (and a bit nervous) at the prospect of talking with 'Booker'.

Imagine her surprise when Rainbow Dash came flying out of nowhere, taking her by the hoof.

"Twilight! I need you to say a trade wasn't fair! Fast!"

Mean, green, fixing machine

"Rarity- Spike..." Booker heaved, going weak in the knees "...don't...do that...again..."

The unicorn and baby dragon nodded tiredly, just as tired as Booker was.

"Spike...you owe me..." he added, collapsing onto the grass.

Spike had somehow managed to cast some sort of manipulation spell on Rarity, next thing he knew- Rarity was re-decorating, re-furbishing, and re-upholstering everything in sight. Spike, probably thinking he was up to his ear fins in trouble, and came to him to help solve the problem. Holding down a marshmallow white pony was a lot more difficult than it sounded- especially when said marshmallow white pony was a unicorn. It took both the combined efforts of both Spike and himself to just catch her.

The baby dragon nodded in resignation, closing his eyes as his tiny chest puffed in and out.

A gentle breeze blew by, brushing his face and body as he stared at the stationary clouds hanging against the pure blue backdrop of sky.

Pain twinged in his gut as the soft grass tickled the back of his neck.

'Must be low on salts...' he thought to himself, removing a small, hardened lump from his vest pocket. Taking a very hesitant bite, he slugged the small lump of salt, and the burning in his muscles ceased, at least temporarily.

'Must be the magic in the air.' Booker thought, glancing at the tired unicorn and baby dragon.

He could only assume that the magic was speeding up his recovery, or at least that's what he assumed, based on Twilight's lecture earlier in the week.

"So...what's the plan now?" Spike asked, apparently looking to Booker for help.

"Beats the hell out of me." he shrugged, glancing around the empty field.

"Well..." Rarity began, popping her spine as she rose "the first thing you're going to do, is confess to Twilight about this little escapade."

"Not to mention, destroy that book..." Booker muttered under his breath.

"What was that?!" Rarity snapped, her mane frazzled.

"I think we've all had a rough day," Booker sighed, really not wanting to pick a fight with an angry and stressed unicorn "why don't we all head back home and talk about this tomorrow? No one has to find out until then."

Rarity looked as if she were about to argue, while Spike glanced between the two of them, an expectant look on his face.

"Fine...I suppose we've had enough excitement for one day." Rarity replied tersely.

Spike and himself sighed in relief simultaneously. Rarity began at a moderate trot, then progressively came to a limp, one of her hind legs acting up.

He briefly thought about making a joke, given the situation, but the three of them had had a long day, and now wasn't the particular time to agitate either Rarity or Spike.

Booker approached Rarity, and plucked her off the ground, with no small amount of effort. Carrying a colt or filly back in the cavalry? That was easy. A full-grown-pony, about the size of a German Shepherd? Not so much.

"Mister DeWitt! I'll have you know-"

"I don't care what you 'know'." Booker grumbled, walking back into town.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Look..." Booker sighed "...we're all tired...let me just do this...and...you can give it to me tomorrow, okay? You're limping."

Spike muttered something incoherent as Rarity blushed hotly. Booker simply rolled his eyes and the trio continued their journey towards the Boutique.

"Mister DeWitt?" Spike asked.

"Yeah?" Booker grunted in response.

"...have you ever killed anyone?"

"...yeah..." Booker responded, unsure where the conversation was heading.

"Did...d-did you enjoy it?"

Booker turned and stared at the young drake questioningly.

"I-I mean...was it easy? To look at someone that you've....?"

"Some of my buddies back on in the cavalry would say it gets easier with time..."

"And you?" Rarity asked, interested.

"...no..." he answered "...it's never easy..."

The three finished the walk back in silence.

Booker entered his new place of residence, he took notice of Anna napping on the couch, and made a beeline for his room. Once inside, he loosened his tie and dove onto the bed, closing his eyes and adjusting himself.

The sound of little hooves on the carpet gave way to confusion. It was only after 1 o'clock, Dinky was still in school- Sparkler and Ditzy were out...

His question was soon answered as four small hooves landed on his back. He shouted in pain, and glared at the newest addition to the household. The purple filly was now looking at him in concern, her features turning into a frown as her ears flipped downward. Booker rolled his eyes, not finding the energy to scold her at the moment. Begrudgingly, he opened his arms and the filly leapt forward, curling into his arms.

Booker sighed, and rolled over, so the filly was now laying atop his chest.

'God...' he thought, starting to drift off 'why the hell am I always the one in these situations?'