Chirpy Hooves Breaks Her Quill and Gets Caught Up in The Underground Rock Trade.

Reggie, Chirpy, and Dinky all ran out onto the street. The storm was hitting Ponyville at full power with a downpour of rain and concussive thunder. Chirpy fell down on the sidewalk across the street while having a coughing fit before Reggie came over to pick her up.

"Get up kid we have to move! It is only a matter of time before more come to finish the job. Can you walk alright?" Reggie asked while he pulled Chirpy to her hooves.

"I am fine but where can we go? We are out in the open!" Chirpy said.

"That is what I am trying to avoid. We all need to get inside somewhere to lay low until nightfall. I can arrange for a team to take us out of Ponyville under the cover of darkness," Reggie replied as he started to run up the street.

Dinky looked away from the burning house and followed behind Chirpy and Reggie. She ran up to Reggie and shouted, "I don't know what the big idea here is Mister but we need to get our mom!"

"Listen very closely because I am not in the repeating mood. Your beloved sister has gotten your family involved in something that no one wants to be involved in. I have been sent by some good ponies to save your sorry little behind from some very bad ponies. As you can see I am not doing a very good job and it would be helpful if you could shut your trap and follow close to me," Reggie said while running farther down the street.

"But what about my mom?" Dinky hollered.

"If I can arrange for her to be extracted out of Ponyvile then I will do it. However, you and your sister and top priority. Also please lower your voice! If it isn't conspicuous enough that we are the only ponies out in the storm; yelling about our plans will surely tip someone off to our presence," Reggie retorted.

The trio weaved in and out of the swamped streets, jumping between alleyway and sidewalks in silence. Chirpy and Dinky tried hard to keep pace with the rather athletic Reggie but to no avail. Dinky demanded that they stopped and slumped over against a brick wall in an alley. Reggie tried to pull Dinky up to her hooves but she refused to move any farther. Chirpy kneeled down next to her exhausted sister and tried to coax her sister to get moving again. Reggie pushed Chirpy out of the way and laid Dinky across his back. With some effort he was able to continue on his route at a walking pace.

Rain poured down harder that ever before and the wind made it hard to stand. Chirpy looked up at Reggie and saw the incredible strain that was exerted onto him. The trio slowed to a crawling speed before they were barely moving at all. Reggie finally stopped and looked around the immediate vicinity.

"I don't think we can go much farther. That pool hall over there is a good enough spot to hide for now," Reggie said in between deep breaths.

"My mom tells us to stay away from those kind of places," Chirpy stated.

"Good, I suggest you listen to your mother any other time except now. Pool halls are usually nothing but trouble but I used to frequent this one and it is pretty chill. Follow my lead and whatever you do, don't wander off," Reggie said as he lead the sisters through the doors.

As soon as the group walked in they saw a large, neon sign that read: "Mikey's Leisure Hall". The interior was well maintained and gave off a welcoming vibe. There were maroon walls in between patches of wood paneling with knick-knacks strung upon the walls. Eight pool tables were stationed in the center of the room bordered by booth seats illuminated by hanging light fixtures. Chirpy turned her head to the right and saw a bar tended by a lone, elderly bartender (half-asleep and using the counter for support by the looks of it.) Beyond the patch of pool tables there was a small stage that was only brightened by a single spotlight. A single guitar player strummed forlornly for an absent audience. Apparently these two didn't get the memo about today's storm and were now stuck working even though no one would venture out into the torrent of rain and wind.

"Go sit over there by the tables. This won't take long," Reggie said while he walked over to the bar.

Chirpy and Dinky took a seat at one of the many open tables. Dinky caught her breath enough to become curious about exactly what had happened. Although Chirpy didn't feel like admitting she accidentally got involved in gang warfare; she couldn't leave her sister in the dark about the real danger that faced the entire Hooves family. After Chirpy stumbled through an explanation Dinky fell silent. The look in her eyes just killed Chirpy. They were so distant and cold. It seemed as if Dinky's entire childhood was just pulled out from under her. Gone were the days of carefree play and easy living. Instead, their lives would be spend floating from on place to another or they would separated all together.

After a while Dinky finally spoke up, "It wasn't your fault. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So where do we go from here?"

"I don't know but I am sure Reggie is figuring it out. I just can't help but thinking that mom is still in danger though," Chirpy said.

"Mom is a pretty tough cookie. She has raised us all by her lonesome while keeping up with the demands of being a mailmare. What I would be worried about is that Reggie guy. Are you sure we can trust him?" Dinky asked while looking over at Reggie who was using a pay phone.

"He hasn't given us a reason not to. Shoot, he sheltered us in the fly-by and carried you across town on his back. If that isn't reason enough to trust him, I don't know what is!" Chirpy said with confidence.

Reggie hung up the phone and wrote something down in a notebook. He marched back over to the table and tried to break the bad news.

"I tried everything I could but it seems that I we won't get an escort until tomorrow morning. There is still no word on whether your mom will be able to be extracted with us or not," Reggie sighed.

"We got this far! Why can't we get out of town all by ourselves?" Chirpy inquired.

"It is to risky kid. The Boss doesn't think it would be safe enough for me alone to get you out of Ponyville," Reggie explained.

At that moment the front door slammed open while knocking the entry bell so hard it fell off the wall. Two figures emerged at the door. As they stomped their way through the joint, Chirpy and the others ducked underneath the booth. Chirpy couldn't get a very long look at the two but she was pretty sure that one was a unicorn and the other was a pegasus. They made a mess of the bar when they overturned stools and hopped over the counter to threaten the bartender.

"Where are they?! Tell me where you are hiding them or so help me I will snap you like a twig old timer!" the unicorn shouted.

The bartender didn't say a word to the relief of Reggie. What followed was a moment of tense silence before the shattering of liquor bottles echoed throughout the room. The poor old bartender must have been in horrible shape but Chirpy and Dinky wouldn't know since they opted not to look. The aggressors made their way to the center stage and tackled the guitarist before he could get away.

"Now that we are at an understanding, where are they?" the unicorn hollered.

"I don't know what you are talking about? Who are you looking for?" the guitarist whimpered.

"A pegasus with two fillies, the pegasus goes by the name of Reggie. Please make this easy for us. I hate to cause a mess," the unicorn said more reserved in tone.

"I don't know a thing about them and if I did I wouldn't tell you brutes!" the guitarist shouted with contempt.

The unicorn looked over at his pegasus friend and said, "Break his guitar. If he doesn't talk then break his fore-hooves so that he can never play again! I am going to comb the area and make sure they aren't hiding."

Chirpy, Dinky, and Reggie got really quiet. The steps of the unicorn grew louder and louder until suddenly he was right in front of the table.

"Hehe, look who is hiding like a foal. Come on out Reggie! Face me like the colt you once were!" the unicorn said as he overturned the table and pulled Reggie to his hooves.

The pegasus walked over to the side of the unicorn. They both stared him down in unblinking silence, unsure of what to do.

"You know Reg, I honestly thought we lost you for good but I guess I overestimated your abilities. All that time you have spent with those frilly Knights of Equity must have made you a dull blade. Tell me now Reg, even if you claim to work for the betterment of all of us and yourself; are you still the same hustler I left for dead three years ago?" the unicorn said.

"You haven't changed one bit Mikey, I see you still think I have any empathy for slime who rely on cheap cheats and intimidation to make a living. I regret every moment I ever spent in this hall with you cheating honest folks out of hearth and home. What do you want with me?" Reggie replied.

"Its not you I want but those fillies over there have a price on their head so high I could pack up my whole operation and move to Las Pegasus!" Mikey explained.

"Well you aren't going to get them. So are we going to fight like gents or will you have your little pegasus street rat do all the work for you?" Reggie taunted.

Mikey swiftly popped Reggie right in the snout forcing him to take a few steps back. Reggie flew over and dived on top of Mikey, picked him up by his hind legs and threw him into a pool table.

"Don't just stand there! Knock the living crap out him!" Mikey said to his pegasus accomplice as he tried to get up.

The pegasus blindsided Reggie and tackled him into some tables. There was a resonate snap upon impact. Reggie winced in pain and rolled over to reveal his crippled wing. The pegasus was about to finish Reggie off when Reggie did the one thing that he could to balance the odds.

Reggie lifted off his trademark fedora to reveal a horn.

"That's impossible!" the pegasus shouted while taken aback.

Reggie charged up a spell and sent the pegasus flying. He landed with a thud on the stage before convulsing from an electric charge that seemed to fizz out all over his body. With the punk out cold, Reggie slowly got up on his hooves and walked over to where Mikey was spread out across the pool table.

"I wouldn't say the Knights made me a dull knife. Next time you take a gamble on a contract, make sure you know the odds. It has been a pleasure Mikey and hope you don't mind the mess," Reggie proclaimed proudly.

Reggie ran over to the sisters and lead them out of the building.

"Reggie! In all the books I have ever read there has never been a male alicorn!" Dinky said in excitement.

"And there still isn't kid, let's just say I have had some work done. Now if you to would get a move on because I believe we are going to be doing that whole running for our lives thing again!" Reggie said.