Nothing Personal, It's Just Rule 63

Chapters

The Blue Mare's Apartment Room
Freak or Friend?
Steady Influx
Headquarters Interior

The Blue Mare's Apartment Room

With a sequence of audible groans, a blue Earth Pony mare flipped about in her bed, her black and brown mane and tail disheveled considerably. Belly down, belly up. Belly down, belly up.

At this particular moment in time, there was but one thing on her mind. Most likely because it was occuring in her head.

Pounding. Her head simply would not stop pounding. Every time the various contents of her mind rattled against the interior of her skull, she felt discomfort.

She slowly sat up in her bed, holding one hoof to her head to stop it from collapsing back onto the luxurious tablet of white known to her and most other ponies in Equestria as a pillow, for if she did that, she would go back to the land of nod. There was no doubt about that.

"Another hangover. Well, isn't that just sweet," she muttered to herself, while slipping out of her bed. Once her hooves made contact with the floor, its cold, hard surface a stark contrast to the warm, soft support of her bed, she strained to stay standing up straight. Though she had to put a bit of effort into it (because hey, no pain, no gain), she managed to achieve it. Once she had gotten past the slight swaying for the first few seconds of using her legs, as opposed to her mattress, to support herself, she was on all fours again. With another groan, she began to start her weary journey over to the window.

"Wonder how late it is," she thought aloud as she pulled the shades open. A near-inaudible gasp and a hoof hastily held in front of her eyes were the reflexes caused by the bright rays of morning sunlight that pierced through the glass and into her eyes that had clearly not gotten the rest they deserved.

After taking a moment to adjust to the intrusion, she took in the site from the high-rise window, watching as the streets of Manehattan bustled with activity stories below. Ponies getting to their destinations via hoof, wings, or vehicles, the colours moved from place to place. The ponies down below didn't even seem to notice how ridiculously bright Equestria's benevolent ruler Prince Solaris had decided to make the sun shine this morning. Either that, or Xenna's sensitivity to light had gone up a few notches.

Probably the latter.

Suddenly feeling dizzy, she moved away from the window fortunately collapsing into a leather chair just behind her.

'Good thing that was there. I was thinking of moving it to the other side of the room!' she mused to herself.

Having retrieved the mental energy required to think, she thought further. There were plenty of things that were for certain:

• It was time to get ready for the day ahead.

• Her assistant was going to be here any minute to lead her out.

• She was not in a mood for leaving the comfort of her bedroom.

'What's a few more minutes?' she decided, forgetting about the important things that could strike today, and leaned to one side, preparing to put her brain on standby mode again.

A knock on the door sent her jolting back up before she had even finished closing her eyes. "Yo, Xenna!" called a young, male voice. "You awake yet?"

"Now I am, you inconsiderate twerp!" Xenna shouted back as she leaned into the chair. "What's going on?"

The door to her room opened to reveal a tan unicorn stallion with a brown and orange mane. Seems like an innocent enough description, right? Sure - once you count out the fact that his horn was broken off.

Finding that not much effort had been made to lock the door sealing off access out and in the room unless the door was unlocked (which it currently was), he invited himself into the room. "So, I thought you wanted to discus-"

He broke off his sentence, noticing his employer's condition, to which he let out a sigh and frowned.

"Apparently not. Lemme guess... you stayed out drinking again last night, didn't you?" he deadpanned.

"Glad to see you're having a good morning, Sakuyi," snapped Xenna, managing to lift her rump, which bore a cutie mark of a quadrilateral shape on either side, off the chair and land back onto her feet. Perhaps hangovers served as a reminder that all good things come at a cost - you go out and have some drinks, it takes a toll on your Bit savings, and furthermore, you wake up with a headache that felt like it could indicate the Third Reign of Eris.

"Please give me a moment," she told her assistant. Sakuyi just waited and watched as Xenna struggled to make her way over to the nightstand positioned next to her bed, and after a few moments of searching, found her glasses.

"Alright, sonny," she addressed the hornless Unicorn standing before her as she slowly fitted her glasses on her face. "What is it you wanted to discuss?"

Sakuya simply gave the blue mare a puzzled look. "I think we'd better get you something to eat, and then it's down to the office, yeah?'' he suggested. Under ordinary circumstances, it should have been Xenna, the boss, telling Sakuyi, the assistant, what to do, but in her current situation, without good directions from somepony, Xenna would have been slumped on that couch for quite some time.

Sakuyi wrapped his hoof around Xenna's nape and guided her towards the door and out of it, hoping that she'd come to her senses soon enough. When you're managing an organisation, you can't really afford to have hangovers unless you have an assistant to haul your flank over to the office.

Is this story getting boring for you, my friends? Please don't go - we've got plenty more lives to focus on. Manehattan is a pretty populous city, after all.

Freak or Friend?

Inside a terraced house, there was a staircase. The staircase led to a door. Opening the door would show a red Pegasus mare sleeping happily in her bed, and a beige and brown dog laying on the end of the bed and seemingly in the same condition as the mare whose legs it was resting on.

Rahleigh Blythe awoke and stretched her arms as she produced a yawn to symbolize that she'd had a peaceful night's sleep.

"Good morning, Cupcake," she said to her faithful companion, who got up to nuzzle her owner.

Now that she was awake, she needed to think of a way to spend her day.

She looked outside at the window. The day seemed reasonably sunny, and the Pegasi that flew above the roads and sidewalks seemed rather content.

"C'mon, Cupcake," said Rahleigh, as she got up and headed towards the door. Cupcake followed the Pegasus downstairs.

~~~

Rahleigh knocked on the door of her family's house. It was opened by a pink stallion with a brown and white mane.

"Big sis!" exclaimed a magenta filly, rushing over to Rahleigh and clinging around her leg.

The older mare laughed. "Yes, Reecia, it's me," she said with a smile. "Anyway... I was just wondering, could you guys take care of Cupcake? I have quite a day ahead of me."

'Though I'm not sure what exactly it's going to ensue...'

"Sure," said her father. Cupcake walked into the house.

"How have you been, Cupcake? Eh?" said Reecia as she petted the dog affectionately.

Rahleigh smiled at the display. "Thanks," she said. "Later!"

And with that, she spread her wings and flew up to the sky. After meshing some clouds together to make a wide mattress for herself, she lay down on it, and took one final gaze at the city below her before closing her eyes again.

~~~

A white stallion with a disheveled dark grey mane and a baseball cap the same colour as his coat entered the coffe shop and perched on a seat. "A black coffee, please," he said to the mare behind the counter, who grabbed the things to prepare the order.

When his coffee was placed in front of him, Aidan Elderberry picked it up and looked aimlessly out of the window.

The small bells rang to indicate another customer entering the store. Aidan didn't think much of it at first, but everything seemed to get a little quieter just as it happened, and he noticed the pony sitting next to him looking at the new arrival.

Aidan turned around to see a unicorn stallion. His horn was broken off, and his cutie mark was that of a broken heart. Part of his ear was missing too, but that was nothing compared to the damage done to the Unicorn-exclusive appendage on his head.

'Geez, neither of those things can have a good backstory. Whether you leave them alone, or put them together...'

Much as he wanted to go over and ask the stallion what had happened, he decided against it. He knew he'd absolutely hate it if he had a glaring injury which ponies kept cropping up here and there to get more information about.

He simply raised his coffee to his mouth and took a bigger-than-usual sip...

He slammed it down. "Hot!" he exclaimed quietly. He must not have fully woken up yet.

A few moments after, a new pony pulled up beside him. It was the same hornless unicorn stallion.

"You okay?" asked the unicorn, holding out a napkin. 'Guess he forgot how hot coffee can be!'

"Sure, I'm fine," said Aidan, accepting the napkin. Having been friends with Rahleigh for many years, he was used to the random, frequent bouts of kindness she treated both friends and strangers with, but it was pretty obvious that the lights were on but nopony was home. With other strangers, it seemed unusual.

Given that the stallion had chosen to be curious about him, Aidan decided to do the same. "What happened to your horn?'

The stallion frowned, which made Aidan wish he hadn't asked.

"Nothing much," said the stallion. "A group of unicorns attacked me and my father when I was still a colt. He was a Zebra who took me in off the streets and taught me Zebra magic."

Aidan's interest peaked higher and higher as he continued listening in to the stallion's story.

"They told us it was 'impure' for us to use Zebra magic, and that's when one huge mare, about the size of three stallions, broke my horn off."

Aidan felt a subtle pain in his forehead where his horn would be if he were a Unicorn.

The stallion went on. "She told me, 'You wanna use Zebra magic? Won't be needing this then!'."

In contrast to the pitch-black tale he had told, a smirk appeared on his face, which would make a foal cry instead of laugh. "And boy, was she right..."

Aidan knew that couldn't have been a good sign. Well, for the gang of ruffians, at least.

"So... what happened?" he asked.

The hornless stallion grinned. "Let's just say those bullies won't be bothering anypony else ever again."

"Even without my horn, I could still use Zebra magic, thanks to all that my father taught me. I grew up with it." He paused as a server deposited a basket containing two coffees and a pair of apple danishes. "About that time was when I met my new employer. She was rather impressed with my... skills..."

~~~

Sakuyi had the room to himself, now that everypony else had fled in shock and horror. It was true that snapping off the mare's horn hadn't regenerated his own, or brought his adoptive father back, but it made him feel a helluvalot better.

"Hey," came a female voice. He turned around to see a blue Earth Pony mare, who cantered over to him.

"That was an impressive performance," she said. "I could do with a man like that around the company."

Sakuyi tilted his head.

"Oh, my apologies, we're not quite acquainted yet, are we?" said the mare. She held out her hoof. "Xenna."

Sakuyi stood there for a few seconds before extending his own hoof. "Sakuyi," he said as they shook hooves.

"Well, what I'm saying is..." said the mare, whom Sakuyi now knew as Xenna. "Want a job at my organization?"

Sakuyi leaned in closer. "Please, do go on..."

~~~

"Well, any employer would have to have an IQ in single digits not to hire you. Zebra magic seems pretty darn amazing!" said Aidan. True, this story did seem like something the stallion had pulled out of his plot (not that Aidan would say it to him), but he had the broken horn to back it up.

He decided that they had better get acquainted. He planned on conversing with this stallion for a while longer. "Aidan Elderberry," he said, gesturing to himself. "And you are?"

The stallion gave a light chuckle. "Sakuyi," he said. "It's a Zebra name. My dad gave it to me when he took me in." Sakuyi took another long sip from his coffee. 'I wonder if coffee has magical powers too. How else could it be so helpful when waking up?' he joked to himself.

He grabbed one of the danishes and offered it to Aidan. "Here," he said. "Xenna won't care. Probably doesn't even remember asking for them! She had a pretty bad hangover this morning..." 'I'll just tell her I forgot.'

"Gee, thanks," said Aidan. He took the pastry and bit into it.

'Hmm... apples.'

"So, this Xenna gal," he said. "I'm guessing she's this boss of yours?"

Sakuyi nodded as he took a large bite of his own danish. "Yup. Big businesspony here in the city. I'm her..." He flipped through his mental terminology. "Executive Assistant. It pays the bills, and has its benefits." A further bite of the danish. "And yourself?"

"I'm an archer. Had the bow and arrows ever since I was a colt," he said, and shifted his flank to show Sakuyi his cutie mark. "Sorry for the self-promotion, but..." He placed a business card in front of Sakuyi. "You know, since I'm an Earth Pony, I had to practice for a while before I could stand on my rear legs to hold the equipment."

"Archer, huh?" restated Sakuyi, picking up the card. "Never met one before. Sounds interesting."

He glanced over to the clock mounted on the wall. "I'd better head out," he decided, getting up. He looked back to his new friend. "Wanna join me? It's a decent walk across town."

Aidan nodded. "Sure, it's not like I had much else to do today." She was plenty interested in this pony, and the same appeared true in reverse. How convenient. "Lead the way."

After getting a bag for the danishes and tossing out the coffees that had gone cold, Sakuyi was now walking down the street, Aidan close beside him. "So..." he said. "Do you just teach regular ponies, or have any other interesting clients?"

"It's usually just your run-of-the-mill, everyday ponies who show up," responded Aidan. "But I do occasionally get some more well-known faces. If the client mentions that they're from Canterlot, I get hesitant about tutoring them. See, in my opinion, Canterlot is filled to the brim with snooty ponies who think that they're better than everypony else simply because they're wealthier."

"I did go to Canterlot once..."

~~~

Aidan sat at the table, waiting for his meal.

A waiter went over to him. "Sir, may I please request you to remove your hat?" he said.

Not happy about taking his hat off, Aidan turned around and shot back, "May I please ask you to kiss my flank?"

About a quarter of a minute later, the waiter came back into the restaurant smiling, as if he hadn't just picked the abrasive customer up like he was the lightest thing in the world and tossed him out the doors.

~~~

Sakuyi frowned after Aidan recounted his tale. "Well, that certainly hasn't helped my opinion on Canterlot ponies," he said. "Xenna goes there from time to time, mostly for business deals and whatnot. I've never accompanied her on those trips."

He paused, allowing a mare to pass from the other direction. He then resumed his conversation with Aidan, eyeing his cutie mark.

"If somepony tried pulling that on me, I'd give them a 'private archery lesson', if you catch my drift."

Aidan blinked. "...I do catch your drift," he said. "And it seems waaaaay over the top."

Sakuyi laughed. "So it does."

He looked up, for they were now approaching a large, square tower, with ocean-blue glass for walls. He gestured towards the entrance, where two security ponies in black uniforms stood beside each other on the ready.

"And here it is," he said. "Why don't you come on up? We've got a great view of the waterfront, and you can tell me more about this archery of yours."

'I might just take him up on a lesson,' he mused. 'That should give me a chance to one-up that cocky Maraud!"

"Sounds like a plan!" said Aidan. He was surprised at how quickly things had gone, so quoted some fitting words in his head:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FONN-0uoTHI7

Steady Influx

Rahleigh woke up from her nap on the fluffy cloud and let out a yawn. But she could no longer feel the cloud under her. What she did feel was an intense wind blowing.

She took the time to better focus on her surroundings, and saw that the top view of Manehattan was drawing closer and closer to her.

'Yup, I'm falling.'

As soon as she had thought that, she went straight through the roof of a building with a very, very audible *SMASH!*

She looked up to see a blue mare wearing glasses. The mare, whoever she was, had a shocked expression her face. Her expression transitioned as she recovered, and approached Rahleigh. "Greetings," she said with a sarcastic twitch to her voice. "And who are you?"

Rahleigh got back up onto her four hooves. "Rahleigh Blythe," she introduced herself, shaking the other mare's hoof. "Uh, sorry about your roof. Or is it a ceiling? Because it has a different name depending on whether you're in or out. For me it's a roof, and for you it's a ceiling. If you have to, like, log this in an accident report or something, would you call it a roof or a ceiling?"

The blue mare chuckled. "Hey, don't worry. I could use a new skylight." She looked up at the pony-shaped hole in the ceiling/roof. "O I could make a rooftop door out of it. Quick getaway in emergencies, y'know. After all, it does take a while to get down a few dozen flights of stairs from the top of a skyscraper."

With that, she moved over to her desk. "My name is Xenna, and I own this building." Taking a seat in her leather chair, Xenna leaned back. "Good timing on that... eh, landing. My previous client just left not so long ago, and had she still been here, it would have been awkward, trust me..." A smile crossed her lips.

"Yes it would," agreed Rahleigh. "So... what do you do around here, Miss Xenna?"

'I know I keep a low profile, but really? She's never heard of me...' thought Xenna. "Well," she said aloud. "I own this here company. Mostly a shipping and resource provider business, thoguh we do have some manufacturing concerns as well." She pressed her two front hooves in front of her chest and rested her chin on them. "You'd be surprised at the kinds of 'resources' some ponies require. And how much they're willing to pay for them..."

"Ooh, is it like Manehattan Department Store? With lots of different merchandise?" asked Rahleigh. "What sort of stuff do you sell, exactly?" he asked, being the curious mare that she was.

"Well," Xenna began. "We're not a store, per se. More of a... contractor, if you will. Other businessponies come to me with a need for a service of some sort, and I arrange it for them." She reached for a file that was sitting on the desk. "For example - the client that you just-" She glanced at the ceiling. "-missed. She's a manager for the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation. We just signed a contract to provide them with resources, for the Rainbow Factory. Should earn a nice profit for me." She sat back in her chair. "But enough of that. Tell me, what brought you to my rooftop this morning?"

~~~

Now that she wasn't dealing with anything important, Malaysia was contently strolling down the street. You'd think that a pony with a rep and title such as hers would be sitting in an office making calls, doing paperwork and whatnot. But Malaysia was one for doing things her own way, i.e. goofing off. While on her journey through the street, she greeted some of her friends and some ponies she had done business with over the days, while twirling her steel bat in her hoof as if it was the lightest thing.

When she turned the corner, she couldn't help but stop and stare at one of the most gorgeous stallions she had ever seen in her life. His coat was a very pale pink, almost white, and his eyes were a bright ruby red. Not to mention two other not-too-bad-looking stallions that entered the same building, even though one only had half a horn. As she surveyed over the building, her memory of who owned it was coming back to her. She couldn't help but smirk.

Without really thinking, she cantered over to the building. As soon as she reached the door, she was stopped in her tracks by two rather large security ponies in black suits. Just by the looks on their faces, she could tell that they were thinking the same thing: "Piss off."

Which just made Malaysia's smirk grow. She then rested her bat on his shoulders and started stretching her back, neck, and arms. Of course, she could just show her family's crest to show who she was, but one of Malaysia's favorite things to do was cause havoc.

After a little stretch, Malaysia stood back up and uncovered her left eye, which had been covered by her hat. Not to scare the burly security ponies, but to get a better look at where she was aiming.

Then, without warning, she swung the steel bat right into one of the guard's kneecaps, which made a loud crack. As the pony fell over in pain, the other one was headed straight for Malaysia. But Malaysia was quick enough to hold out her bat and strike the other bodyguard's throat with it.

Rather than killing, this caused the security pony to be knocked out cold while bleeding considerably. Perhaps throwing in a little brain damage too.

After dishing out the same thing to the other one, she wiped the blood off her bat onto one of their suits. Then she made her way inside with his bat resting on his shoulder, as if nothing had happened.

She walks up to the pair of stallions she had seen earlier, namely the one with the broken horn, and the one with a rather grayscale color scheme save for his bow and arrow cutie mark. She stepped into the elevator along with them, wearing a smooth smile and with her left eye closed. "G'day, gents."

The white very, very light gray stallion turned to look at her. "So, the guards let you in too, huh?" he commented.

Malaysia noticed the stallion's silvery eyes glance towards the patch of red on her bat.

The one with the broken horn was not so tolerant, however. "I hope you know what you're doing," he snarled, glaring at Malaysia. "This isn't just anypony's building, you know." He too eyed the steel bat before stepping between Malaysia and the baseball-capped stallion. "Try anything, and I can guarantee you that the only way you'll be getting out of this building is in a bodybag..."

Malaysia simply smirked. "I like a lad with a lot of fire in him." She examined him and sensed a bit of darkness in him, but not without being accompanied by a little light as well.

You see, Malaysia was part-demon. Her father was a regular Earth Pony... but her mother was a demon. It's far-fetched, I know, but I'm the narrator, so you have to believe everything I tell you.

The world will end in 24 hours.

...

Haha! GOTCHA!

"And really, the ponies at the front just let me in. They just needed a little... 'convincing' is all." She chuckled as she adjusted her hat slightly.

The half-horned stallion scowled at her. "I know what you want," he said, "and you won't find it here. I've dealt with ponies a lot worse then some filly with a bat, trust me." A slightly wicked grin crossed his face. "Although, if you'd prefer, I can arrange a demonstration." He took a deep breath, preparing a chant his father had taught him long ago...

But before he could say a word, Malaysia halted him from saying anything... by pulling him in and giving him a kiss like they were long-lost lovers. Most ponies wouldn't dare do such a thing like kissing someone without their permission, or busting two door guards' heads just to meet a couple of guys. But unlike any other mare, Malaysia always acted on impulse. And this random kiss with someone she just met was proof of that.

But one thing was for sure - the stallions weren't happy. The gray stallion grabbed Malaysia and pulled her away - but this was not so he could kiss her. "Okay, I'm going to be straightforward here - just what in Tartarus do you think you're doing?" he asked harshly.

The stallion with the broken horn leapt past and tackled Malaysia, using his limbs to pin her down to the floor. "Don't you EVER touch me like that!" he snapped, and bent his head to hold his roughly-cut horn just an inch away from Malaysia's throat. "Give me one good reason not to end you right this minute!"

She never wiped her smirk off her face. "Well for one, I was just rightfully defending myself. I don't like it when magic is used on me without consent. I mean that was just rude, it's no way to treat a lady," she said in a sickeningly smartflank voice. "And neither is what you're doing now. And two...well... I don't like to give this out 'cause it seems like I'm just using her name to get around. But... I'm one of the Caporegime for the Semi family, Malaysia Semi. A pleasure to meet you."

Then she opened her left eye. In the family, her mother was well known for her (logically) demon-esque eyes. It was even on their crest. Which Malaysia showed by opening up her tacky shirt and pulling it out of the inside pocket.

Slowly moving off of her, the hornless stallion scowled again in defeat. He knew of Semi family. Xenna had done some business with them before, though she usually stayed away from organized crime, preferring to stick with shady business deals between companies.

He held a leg out in front of his companion, who had an equally distrustful expression towards Malaysia. "It's cool," said the former, keeping his viewpoint fixated on Malaysia. "She isn't just a punk off the street. Though," he cocked an eyebrow, "I think a simple greeting would have made this much easier..."

"I said 'good day', does that not count as a greeting?" Malaysia said as she stood up and picked up her bat before resting it back on her shoulder. "Besides, simple is boring." She reached into her other shirt pocket and pulled out a rather large cigar. She put it in her mouth but didn't light it. "Plus, you're a pretty good kisser, even though I did most of the work." She chuckled at her own joke.

"Giggle all you like," the tan stallion snapped back, while hitting the button for the top floor. "But I don't care if you are a big shot within this family of yours. Just give me an excuse, and I'll drop you right off this tower!"

'Maybe Xenna will let Aidan and I use this bitch for archery pratice,' he mused to himself. The nerve of this pony! He'd maimed others for less! 'Last time, all a Pegasus had to do was SUGGEST something, and I twisted her wings so bad he'll never fly again! I should KILL her for what she tried on me!'

Ah, yes, you're not familiar with this, are you? Well, in his early days, some suggested that the hornless stallion - Sakuyi - only earned his place in the organization because he agreed to sleep with his employer, Xenna.

"He gets a new job, and as an added bonus, he gets to be inside another mare," he had overheard a Pegasus mare say. "Them stallions are all the same."

She was later found unconscious in a back alley, her wings disfigured beyond repair. It was clear that the organization had done a good job of turning this insolent mare into a fine example.

Were the rumors true? Nopony but Sakuyi and Xenna knew. But there was one thing for sure - the rumors, true or not, faded away as quickly as they had come.

Leaning against one of the elevator's walls, Malysia chewed on her cigar, bearing the same smirk. It became wider across her cheeks as she felt the darkness in the stallion's heart pulse a little bit, which indicated he was having some dark thought, most likely about her. "You got it, sweetheart. I'll be a good girl... most of the time." She laugh again. "By the way, I didn't get you'z boys' names."

"And you never will," snapped Aidan. "If you're looking to get a coltfriend, you'd be better off going to date some monster in Tartarus." Even if he didn't have insecurities about romance embedded in his head, Aidan would sooner date Queen Sombra than this repulsive mare.

"Enough of this!" burst out Sakuyi as the elevator slowly made its way up the tower. "You do realize who you've just offended, right? My name is Sakuyi, right-hoof pony for Xenna. I see you've heard of her. Then you must also know what happens to those who get in our way. Even your family won't be able to protect you..."

Malaysia's smirk didn't so much as waver at the mention of Xenna's name. But she did know of her. "I have heard of your boss. But sadly I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting her. And trust me, I don't need my family to protect me. The number one value in the Semi family is 'Strength of one's existence in mind, body and soul.' Basically, if you have to depend on the family for every little thing, then you have no right to wear the name Semi. You gotta fend for yourself and be your own guard." Her red eyes seemed to glow like hellfire for a second. "Plus, I have no intention of getting in your boss' way. Just as long as she doesn't try to get in mine or my family's way."

She casually bit a part off her cigar and swallowed it. Then she took out a match, lifted up her hat (but while still covering her horn) and struck the match on it making it light. Then she used it to light her cigar and tossed it into her bag. "By the way, Sakuyi is such a lovely name," she commented with a charming smile. Then she looked towards the light gray stallion. "And if you wont give me your name then I'll just have to call you something else." She scratched her chin. "Hmm, how about... Bianchi? I think it suits you."

Aidan had never heard of that name, but neither had he heard about this mare and her family.

"Whatever," Sakuyi replied, rolling his eyes. 'Let her boast about her self-importance. I know better. And that little act with the cigar was good...' He glanced over at Aidan. 'Anypony else might be distracted, but I've seen worse.'

As he was preparing another verbal assault, the elevator came to a sudden stop - *PING!* - and the doors slid open.

Headquarters Interior

Now that the doors made way, Malaysia could see the other side. At the end of the hall, she noticed the Prince Charming she had seen just outside. Next to him was a blue mare with glasses. Her demon eye focused on the mare, and there was a large cloud of darkness surrounding her - accompanied by very little drips of light. Malaysia's eye also began to glow while her classic smirk grew sufficiently big that it showed off some of her sharp teeth that some would say should not belong to her.

He didn't need to ask to know when the stallion was. Malaysia casually brushed past Sakuyi as if he was nothing but air, and made her way towards the blue mare. The smoke from his cigar seeped out of her mouth and nose like a slumbering dragon as her eye got brighter. Malaysia was all smiles. So what if her sharp teeth were showing? When she got but a few feet from the mare, she addressed her.

"Miss Xenna, I presume?"

"Yes, Xenna would be me," Xenna confirmed. She had gotten practice at keeping a neutral face on from years of corporate board meetings. "And yourself?" she asked, stepping towards her.

"Malaysia," Sakuyi interrupted, clearly in a grumpy mood as he stood beside his boss. "Two occupations: part of the Semi family. Punk."

"Well, that's rather unfriendly," put in Malaysia. "I like to consider myself an eccentric, if you will. But yeah, like the boy said, I'm Malaysia Semi, a Caporegime for the Semi family," she explained as she took another puff of her cigar before blowing the smoke away from the occupants of the room, so as not to be impolite. "Not sure if you've heard of me, but I'll bet you're acquainted with my momma, Semiazas."

"Of course, Semiazas," replied Xenna. "I was contacted by her team on one occasion. Organized crime. Something I've tried to avoid myself." She waved a hoof around the room, as if there was an invisible fly. "I, of course, have taken great measures to keep this company as legit as possible, at least as far as the law is concerned..." She gave a frown. "They seem to have a problem with me operating independently from the Families."

Before Malaysia could respond, a red Pegasus mare stopped in front of her. "I'm not a smoker myself, but can I just say what a cool cigar that is you have there?" she asked eagerly. "Like the kind ponies in the movies use! Are you here to sign a contract to be in a movie? Isn't that what you do at a contractor business? Does that cigar have a hidden weapon inside it or something?"

Malaysia looked at her cigar and smiled at the energetic mare. "I guess it is kinda cool now that you point it out. And sadly, no, I'm not here to sign a movie contract," she replied. "It doesn't contain a hidden weapon. But that gives me an idea..." She mulled it over some more before patting the mare's shoulder. "I like you."

Malaysia didn't sense the faintest bit of darkness in the mare. In fact, a rainbow wrapped itself around her as she smiled innocently ear to ear.

Malaysia took out another cigar and tucked it behind the mare's ear. "Here's one for yourself whenever you feel like taking up smoking."

Now back to her little talk with Xenna. She turned to the blue mare, but she seemed preoccupied talking with her assistant, one of the two abrasive stallions she had met in the elevator.

As for the other abrasive stallion... "Rahleigh!" he snapped angrily. "That mare is part of organized crime! You just encouraged whatever filthy deeds she's got planned!"

"I didn't know..." said Rahleigh, backing down.

Malaysia looked towards them. "Hey now, don't be like that, Bianchi. My line of work may be a bit out of the confines of the law, but that doesn't make me a bad person." She walked closer to them. "And you can't scold her for not knowing something. That just ain't fair. I mean, if that were acceptable, you'd be getting your cute flank whooped every single day of school."

"We're leaving," announced Aidan with the bluntness of a butter knife. "C'mon, Rahleigh," he instructed his companion, getting behind her and inching forward. Back when they were foals, Aidan was usually the one to save the day when Rahleigh had gone and gotten herself into trouble, such as climbing a tree with no idea of how to get down (before she learned to fly), or getting stung in the rump by a bee.

"I'll escort them down," said Sakuyi.

When the elevator doors opened, Sakuyi led Aidan and Rahleigh inside. "I'll be back later," was his message to Xenna before the doors sealed them away from each other from Sakuyi pressing the 'Doors Close' button after the 'Ground Floor' button.

"Well," he said, looking at the two ponies who shared the descending room with him. "That certainly proved interesting. Could do with more mornings like it," he commented. "Sorry for yanking you out like that, but I was getting a bad vibe from that mare..."

"Sorry? If anything, you deserve thanks," said Aidan. "And whatever bad vibe she was gving you, I'm sure mine was more or less the same."

He leaned in and whispered, "I know my friend here is cool with it, but she... well, I think her brain cells might be made of rainbows."

Sakuyi chuckled, and turned to the Pegasus. "So... what brings you to our tower? You don't strike me as a regular visitor."

"I fell straight through the roof," said Rahleigh with a smile and without the slightest hint of pessimism in her voice. "I was napping on a cloud, and I woke up to discover I was falling, and what do you know? I landed straight into the building!" he explained. "Miss Xenna and I had a nice chat, and my tongue landed on the ground, so I got to taste the floor. I think it was... Osmane cleaning products?"

Sakuyi looked at Rahleigh. "Cleaning products? Osmane?" He shook his head. "Yeah, sure. Not really sure what the cleaning staff uses. Perhaps you could check with my boss."

'She's a little... strange...' thought Sakuyi, giving the mare a brief once-over with his eyes. 'Almost... innocent. Like a filly.'

He turned to Aidan. "I get the feeling you two know each other," he said. "Old friends?"

"Yup!" put in Rahleigh. "Perhaps the story of how we met?"

~~~

"Alright, game's up, Blondie, gimme your lunch money!" demanded the purple, green-maned filly, advancing towards Rahleigh. She raised her hoof...

The bully found herself being bumped by a white colt with a dark grey mane. "Well, if it isn't Mister Gormless!" she said snarkily. "Here to commend me on my skills for catching you off-guard from behind and nabbing your lunch money?"

"Look here, missy," he said angrily, and shifted his flank to show a symbol of a bow and arrow. "Don't mess with the pony with a bow and arrow for a cutie mark."

The filly seemed suitably unnerved before she bolted.

The white colt smiled, then cantered over to Rahleigh and held his hoof out for her.

"Um... thank you," said Rahleigh."

~~~

"As far as I know, she never dared pick on anypony again," said Aidan with a satisfied smirk.

"Good to know you got a good story out of it," said Sakuyi, laughing. "I've done worse to ponies myself for less."

The elevator came to a halt, and with a ding, the doors opened with the trademark *PING!*. With Rahleigh and Aidan in tow, Sakuyi stepped out into the lobby.

Suddenly, the two guards who were assaulted earlier came up, but Sakuyi waved them off. "It's under control," he told them, and with wounded pride, then moved away.

"Sorry," Aidan addressed the two guards. "I'm sure you were really hoping to tear that Malaysia pony apart limb by limb." He then caught up with his two friends - one old, one new.

"Anyway, got any place in mind to head to?" asked the latter.

"Aidan, Sakuyi, guards... up for McDockalds?" asked Rahleigh. "I hear they have a new meal available for a week only."

"I've known her long enough to tell you she's got a big appetite," said Aidan. 'Were her parents half-whale?'

"Sounds like it," replied Sakuyi as they went back into the daylight. The city was truly alive, with ponies of many types and colors rushing here and there. "I guess I could go for a hayburger. Lead the way..."

Rahleigh scanned the area for McDockald's. "Where is it?" she murmured. "We gotta find it! No McDockald's means no hayburger and no hayburger... oh, that was easy!" Her sentence diverted as she noticed McDockald's. She lead the two stallions to it.

Their problems were not a thing of the past just yet, however. The line was like a snake.

"I know how to get past this," said Rahleigh confidently. She put on a police officer costume. "Cops get extra privileges, and you two can be civilians."

Sakuyi blinked. "A cop?" he asked as if it weren't obvious. He turned to Aidan. "You really think this will work?"

Aidan half-lidded his eyes. "It's worked before."

"Then off we go! It's on me!" said Rahleigh gleefully, and entered the building. "Ladies first!" she said chipperly as she skipped past the occupants of the queue before taking a place at the front.

"Officer Blahleigh Rythe patrolling," she said. She gestured to her friends. "And I have two civilians here with me."

Sakuyi simply coughed into his hoof, attempting to contain his bemusement. 'Impersonating a police officer for a cheap meal? Now I've seen everything!' He turned to Rahleigh. "I guess just a combo meal for me," he said.

"Same," said Aidan blankly.

Soon enough, they were sat at a table, munching on their food. "So... what else shall we do today?" asked Rahleigh.

Sakuyi shrugged. "I'll be honest, I really don't know. Most of my days are spent working. And the nights-" He frowned. "-keeping Xenna out of trouble." He sipped from his drink before continuing. "She's been spending more and more time at her favourite club, just lounging around and drinking like a fish, forcing me to keep things running. What self-respecting mare does that?" He sighed heavily. "This has been the first day in a while I've really been able to slip away from the office."

Rahleigh's ears perked up upon the mention of a club. "What club is this?" she asked eagerly. "I like clubs! And partying! Are you free tonight? We could all go together! I'll bring along my friends!" She continued to ramble on.

With a slurp, Sakuyi finished the last of his drink before answering. "It's a downtown place called the Scratch Shack. She's been going there almost every night for the past few weeks." Another sigh. "Spends most of our extra Bits too. If we don't get some more business soon, I fear she may drink all of our Bits away..."

"Considering how you just described Miss Ennex's relationship with this Scratch Shack place, sounds pretty popular!" said Rahleigh. "Let's go tonight!"

"Sure, why not?" replied Anala.

"My friend Baileef is a bartender, and she owns a bar. The Frayed Saddle, it's called. Perhaps I could take her along? Oh, and some more of my friends, Ivory and Brutesy," Rahleigh went on.

Sakuyi smiled. "You wanna invite the rest of Manehattan too?" he said, laughing afterward. He turned to Aidna and asked, "Is she always this excited about everything? Or is he on something?" He grinned, hoping that her friends would recognize the joke, and not assume he was serious...

Aidan grinned equally in response as he turned to look over at his ranting friend. "She's got enough youthful energy to use as a power source," he replied. "Who knows? Maybe the licorice she always used to buy from the candy shop as a filly had some sort of secret ingredient in it..." he mused.

Sakuyi laughed. "If only that energy could be harnessed," he replied, glancing at Raheligh. "We could make a fortune!"

Aidan imagined Rahleigh hopping around like a lunatic while having some kind of metal science hat on her head, transferring energy from her to homes.

Sakuyi turned to glance at a nearby clock. "I'd better head out now," he said. "We're suposed to be purchasing a building a few blocks from here. Some plan Xenna has to build a downtown casino." He couldn't help but frown. 'Gee, I wonder who the regular customer of that building is gonna be...'

"But tell you what," he went on. "How 'bout you meet me later at the club I mentioned? Gimme a sec." He reached nto his bag, pulled out a card, and wrote a quick address on the back. "Here," he said, placing it in front of them. "That's my business card. Just show it to the bouncers, and they'll let you in free!"

Getting up, he smiled at his new friends. "Thanks for lunch! And I hope to see you tonight!" With a final nod, he trotted out of the diner.