Things To Do Today

I tear off the plastic wrapping of the pack and pull out a cigarette, lighting it with a spark from my magic.

Check.

Buy a pack of squares

THINGS TO DO TODAY

I glance up at the clock tower. I've got about an hour until I'm needed, plenty of time to get ready. I trot away from the store and back towards the apartment. It's a sunny morning, and the townsfolk are out in droves, slowing me a little. I barge through them, receiving angry shouts, but nothing else so I shrug it off. I want to get back so I can get ready and leave this backwaters shit hole as soon as possible.

I round a corner and end up at the market, it's even more crowded than the last street, but most of the traffic is around the stalls (obviously). I stay down the middle, largely avoiding the crowd and ignoring the cries from the peddlers. Reaching the end of the street, I turn left and reach where I'm heading. Check.

Arrive at the apartment

I pull out the key and unlock the door, putting out my cigarette before I step through the threshold. I push the door closed behind me and head into the bathroom. Gotta make a good impression, gotta be clean, or they'll never buy it. I take off my saddle bags and shove them in the cabinet under the sink, keeping them hidden. Gotta stay hidden, or the whole thing will be ruined. That sorted, I switch on the shower and leave it to warm up. I figure I can tidy the place up a bit before I wash, no point in getting sweaty again after getting clean. I make sure all the books are on the shelf, there's no crap laying around on the floor, and the carpet is clean. All looks good to me. Satisfied, I head back into the bathroom, locking the door behind me and stepping into the shower.

I don't have time for a long wash, so I start shampooing and cleaning myself. I just have to look good for when they arrive. I rinse the products out of my mane and fur and turn the water off, stepping out of the shower, no longer smelling of smoke and sweat. I grab a couple of towels in my magic and start drying myself. Magic helps speed up the process, and I'm done fairly quickly. I unlock the door and head into the bedroom. A look at the clock reveals I have 35 minutes left. Opening the wardrobe, I take out it's only contents: and immaculate suit. I lay it out on the bed and start putting it on.

I have to look the part, after all.

Shirt on first, then trousers, then the tie and jacket. I put on a watch and some gold cuff links, and put on some aftershave to complete the whole thing. I'm all sorted. Five minutes left, all I have to do is listen for the door. I use this time to make sure all the paper work is ready. Even if it is bullshit.

Just like that, there's a knock at the door. They're early, but that's okay because I'm ready anyway. I open the door with a smile I hope is convincing.

"Mr Macintosh, Ms Applajack. Please do come in! And I see you've brought Winnona with you, too."

I step aside to let them in, stroking the dog as she passes. I must have done a good job, because I don't think they're suspicious of me at all. Yet, anyway. Check.

Confront the investor

"Now, if you'll follow me, I have everything we need ready in here, all it should be is signing a few forms." I lead them into the living room. Check.

Explain the situation

"Would either of you care for a drink?" Gotta be convincing.

"Nnnnnope."

Predictable.

"Just a water, if'n y'all please." Replies the sister, now seated on the sofa.

"Certainly, Miss." This works out in my favor, it certainly makes the whole thing less difficult.

I go into the kitchen and fill up a glass from the tap. I slip in a couple of pills and let them dissolve fully before trotting back out and giving Applejack.

"Thank ya kindly!" She takes the glass from my magic, gulping down nearly half of it in one chug. This should work out fine for me.

"Now then, onto business." I have to take charge now, or nothing will get done. "If you'd just sign here Mr Macintosh, then you can be on your way." I slide the papers towards him and he briefly scrutinizes them, before adding his signature, completely none the wiser. This is why it's always good to be in a position of trust when completing a job like this.  He slides the papers back to me, completed. Check.

Have him sign the documents

"Very good." I put the documents safely in a binder. "Well, now that that's all completed..." I trot up to Macintosh, we're almost face to face.

With all the power I can muster, I smack him right in the temple with a right hook, and he goes down, out cold.

"What in tarnation?!" Applejack jumps up, but the pills are taking effect. She sways for a moment before falling back down, also out cold.

Growling reminds me of the presence of the dog. I restrain the fleabag with my magic, it barks at me as I drag Macintosh out of the room and into the kitchen, closing the door behind me. I throw him onto a chair and tie him to it. I restrain his hooves too, just in case. Check. Check.

Bind him to a chair

Cuff him

Safe in the knowledge that if he should come to I should be perfectly fine, I drag him into the bedroom with my magic, the door now keeping the dog at bay. He's now on the bed, face down, still in the chair. He isn't going anywhere, so I leave for the bathroom, to get my bag. Check.

Place him face down on the bed

I drag out my saddlebags from under the sink and empty the contents out. The parts are all here, so I start assembling, slowly and carefully so as not to make any mistakes, the parts coming together with a satisfying click. After about a minute of construction, it's ready. I leave the bathroom levitating the crossbow along with me. Macintosh is still out cold, this is turning out to be an easy job. I set down beside the bed, turning the incapacitated stallion onto his side, so I can get a better aim at his barrel. I aim right for his heart before pulling the trigger.

Click.

A few seconds wait reveals he's stopped breathing. Check.

Shoot him once

Now I can begin cleaning up, removing any trace of me from here. I head back into the bathroom and remove my suit, carefully folding it and putting it into my saddlebags. I then set about carefully dismantling the crossbow, placing the parts back in the bag. I pull out some rubber coverings for my hooves from another cabinet and put them on. Can't be getting blood on them now. Check.

Remember Gloves

All set and ready to go, I've got to remove all traces of me from this apartment before I leave. I'm not going to jail. I go into the kitchen and get out a vacuum cleaner from the boiler closet, and begin looking for any traces of me. Check.

Scan apartment

I start cleaning my fur and any strands of mane from the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, thoroughly.I can't take any risks here. It's a slow, laborious process, but a necessary one, if I don't want to get caught. Getting caught means not getting paid. Getting caught means the rest of my life in prison. Satisfied that I'm untraceable in this part of the apartment, I open the door to the living room and-

Shit, the dog!

An angry snarl is my only warning as it jumps up at me, knocking me back, trying to tear at my throat. I push back hard, throwing it against the wall, but it just growls and gets back up.

Kill the dog

The dog runs back at me, teeth bared. I shove it away again, making a lunge for a kitchen knife.

Kill the dog

It barks and runs back at me, but I'm ready this time. As it jumps, I hold the knife up and force it out, hitting the mutt square in the stomach. It collapses to the ground with a whimper, still breathing.

Kill the dog

Evidence

The little altercation has left me and the whole place a mess. I'm running out of time now, any longer and I'll miss my train out of here. I rush around again with the vacuum, desperately trying to throw the track off of me. Shit, I gotta get the knife too, and clean that. It's still in the dog. The dog is still alive. Two birds with one stone. Check. Check.

Kill the dog

Evidence

I take off my gloves and shove them in the bag too. I won't be able to get rid of them so close to the scene, they're covered in, well, me. I rush back into the living room and grab the binder with the documents in. A quick look reveals they're still in there. I pull out the fake ones with a sigh of relief, leaving only the actual contract, the important part. Satisfied, and with a sigh, I turn to leave the building, Applejack still passed out on the sofa. Boy, is she in for a shock. She wont remember a thing, either, poor girl. She should've just stayed at home.

I stuff the binder in my bag, my client wanted those signatures. I'm sure I have everything, so I head out to the train station, back towards Canterlot.

A job well done, Mr Flim will be most pleased.