The Fast, Dangerous and the Furious

Chapter Thirteen: The Dead Eye Score

I tugged at the sleeve on my tan suit while walking out of the restaurant. Daring was somewhere behind me probably still getting ready. A loud crack from the sky made me look up.

A large red flare was fired high into the sky just before it exploded into dozens of smaller red flares. Several other colored flares were sent up that turned into large designs once they exploded. Colors rain down from the sky while one of the explosions erupted into the shape of a pony.

I kept moving and trotted past a large fountain that spouted water high into the air. My eyes were drawn to it. With some time to spare I strode over to the fountain placing my fore hooves on the cold stone railing surrounding it. Lights from the fireworks seemed to dance around my reflection. I tapped the railing with my hoof and moved away from the fountain while another set of water shot up into the air.

“This place sure is colorful at night.”

I stopped at the entrance of the Redemption Casino staring straight up at the top floor. This casino has it all, night club on the top floor, dining room on the fourth floor, I think it has a comedy club on the third floor and everything else is set up for gamblers. It also has all the unicorn slaves you could possibly want. Time to do what I do worst, gamble. I trotted inside the casino.

Machines dinged all around me, each one making me wish I had some earplugs, while I scoped the area out. Several ponies were already trotting out after losing a fortune at the slots. Some of the more lucky players were walking out with a few bags of gems. I’m hoping we’re going to walk out with enough money to pay off the others.

Venturing further into the room I took a look into a mirror set up near the restroom. Damn, I am in love with this suit! Rusty needs to give me his tailor’s number. My eyes went to the phone that had been strapped to my fore hoof. It looked like something out of a comic book. The thing went perfectly around my fore hoof like a watch that also had a touch screen built into it. Probably the only time I would get to use one of these since it was expensive as hell. Plus the last part of the plan involved me ditching it. I wondered what the startup cost for this job was.

Another glance at the door had me noticing more ponies gathering inside with each passing minute. Once I took in one more deep breath to regain my composure I went to work. One of the slot machines caught my attention. Maybe just one game. My horn was about to light up. No. I have a job to do. My hooves kept moving while I got the feel for the first floor.

The phone vibrated. A floorplan took up half the screen revealing all the entrances I could use. I didn’t really need it, but it was better to have it just in case.

“That game was rigged anyway,” a stallion next to me grumbled. His hoof smacked the machine’s side. Just as he turned his attention to me I looked away pretending to not have noticed a thing.

I found my way to the bar area and they had … Sweet Celestia, the biggest collection of Apple Whiskey around. Oh, and they also had Sweet Celestia, apparently that’s also a bottle of whiskey.

My jaw dropped, the rest of my body went into autopilot; I did the only thing I could do in my mesmerized state. Take a seat. I want that one … and that one … Daring might like that one. The bartender was a zebra. “Pegasus Breed,” I ordered politely. Can’t go wrong with a classic. The zebra set the bottle in front of me while I slid the bits his way, making sure to also include a few in his tip jar.

Around the room the lights dimmed letting the lights on the slot machines illuminate the area like neon lights from a glider. They all started to dim, then as if on cue, relight to the beat of the music playing around the floor. I actually recognized the song. It was by a mare named Sweetie Belle. Her last song actually.

Han should be in the guard room right now making sure the cameras are down in the jail cell. Oceans and Rusty are probably prepping the drill. Just need War and Daring to get here then we can put everything into motion. “That is some mare.” There wasn’t any time for that. Even the look on my face told the zebra I wasn’t interested. He pointed a hoof at the entrance. I turned around skeptical.

Damn … Daring actually looked nice. She had on a sparkling red dress that just made you want to keep your attention on her. Her mane was groomed. Pinned up. It almost looked as nice as Celestia and Luna’s mane style. Almost.

The bartender trotted off to another customer while my fore hoof vibrated. I looked down at the picture taking up part of the screen. It was Han. I answered. “Hey, Runner the cameras are down. Let Rusty know,” Han muttered just loudly enough for me to hear. I hung up, tapping the number Rusty had given to me in the process, he answered right away.

“Han’s brought the cameras down. We’re starting the plan now.” I hung up.

I felt a hoof hit my back just as a sharply dressed gun slinger, who no longer looked like a gun slinger, took a seat with me. War sure knows how to sneak up on people. “Don’t look so nervous.” I am not nervous. I looked down at my leg. It was shaking uncontrollably almost like I was about to have an anxiety attack. Focusing on something else, anything that came to mind which ended up being engines, my leg stopped moving.

This is actually the first time I’ve ever pulled a job like this out in the open now that I think about it. Everything job prior to this one were all done at night or at least during heavy storm to use the rain as cover. Not to mention most of my jobs were low key compared to this. Only two ponies were required to pull it off. This, however similar it may be, was on a different scale with pony’s lives at stake.

You know something had been bothering me since I met this stallion. Well, more like ever since I had listened to the plan. “Why are you doing this? Yeah, I’m pretty sure you said to help better Equestria, but since when do ponies actually do good things for the sake of being good anymore?” War chuckled and stared up at the wall of whiskey. I think even he thought it was a beautiful sight to behold.

“It’s simple actually,” War mused. “I remember there was a time when ponies could do things for each other without expecting any kind of reward.” Yeah like two hundred years ago. Times have changed, sadly. “I believe that ponies can still live with that kind of lifestyle. It’s just a matter of dealing with the big problems like King Sombra.” I nodded. Yeah, but there’s more than just one problem. War cleared his throat and ordered a drink. “See when the princesses up and disappeared all kinds of problems followed. Now if you were to stack all of Equestria’s problems they’d form a tower like one of those games at the carnival.” You mean one of those rigged ones that’s nearly impossible to win and takes your money. Silver Shoe’s ‘No Pony’s A Winner’ game came to mind. Put her out of your head Runner, you’re on a job. Don’t let emotion get in the way.

“King Sombra is one of the biggest problems so we’d put him at the bottom of this metaphorical tower,” War made gestures with his hooves, acting like he was stacking a tower of cups. “What happens when you take out the biggest problem first?” I shook my head. No idea. “It all topples down. You take out Sombra then you let the police deal with the small issues afterwards.” That makes sense. Although it’s a lot more complicated than that, just trying to be realistic about this. Ugh, I sound like my mother.

I nodded. “Just remember this,” he insisted. “If you ever have the chance to help Equestria, you should do it. You should feel obligated to help.”

Never really thought of it that way. I’d have to give that some thought. So far the major problems in Equestria are the infected, the mass murders and King Sombra. If Equestria didn’t have those problems I bet it could go back to the way it was. That would still take time though, especially without a known princess being around. “It seems crazy when you say it out loud, but once those problems go away everything will turn out for the better,” War uttered slowly trailing off.

War got up mentioning he was going to start taking the casinos money. I waved a hoof at him. I just needed to wait. My turn in the plan didn’t come until later. I took a drink from my Pegasus Breed and looked up. Han was right in front of me wearing a bartender’s uniform. He spoke with his exotic accent, “You look surprised, did I not say I was a master of disguises?” I chuckled. Now that I thought about it Han probably had to keep that accent while he was in here.

Something else was on my mind about this guy. What kind of dance was he doing yesterday? I voiced my question to him. “It is not a dance, it is a form, a martial art known as Calenbra,” he intoned with irritation. I could see why, I had insulted his martial art form.

I apologized profusely for my comment. Han nickered. “My specific home trained foals in a style with a heavy emphasis on heavy strikes that requires use of your momentum to keep the body agile.” That’s neat. I didn’t know that zebras learned certain styles that were based on location. And now that I thought about it I kind of wanted to know how he became part of work like this.

I asked. Han chuckled and looked around. He leaned in close. “This kind of work, I have always been drawn to it, has a knack for attracting me. Similar, I have noticed, to you and reading.” I blushed a little at that. Was my love for reading that obvious to people? “Dead Eye’s money would have been mine a long time ago if not for the laser grid system.” Thirty six lasers. Constantly in motion. Only beaten once. Twilight Sparkle out did herself when she made that system.

“This is going to be my last job for a while though,” I looked at him wondering why, “Once upon a time I threw an entire crew under an autowagon just to take everything.” What the hell’s an autowagon? Apparently living in a District means living under a rock. Damn that place. “This kind of work bears down on you, either now or later, but this time I do it for the right reasons. After tonight I’ll be rich in more ways than one.” That’s actually a good way to look at it. Doing something good just for the sake of doing it. This guy sure has had a change of heart from wherever he was back then. “One more thing, do not call me for thirty minutes.” He dove down under the counter coming back up with a guard uniform on. Han put his helmet on and brought the visor down.  I looked at the mare while Han trotted away, it was ten thirty now. The zebra trotted off while I got up. It’s time to get working.

I trotted over to the railing enclosing most of the bar area. It didn’t take long to find Daring. She stood out like a sore hoof and it wasn’t because of the dress. A small crowd had gathered around her cheering her on while she beat the dealer at a game of blackjack. She was doing her job, doing quite a damn good job of earning tons of bits from what I could see. I looked around for War until I found him at one of the machines. He was doing some sort of pattern with the slots, but I had no idea why. War inserted one coin, counted a couple of times, then inserted his next coin, doing this until the he reached the bet limit. With one gentle pull of the lever the desperado poker player stood up, cheering, when hundreds of bits came pouring out. He wasn’t that good at acting, but it was enough to fool the ponies around him.

I couldn’t help but smile at that. In retrospect he probably should have taught me how to do that with the machines. A pony leaned against the railing next to me. “And how are you enjoying your stay here mister?” I turned my attention to the stallion who spoke with a rather strong confident tone. He was wearing a charcoal black suit over his light grey coat. The stallion adjusted his tie. I told him my name. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Runner. I’m Dead Eye, the owner of this fine establishment.” In my defense when I said something bad was probably going to happen I was joking.

COME ON, CELESTIA! Why do you hate me?

“I won? I won! I just put the bit in there and won!” Some mare stood up shouting right next to War. Looks like we have a few winners tonight. Please let me be one of them! Come on Luna! Make me a winner tonight.

Both of us started looking out at all of the ponies here. So far I was one of three ponies in the bar area. The other two were, obviously, the owner and some other stallion passed out drunk. “Can I be of any personal assistance this evening?” This guy’s our mark? Really? He doesn’t seem that bad. Then again he’s supposed to be Sombra’s right hoof … I should still be careful. Remember Runner, be confident. You’re a high roller right now. Be confident. Speak with confidence.

I thought about his question nodding politely. “Actually, yes, yes you can. Tell me something. How does a stallion keep a casino as grand as this open for as long as you have?” Dead Eye ran a hoof through his black mane. From the look on his face it looked like no pony asks him that question very often.

He hummed while giving me a smile. “It’s all about knowing what goes on inside of your casino at all times. For instance, I have one stallion here that hasn’t so much as touched a machine since he got here.” That guy sounds like a real jerk. Probably a bitch that can’t … oh he’s talking about me. In that case, he’s probably some thief trying to find a home to call his own with ponies that appreciate him. Just a small simple goal that will probably take him a while to accomplish.

I chuckled at him turning my focus to Daring. “I’m just here to support my friend over there and drink your Pegasus Breed. By the way you keep those bottles pretty chilled, I like that.” Dead Eye looked over at Daring. I have to admit, if I didn’t already know she was rigging the games in her favor, I wouldn’t even know she was cheating. That poker face of hers was just a solid stone wall!

Dead Eye just stood next to me keeping his eyes on her. “We’ve got more than just gambling you know, please, let me show you the club.” Sure. Keeping this guy busy needs to be my number one priority right now. I left the railing and followed him to the stairs. “Back to your question. Runner, there is seldom an event that goes on in these walls without me knowing about it. You should also know every employee and their back ground.” This guy’s a freaking machine. He knows all of his … I’ve got to test this out.

“Tell me about Han.”

He looked at me questioningly while I insisted he answer the question. “Han, real name Xtelth, he’s an average worker. He clocks in and out on time every day, he even comes back from his break on time.” Nice. Although I’m surprised his background check didn’t reveal him as a criminal. Guess that means he hasn’t been caught once! No wonder he was recruited by War. “Why do you ask?”

We reached the fifth floor with just enough time to see some performers finish singing one of Sapphire Shore’s best songs. The music changed and the orange lights shining down on the stage lit up dark blue.  “I just happen to be an acquaintance of his. Thought I’d ask.” I took a seat in the front row with Dead Eye. We were staring at that performers while they went through their routine. Each perform had some overly done costume with sapphire blue feathers poking out in every direction. I’m willing to bet that everyone performing a Sapphire Shore’s song has to wear a ridiculous outfit like that! They looked good!

We listened to the rest of the set, which was only two more songs, I checked my phone noticing it had only been about six minutes since I last checked the time. Shit. I need to get back to the others. “Mr. Runner have you ever been part of a high stakes Blitz game?”

“You don’t want me to be a part of a high stakes anything.”

Dead Eye chuckled turning his full attention to me. I kept my eyes on the performers, but that didn’t help my anxiety go down, He was still looking at me. My eyes never went away from the performers, but I could feel his red eyes staring at me. Almost like they were burning into me. “Please join me at the Blitz table tonight, I insist. Oh, and the first rounds on me.” He handed me a roll of bits for the slots. I looked at Dead Eye. My confidence was slipping away. Fast. Just being near this guy was giving me uneasy feelings all over.

I politely nodded. Dead Eye shook my hoof before leaving to go greet a group of unicorn ponies. My attention went straight to the time. It was time to go. First thing I did was make a break for the staircase. I galloped down the stairs all the way back down to the first floor. Instead of listening to the wonderful singers upstairs I was brought back to the sounds of ponies losing to mixture of machines dinging.

Dozens upon dozens of ponies had gathered inside the casino and this time Daring wasn’t anywhere to be seen. War had disappeared to. This wasn’t good. Not good at all. We need to stick to the plan. My eyes darted around the crowd looking for a sparkling red dress and a not-so-trigger-happy gunslinger. A few ponies drunkenly bumped into me while passing the bar area.

Han wasn’t anywhere to be seen either. Probably in the security room doing whatever else he needs to do. I found a slot machine that put me close to the center of the room. I opened the small package of bits taking a look at the stallion printed on the bit. It was a custom made casino bit with a stallion embedded in the center, its eyes glowed dark red while I slid the coin into the machine. My eyes scanned the surrounding area while I pulled the lever down.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Two bells and a cherry stopped on the screen.

Yeah, screw you to. I loaded another bit inside the machined and pulled the lever. The images on the screen started blurring together while I kept my eyes glued to it.

Ding.

I found War.

Ding.

I found Daring.

Ding.

There were security guards sitting close to me. I hadn’t noticed them until now. I chuckled. Probably just Han being a punk to me. I half expected that zebra to put his hoof on me and say ‘I’m arresting you for conspiring against my boss,’ or give me some hilarious one liner. I took a glance at where War and Daring were at.

They were sitting at some slot machines a bit further down. War emptied some of his winnings into Daring’s saddle bags without any other pony noticing. Once they were emptied War pulled the lever on his machine winning the jackpot, again. The guards sitting next to me got up slowly closing in on me. I could see their reflections in the stainless steel guard rail behind my machine. They reached my machine and jumped over the guard rail in front of it.

One of them stopped, turned around and flipped their visor up at me, it was Han. Him and his small team of four guards galloped over to War looking his machine over. They accused him of cheating right away, but couldn’t find the bits he had won. War bucked one of them in the stomach attempting to gallop to the emergency exit. One of the guards sprang up from around the corner, knocking him back over to his machine. The guard that had been bucked tossed a set of hoof cuffs around War’s fore hooves.

Daring inserted the bet limit into her machine and lost it all. She was keeping her role as a high roller very convincing. Han was the one to check her out, but instead of signaling to have her arrested he gave the other guards the signal to leave her be. Once they made sure War’s cuffs were on tight, Han pulled him up. War lit up his horn only to have Han instinctively jab a precise hoof strike into his neck making him hit the ground paralyzed. Han pulled him back up. The other guards helped drag the body over to a metal door that they only had access to. Han slid a card into the door’s access panel making it open right up. They disappeared inside and the door slammed shut behind them.

I put the rest of the bits inside of my suit jacket’s pocket. Daring continued playing the slots while I walked over to her. My eyes were now alert for guards. I sat next to Daring and she slid something inside my pocket almost so subtly I wouldn’t have noticed. It was a card. Daring leaned next to me, “Han said the guards reactivated the cameras. It’s just him and those other guys that took War. We need you to go deactivate the cameras. Just use the card then get out of the security room. Take a right when you enter that door.” This isn’t part of the plan, but alright. I hate it when a well-crafted plan falls apart. With a reluctant groan I got up and trotted over to the metal door that Han had used. First thing I did before getting any closer was keep an eye out for Dead Eye.

I approached the door sliding Han’s access card inside the control panel. My eyes went down to the card. It wasn’t even Han’s card, it was the bartenders. I thought back to when Han had showed up. He must have taken it then. The door opened with a metallic hiss. I galloped inside while pulling the son of bitch behind me until it locked shut.

The walls were like the inside of a hospital. It had a dull blue line separating two grey halves of the wall and stretched off in two different directions. One went straight ahead and the other to the right. Daring said go to the right, so I galloped in that direction. My hooves carried me down the long hallway until I reached a couple of doors. Ah, crap. Which one do I go into? I looked at the windows but lights were off inside most of the rooms. There was one door at the end of the hall so I picked that one.

It opened with a creak.

Computers stretched along every wall with video from each security camera showing me everything that was going on. Some of them showed the status of each slot machine! I trotted over to some cameras that showed the unicorn slaves in the jail cell below. You know what, I could just be taking a shot in the dark here, but I bet that Dead Eye has been accusing unicorns of cheating to get them into those cells. My question is how could they catch them in the act. It’s not like there’s any pony in here. I sat down in a chair and spun around making sure no pony was going to ambush me.

Let’s see.

We’ve got a slot right here. I inserted the access card into a slot and a few options came up on the screen in front of me. It didn’t take long for me to find the option that would disable the cameras. I was about to hit the button, but stopped. Han walked onto the screen with the other guards. They threw War into a cell all to himself. Han motioned for the guards to leave before following them out. Something was on the ground. I zoomed in feeling my heart sink at the sight of the key War needed lying on the ground outside his cell.

“Crap.”

War’s eyes shot open. It didn’t take him long to notice where the key had landed. His horn started to light up and then stopped. The bars around the cage glowed lightly before dimming back down. It was one of those anti-magic cages like the one Brave Day had in her mine. He put his flank against the door swinging his tail around. It swished back and forth trying to sweep the damn key over to his cell. Left. Left. You’re other left! Right. Come on War, focus! I don’t have time to stay for this.

Those guards would be here soon, I needed to move.  I tapped my hoof against the keyboard repeatedly. The cameras were disabled and I also found a little something interesting. There was a loop feature. So I played whatever footage the cameras had caught that day. From what I could tell it was a day worth of footage to go through. I got ready to gallop away. Something came to mind though. My hooves went back to the keyboard and I had every security camera replay everything that happened so far today. Have fun with that you guys.

I galloped out of there making sure to leave the access card behind. I wouldn’t need it anymore. The doors flung open and I was on my way to the metal door. My ears perked up listening carefully for voices. I didn’t hear anything. I just kept running. Once I was at the door I pushed it open and slid out without any pony noticing me. Thank Celestia!

Daring had moved away from the slots. I galloped off to find her. Almost forgot to do something important. I hit Rusty’s number and put the phone close to my ear. Rusty answered the phone. “Hey, prep the drill,” I insisted. “War’s in the cell.” I hung up. Now to get this heist wrapped up.

I found Daring at the Blitz table after she had won a game. It hadn’t taken her long to do that. My flank found the nearest seat and I plopped down next to Daring. She gave me her confident smile. “Twenty five thousand down, seventy five thousand to go.” We were making progress, but it wasn’t fast enough. Not when the heist was almost wrapped up. The Blitz players cursed her name a few times before they left. She stretched a little and turned her attention to me, “Do me a favor and get the most expensive drink they have.”

I rolled my eyes, “Anything else?”

She rolled out a gem from her bag staring at her reflection. “How do I look?”

Ugh … words … say words … something … anything … speak to her … say she looks good … Runner, words!

“Dazzling.” Daring turned my head to the bar and pointed to it. I’ll go get her that drink. I trotted off to the bar.

No sign of Dead Eye yet. That was a good thing for us. I don’t like running into him. I only did it once, but that guy just makes me incredibly uneasy. Once I reached the bar I looked for the most expensive bottle the casino had. It was at the top although I couldn’t even make out the name. Han popped up in a bartender’s uniform. Okay, he’s got to teach me how to do that. “Get me the most expensive drink.” Han nodded and set it down in front of me. He gave me a salute then sank back down behind the bar. I looked around before stretching my neck up a little. He’s gone! I looked around but Han wasn’t anywhere to be found.

My horn lit up bringing the drink back to the Blitz table. I just realized he gave me that drink for free. Score!

My walking slowed to the point I was barley moving. Dead Eye was talking to Daring. “You know I don’t like to lose either, Dead Eye, that’s why I go winning, not gambling, but since you’re asking me to join your game in the flesh then I guess I’ll play,” she spoke brimming full of confidence. Daring shot him the most confident smile I had seen yet. I smiled to. That look was the one she gave ponies when she knew how to play a game very well. This was one of those games. I didn’t need to ask her to find that out. That look said it all.

“If it isn’t my other Blitz player,” Dead Eye uttered waving me over. Well it looks like I’m stuck in this game now. “You two wait here, I’m going to find my other players and bring them along.” Dead Eye trotted off giving orders to one of his guards.

I kept my attention on Dead Eye and his guard until they disappeared up the stairs. Ugh. I feel uneasy. A sharp chill went up my spine making me shiver a little. “So what’s the plan Daring?” I looked at her setting the drink down. She took in a long deep breath then exhaled.

Daring had a plan. In fact the way she was looking at me told me she had a lot more to this plan than I knew about. I think she wanted Dead Eye’s attention. She was clearing her mind of distractions like I was. “I’m going to win the rest of our money by beating the house. This time the house isn’t winning.” I nodded at that. Daring took a drink becoming more relaxed. I was feeling relaxed just being next to her.

“One of us isn’t exactly good at gambling.”

Daring looked into my eyes with a smile, “Don’t worry. This game is more about luck and bluffing. Plus this is my game.” And I’m guessing no pony beats Daring at her game. She gave me a nod and looked at the clock. It was eleven. Whatever Han had been doing he was done now. I didn’t need to call him, but it was nice knowing I could if I needed to. “If you get good cards just knock right away.” I actually knew how to play this game, thank Celestia. Oak Tree had taught me and Silver Shoe, once upon a time. We stopped playing it after a while, but I still remembered how to play.

Without much time to spare she explained a few more tips on how to see if a pony was bluffing or not. I practiced staring at her, but her freaking stone wall face just wouldn’t give! Dead Eye sat down at the table before we were joined by two other mares and a stallion. The embedded gem stones in their suits blinded me every time they shifted in their seats.

“Alright every pony, let’s get down to business,” Dead Eye said eying everypony at the table. Something was bumping my leg. I looked down and saw a bag sitting in my chair. Without a second thought I opened it up on the table letting four ocean blue gem stones glide onto the tabletop. Daring grouped three gorgeously shining dark purple gemstones. The others set their own respective gems that match their eyes. Grassy green, gold yellow, midnight blue and dark red. Dead Eye shuffled the cards letting the stallion sitting next to him cut the deck. He started tossing out the cards one by one while I took a quick glance at the guards taking the unicorn group I saw before beyond the metal door.

Why is it that only unicorns are caught cheating? It’s giving us a bad name. Oh, and I’m willing to bet there are more than just unicorns trying to cheat here.

I looked at the other players and noticed that aside from me and Dead Eye there was only one other unicorn mare. Once my cards were slapped down in front of me I took them in my hooves keeping them hidden from every pony else. “Ding. Ding. Ding,” Daring titled her head side to side, slapping her cards down with finesse. We all tossed one of our gemstones into a small dish at the center of the table. “I thought the house always won?” Her stone poker face turned into a sly almost sultry grin while she pushed her cards back to Dead Eye.

The next few rounds brutally dragged on. It was almost as if we were watching paint dry, but albeit a bit more entertaining. Surprisingly, Daring and Dead Eye managed to keep all of their gemstones while I was struggling to hold on with my last two. Not surprising; Dead Eye managed to hold on with just three stones. The other players had gotten each other down to one more gem which had boosted my confidence in this game by a lot!

My eyes stared down at the casino chips printed on the cards. I had twenty one in total. Daring and Dead Eye kept exchanging glances with one another. My leg wanted to start bouncing. The other players were all staring at my cards trying to figure if they should knock or go another turn. I scratched the back of my mane making the unicorn mare knock. My eyes looked straight at hers. My cards fell on the table with every pony else’s. Daring and Dead Eye each had twenty five and twenty six respectively. Somehow I was one of four other players holding twenty one in their hooves.

The other players groaned tossing their last gem into the dish. Dead Eye chuckled while reaching into his jacket pocket. “Don’t feel down,” he gave them each a casino bit, “the slots are on me.” Each of those casino bits were worth ten thousand bits together. I stole a glance at their bits taking observation of the eyes in the other gamblers bits.

Green, not red. Ah, that’s cool. I guess the casino bits all have different eye colors to represent their value. Can’t remember how many bits mine were worth though. I think I still have a couple left. My second to last gem was tossed into the dish while the unicorn mare counted up all of her bits. Most of hers had the same glowing red eyes that mine had.

Dead Eye started shuffling the cards again. With the way things were looking Daring and I might be able to take the house with more than enough gems to pay off those other two. My hoof started vibrating. I lowered the volume, slowly holding the device up to my ear while I tapped the screen. Loud thumping noises mixed with growls came from the other end.

Sounds like Rusty’s got some restroom problems. Ugh. There’s some thoughts I don’t need in my head ever again.

I hung up and looked at Daring. “Sounds like our friends got some problems. I should go,” and help them out! From the sound of it, Rusty was fighting with a bloater, a big bloater at that. Dead Eye cleared his throat nudging his muzzle down at my seat. His guard insisted I stay put a little longer.

Apparently, I’m staying … jerk. Daring’s stone wall face finally broke and she was annoyed, very, very annoyed. “Runner, when you get the chance,” she started shuffling the cards, “go get me another drink.” I cut the deck for her and she tossed the cards out. Dead Eye looked at his cards then showed us a blitz. My last gem went into the dish allowing me to leave. Okay, first ditch the suit then let’s break for the sewer system.

*** ***

Rushing water echoed in every direction while I vaulted over an overgrown pipe. My hooves carried me through the tunnel system like a rat through a labyrinth. The saddle bags strapped to my back rattled and bumped around while I got closer to the sounds of heavy gunfire going on. I tried giving Han a call, but the zebra never answered, sadly this wasn’t the time for him to be silent. He never answered any of my three calls. I am going to give him such a smack in the face for not getting back to me.

“AREGH!”

A clicker stumbled in front of me and I unloaded my pistol’s clip right into the damn things head. Good thing these things are feral and too far gone to be pony anymore. It collapsed into the stream getting washed away shortly after. I ran up a large cement slab turning left up another one. The gunfire got louder, so did the thumping sounds that started shaking the wall around me. I really hope I’m wrong about what’s up around this turn. I took cover behind the wall peeking out into the open room.

“GET DOWN!”

KA-BOOM!

Rusty tackled me behind the drill as an orange toxic gas filled the air around us. My horn lit up and my gas mask strapped tightly to my muzzle. I took in a huge breath of air, exhaled then, turned to Rusty who was desperately trying to prevent himself from inhaling anymore spores. My hoof went into my saddle bags and I pulled out a rag that I immediately shoved against his mouth before he could open it. The spore cloud rose up as if giving Rusty permission to breathe. He gasped for air leaning against the overgrown drill. “There was bucking bloater sleeping in one of the tunnels.” Freaking drill woke it up. It had to be one of these things. Alright, how do I stop it?

Another fungus pumpkin bomb came flying through the air.

“ROLL!”

Rusty pulled me down into a pit.

KA-BOOM!

I could hear Rusty sucking in all the air he could before the spores came pouring over our bodies. An insufferable ringing filled my ears making me put my hoof against one of them. Rusty’s face and muzzle started turning a bright shade of red. He started beating the ground with his hoof. My horn lit up shifting my gas mask to Rusty’s muzzle.  He inhaled while I kept my mouth shut.

My hoof went to a sniper rifle lying next to Rusty. I climbed out of the pit and leaned my back against the edge. Alright. How do I work one of these things? First thing I did was lean the butt of it back into my shoulder. I put my eye to the scope carefully moving the gun so that it was pointing at the hulking infected’s back. My horn lit up and pulled out two small legs near the end of the rifle. I pulled the trigger.

CRACK!

A single bullet went right over the bloaters head. I got ready for another shot. My lungs started to burn like Celestia’s scorching hot sun. My back hooves began shaking, ready to collapse. I looked through the scope aiming for the bombs on its back. Weaponized nature is scary shit.

CRACK!

Another shot missed. Come on. I can do this. My lungs were yelling at me. I checked the ammo clip to find I only had one bullet left. If I could have taken a deep breath, I would have, but my better instants told my lungs to shut up. My hoof pulled the trigger. AND I MISSED! The bloater ripped a bomb from its back, flinging it straight at me.

OH SHIT!

I pulled my legs in and fell back down into the pit.

KA-BOOM!

The sniper rifle clattered against the ground. I rolled against the wall feeling a burning pain go through my leg while I face planted into the ground. Rusty put my gas mask over my muzzle and I inhaled like I had never breathed air before. My tan friend pointed at my back leg. I tried to move it and- AGH! Pain was sent up my entire leg like a railroad spike being hammered into me. I pushed myself up and put some weight on it. I collapsed. Rusty tossed me a small medical kit. I went right for the bandage rags. I wasted no time wrapping the entire thing around my leg. My entire leg felt like it was burning, then it went cold. As if my leg had become a large sealed freezer.

Trying to put some more weight on my leg I slowly started to rise up. Thank you, Fluttershy! I kicked my leg back a little still feeling a little pain, but not enough to keep a pony down. Rusty and I climbed back out of the pit taking shelter behind the drill once again. I slid into my transparency spell. I could see Oceans keeping his distance from the bloater on the other side of the drill. Near the pipe I had entered in from was a bag filled with sticky bombs. My horn stopped glowing, everything was obscured; I looked at the other side of the room. There was a cement slab leading all the way up to a broken pipe.

I really don’t want to do this it has bad idea written all over it. “I’m going to lure that thing away. If I can find my way back over here I’ll come through that pipe there, so put as many sticky bombs as you can inside of it,” I pointed my hoof at my exit strategy. Rusty nodded and leaned against the drill while I stood up. My pistol was reloaded right away and I galloped over to the slab. I turn faced the bloater’s back while it was busy with Eleven Oceans. Three bullets fried from my pistol striking the bloater in the back close to where its explosives were. The bloater stopped. It slowly turned towards me with its eyes locking dead with mine with enough anger in them they caused my legs to wobble. I lined up my shot and fired. The bullet hit the bloater’s forehead.

Looks like Glider’s shooting tips were working after all.

The bloater gurgled up orange sludge letting it spill out on its body before thumping towards me with its sagging fungus. My hooves carried me up the slab while I fired a few rounds at the bloater to keep it interested in me. I turned and galloped right into an infected. It was an infected griffon! Its claws wrapped around me; I fell back, bucking the son of bitch in the stomach before it had the chance to take a bite at any part of me. I unloaded my ammo into the griffon while a large shadow fell over me. I looked up. Feeling my heart float up into my throat, I galloped away from the hulking infected squeezing its way into the pipe.

“AREGH!”

“AREGH!”

Two more infected came running at me from the other side of the pipe. One of which blended in with the darkness! I rolled, ducking under the first one while the other dove towards me tackling me near a small opening in the wall. My pistol found a nice comfy spot inside of its mouth. I pulled the trigger. It clicked twice.

Damn it, Celestia!

I bucked the creatures soft fungus covered stomach making it stumble away from me. Something squishy hit my head making me look at what it was. An orange pumpkin.

OH CRAP!

I propelled myself through the hole in the wall and part of it crumbled down on top of me while I fell straight down. My back hit the top of some machine with a loud whack while I rolled off of it hitting the ground. “My … back.” I groaned in pain, feeling jolts of paralyzing irritation shoot all around my lower back, with my body helplessly stretched out on the cold floor. Finding the strength to turn my head was becoming an impossible mission all in itself. I couldn’t hear the infected anymore. With any luck the bomb either scared them away or took them out. I was hoping for the latter option.

Thumping noises continued to shake the pipe above me. I turned to a puddle of water watching it ripple. Each ripple that came after came faster than the last. My fore hooves tried to push me up. I didn’t work. Come on.

Get up.

Please!

My fore hooves started lifting my body up, inch by inch, sending waves of anguish surging through my entire body. The only thing that wasn’t hurting was my bandaged leg. Fluttershy deserves a big hug for making these.

My legs started shaking as I crept forward, crawling, away from the machine I had landed on. It collapsed with an ear shattering metallic crunch against the bloater’s heavy exterior that drained the color from my face. Chunks of cement from the pipe hit the puddle and a water main causing it to bust open sending water gushing everywhere. The bloater thumped towards me dragging a dead infected body with it.

I did my best to focus my magic on my gun, letting it unload in the bloater’s direction. Every shot missed. I couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with that kind of aiming! My shaking hooves guided me out only door in the room back into a pipe. I pushed myself up with tremendous struggle, trying to gallop towards the light, but my entire body screamed in protest. If only I could get my hooves on another package of bandage rags. My eyes went down to the rags around my back hoof. I bit down on it, tearing most of it off, freeing my hoof from restraint. The door I had just came through collapsed, the bloater smashing open part of the wall making an even larger exit in its wake.

I wrapped the ripped bandage fragments around the rest of my hooves letting their healing power go to work. One hoof went in front of the other and after a couple of stumbles I was galloping right towards my exit. Pain was still going through my body, but the rags managed to suppress most of my injuries, making them bearable for the time being. The thumping slowly faded behind me while I trotted out of the exit. “Are the bombs ready?” I frantically looked around eyeing a couple of bombs set up around the pipe. Rusty was still placing bombs around the entrance. He shook his head.

T-That’s okay. No big deal. I just have to … go all the way up and fall down and then get back here.

My heart skipped a beat.

I motioned for the two earth ponies to hide. The moment they jumped into another pipe the bloater came charging out of my previous exit. I unloaded my ammo clip into that rampaging freak of nature. It kept thumping right for me un-phased. I galloped up the slab and reloaded my pistol. That freak of nature was getting faster. It put one giant slimy hoof down on of the slab and pulled itself up an inch from my face! I shoved my pistol right into its forehead. I UNLOADED EVERYTHING! That only managed to piss it off even more.

My hooves galloped into the pipe, thankfully I was starting to out run the bloater. One of the infected that had gotten caught in the explosion was starting to push itself up. A fungus bomb went by my head just before I dove through the makeshift exit in the pipe.

KA-BOOM!

The resulting explosion ripped apart whatever was left of the infect griffon. I landed on top of the crushed machine. The screaming aches in my legs were starting to get louder. My legs were practically screaming at me to stop. I was ready to collapse. More thumping sounds caught my attention while several fungus bombs fell out of the pipe above me. I had just enough time to look up. My hooves sprinted as fast as I could possibly go before-

KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM! KA-BOOM!

Spores rained down towards me while I slammed one of the machines out of my way. My attention was focused on the rain cloud descending on me that I didn’t notice what was in front of me.

WHACK!

I hit my muzzle against a lever that tore my mask off in the process of me pushing myself away. The moment I dove out of the room, every spore came flooding out and I sucked in all the air I could. A sticky dense fog came rushing out after me but my hooves kept moving. I. Will. Not. Inhale. Any. Of. IT! COME ON, MOVE! The cloud of spores was at the tips of my back hooves!

The sound of my hooves clip-clopping against the ground echoed all around me while the bloater smashed the last part of the wall separating the room from the pipe. I could feel the hulking infected creature’s hot breath on my neck just as I galloped into the room with the drill. I turned and stared down the pipe. The bloater was charging full speed at me, “Blow the pipe!” Rusty pulled out his sniper rifle firing a single bullet at the wall of bombs. Every single sticky bomb hanging on the wall erupted in a beautiful display of fire.

Clouds of dust mixed together with spores while the pipe came crashing down. The bloater knocked a few bits of debris away just as the entire pipe collapsed down on top of it with a satisfying squishing sound. My hoof shielded my eyes from the mixture of spore dust. Wait. How long have I been holding my …

AIR!

AIR!

I NEED AIR!

My head frantically jerked around looking for somewhere I could breathe. I dove for the first thing I saw. The pit. I tumbled down into the darkness and opened my mouth, taking in every bit of fresh air I could get. “Clean air. Thank Celestia and every other princess out there.” I rested my head on a somehow comfortable rock. All I want to do now is close my eyes and sleep.

“Runner, everything okay down there,” Ocean’s called down the pit.

Oh, right. We’ve got unicorns to save and lots of them.

I climbed back up noticing the spores had gone into different pipes giving us all fresh air to breathe. Rusty Horseshoe leaned against the drill staring at the wall he was going to punch through. He looked at me. His eyes looked me over and he chuckled. “You look worse than we do.” I gave him a sarcastic laugh while slumping down against the ground. Oceans slid another medical kit over to me. And an energy drink with the label torn off. I tore the cap off and slurped the entire thing down.

“If you guys see Han, tell him I’m going to whop him on the head for not being here.”

Rusty and Oceans looked at each other. They had no idea where Han was either. Great. Make that a down right flank kicking. I wrapped my stomach with the new bandage rag.

*** ***

I levitated a drink next to me, making my way back to Blitz table, with my suit shining on me like I hadn’t just fought for my life. Han was put to the back of my mind. My hoof straightened my tie out a little. Daring and Dead Eye were still locked in what I assume had turned into more than one game. I hope I don’t smell like sewer, the last thing Rusty had said to me before leaving was that Daring didn’t like stallions smelling like sewer water and death. However now I’m beginning to wonder why he said it with a smile.

Some Old Stallion smell good spray fixed that for me.

“You truly are a wonderful gambler Daring Adventure.” Dead Eye slapped his last card down with a knock. A blind knock.

“I learned from the best.”

Daring flipped her cards over showing a total of twenty nine. Dead Eye had thirty. With a slight mumble, Daring tossed her second to last leafy green gemstone into the dish. My jaw dropped at the amount of gemstones that had been collected. They had been playing for just a couple of minutes and there was at least enough gems for five games. Daring cracked her fore hooves before gently resting them down on the table. “Tell you what Dead Eye, let’s make this our last game.” Dead Eye nodded slowly with a grin. “If you win I’ll give you everything I’ve won tonight, all seventy five thousand gemstones worth of bits, but if I win you’re going to give me one hundred thousand bits in gemstones.” The crowd around us looked at each other like she was crazy. My eyes widened a bit. She couldn’t be serious. It took her over an hour to get all of that.

Dead Eye locked eyes with her. He was mulling it over. The other gamblers that had lost were all here, except for the unicorn mare, which I was beginning to grow suspicious of. “You have a deal.” Dead Eye stacked the cards together and started shuffling. He had Daring cut the deck before he tossed her some cards.

I looked at Daring’s cards. She had twenty one. That’s not enough for a safe knock against the casino owner. My eyes went straight to Dead Eye’s cards. He had something. The grin on his face assured me of that. Dead Eye didn’t look up at us once. “Daaamn.”

“You’ve got nothing.”

Daring slapped her cards down.

“Did she just?” “Mare just lost everything.” “Learned from the best my flank.” The voices from the crowd were hushed whispers, but they sounded like ponies talking at a normal decibel. They all made me worried. I looked at Dead Eye and his jaw dropped. I couldn’t take waiting another second. I got up and moved behind Dead Eye so I could see his cards. My jaw almost dropped as well.

“I love how you called his bull shit.”

Daring leaned back in her chair that protested with a squeak. All she could do was grin at the crowd. This … mare … This mare is un-freaking-believable. Dead Eye cleared his throat, “Good game, but next time I’ll win.” Daring shot him a look that said to bring her the gems she won. I took a seat next to her and put her drink down.

Dead Eye looked at me then back at Daring. From the look on his face he had only lost a game of Blitz a few times in his life. I’m willing to bet his real life gambles always turned up positive as well. “Bring her the gemstones.” Dead Eye waved a reluctant hoof at one of his security ponies. They came back in three minutes flat with three large bags filled with gemstones. Daring smiled scooping the gems from the dish into her saddle bags.

My horn lit up and I trotted to the entrance while Daring pretended to tip her hat at the crowd. “Did I forget to mention, I don’t go gambling, I go winning.” Daring finished her whiskey in one drink. I snorted a little then chuckled while levitating the three bags out the door.

Once I was out the door I made a left, putting my focus at the fountain. Water erupted up into the air while a rainbow formed an arch from the casino all the way to the cold stone railing. My hooves came to a stop while water dripped down on my suit. A smile formed on my face. I’ll never get tired of that. The rainbow vanished ever so slowly as water went back down. I nodded my head and kept walking. Daring put her hoof around me while she stared down at the ground. Her confident grin had been replaced with a small smile.

One hundred seventy five thousand bits in gemstones.

She didn’t just beat the house, she took them for everything they had and then some. I pulled open the door to the restaurant, letting Daring go inside first, then floating the bags after her.

*** ***

After we dropped the bags off at the basement Daring and I returned to the slots. I still had a few of the casino bits Dead Eye gave me, figured I could waste some time before finishing up my role in the heist. Several ponies wearing bullet proof vests marched past us. “Blue team, move out!” The leader pointed at the door before the security team left in a hurry. Dang, even the armed forces come here to gamble and with such style and teamwork!

Shit, Dead Eye might be Sombra’s right hoof, but he knows how to run a casino. Kind of a shame he doesn’t just stick to doing this. A bit flipped around in my levitation field while I explained to Daring everything that went down in the pipe system.

My hoof started vibrating.

I looked at the screen seeing a message from Oceans telling me to ‘Make the call.’

My hoof tapped a number that could be used once with a voice change feature. It also included something that would wipe the phone clean after the call. That being said I had to make this call count. The number belonged to Dead Eye. He answered the phone, “Hello, who is this?” My eyes shifted around the room. Several guards were approaching my machine, like I was cheating. Wait a minute.

The bits. These bits are marked! The ones the mare had are just like mine. They have glowing red eyes. That’s how Dead Eye’s ‘catching’ all these unicorns cheating. There was another unicorn near the metal door playing the slots. My horn lit up allowing me to see the inside of the machine. The coin they inserted passed some sort of sensor causing it to start glowing. An alarm started to go off, but stopped.

I looked around the crowds and noticed no one had heard the quick alarm. “That’s not important, but what is important is that something you have is being stolen. So let me ask you, how does it feel knowing I’m the one stealing your casinos most valuable possession.” Daring pushed me forward. I walked away from the machine. We trotted past another slot machine and I put one of my last few glowing bits inside of the coin slot. I pulled the lever down. It hit the jackpot.

We went up the stairs while several guards trotted to where an alarm was going off. Daring smiled and trotted ahead. I could hear chatter going around on Dead Eye’s end. “You’re mistaken. All of my money is safe and sound.”

“I said I was stealing your most valuable possession. Not your money.”

There was a pause.

I could feel a grin on my face. Give him a second. My eyes went to the window, just outside I could see the train station. Unicorn stallions and mares were galloping into it. Just need to keep Dead Eye busy a bit longer. Some pony was speaking with Dead Eye about money, “fifty millions bits.” Oh, shit. Sounds like his night just got ruined even more. “Listen and listen well. You proved you can steal both my money and slaves. Congratulation’s, you’re now on my list.” I held the phone close to Daring’s ear, she scoffed.

Good thing we aren’t going to stay here for long.

We walked back down from the fifth floor arriving at the slots. I started putting every last marked bit into the machines. My horn lit up causing ten machines to go off at once. Dead Eye’s voice caught my attention, “I want you to do me one favor. Run, because when I find you I’m not going to be the corrupt casino owner that’s been greeting all the unicorns tonight. When I find you, I’m going to be your worst nightmare,” I put the phone in the trash. Rusty’s advice to me after he lent it to me was to ditch it in the trash. Dead Eye was probably tracking us now. “Hello?”

I levitate one more tracking bit up, my last one. My good looking friend pointed to a slot machine that had a five million gem jackpot. I slid the coin inside and pulled the lever. We walked away and the lights on the machine lit up with cool colors drawing every pony’s attention to it. Bits came crashing down on the seat while everypony scrambled to get some of the action.

I held the door open for Daring and we made our exit. Just before I walked out I took one last look at the ponies taking every bit they could get their hooves on. You know there’s something about giving back to ponies that gives me a warm feeling inside.

The door swung back into place, the cool night air brushed past my mane while I galloped after Daring, she was looking back at me. I rejoined her at the fountain then we stopped. Her head was turned to the fountain. I put my fore hooves on the stone railing just staring down at our reflections. “Bet you didn’t expect your big score to turn out like this,” Daring smiled shaking her head at me. Fireworks flew up into the air, exploding into dozens of beautiful red and orange colors, each one somehow more beautiful than the last. The colors turned green then blue a second later. Water from the fountain shot up into the air.

Daring let her mane down and brushed it back. Her eyes were stuck staring at the colors dancing on the water. She had something on her mind, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I kept quiet, slowly scooting next to her. For a mare, who just the other day took all my stuff, she wasn’t that bad. Daring reached into her saddle bags before setting a bright pale gemstone down next to me. “I know it’s only worth about five thousand bits, but I hope this makes us even and was worth going through all this trouble.” I turned from the water looking at her. Another firework exploded in the air and half her face turned a slight shade of red.

My hoof went over to the gemstone before knocking it inside my saddle bags. Maybe it’s just the warm feeling talking, but even if I wasn’t being paid for this I wouldn’t mind. “It’s perfect,” I found myself saying softly. “We did it.” I smiled at her and we both moved away from the fountain while it shot water into the air with the sounds of fireworks going off.

*** ***

Daring walked out of the bathroom with her vest on, pith helmet tilted to the side. I won’t lie, she looked good in a dress, but this suits her way more. She gave me a hoof bump while we trotted down the stairs to the basement. The sound of War’s voice greeted us. “Han. Han, pick up the damn phone!” He tapped his hoof angrily against the ground. Daring and I looked at each other.

Rusty was busy tossing our plans along with the other equipment into an incinerator. Note to self, destroy all evidence after you’re done with a job, preferably with scorching hot flames of hellfire. Now that I think about it, how the hell did the police chief know to check my attic? Just forget about it.

My attention went back to Rusty who was taking a step back from the flames rising up. “Hey,” he called out to me, “we’re heading out in five. Grab any gear you want then let’s move out.” I gave him a nod noticing some hallways branching off from the room. Daring was grabbing some ammo along with every other weapon the others didn’t want. Better go find something before she loots it all.

The first door opened up with a bit of a struggle, but it was worth it. I found ammo! It was for a sniper rifle. I kicked it aside and kept looking around. Nothing. The next room had some pistol ammo with a couple of old newspaper articles that had most of the articles spray painted on. My hoof kicked them away. I trotted over to the last door. I pushed it open and hit the light switch. Everything remained dark. Wind whipped around outside sounding close. Like … really close. I looked up at a small open window.

“Shut up and keep quiet.”

I froze; slowly turning my head to the zebra sitting in the dark corner of the room. Han had a gun pointed at me with a silencer attached to it. His exotic accent was long gone for the night. The barrel of the gun was pointed at the door while Han nudged his head. I closed it. “What is this?”

“A blitz,” the barrel pointed back at me. Han cleared his throat. “Sorry, this was a blitz. You figured it out right?” Figured what out? That he disappeared when we needed him. “I’m pretty sure Dead Eye’s going to miss fifty million bits.” I stared into Han’s green eyes revealing he didn’t have any sign of regret. That bloater could have killed us. It’s not like Rusty or Oceans have fought one of those things before.

My horn started to flare up. Han aimed straight between my eyes. My horn stopped glowing. “Alright, well then tell me how you did it.”

Han smiled. His tail swished over something, knocking it over to me. “At exactly ten forty five I made sure all the guards were off tracking several different unicorns. By the time it was ten fifty I had already broken into the great hall.” Wait a minute. That’s where the Pinkie Pie Laser Grid System is located at. I held up one of my hooves.

“Wait a second, you’re telling me that you stole fifty million bits while we were in the middle of a job.” Han nodded with proud smile. He was proud of what he did! Okay, that explains why he gave his share of Daring’s winnings to the other two. “I thought you were doing this for the sake of saving ponies.”

Han scoffed. “Please. You think Equestria can change overnight with one heist. Turning Equestria back into what it was is nothing more than a story you tell foals, like you.” I could feel a scowl starting to form on my face. My horn started to pulse blue. “Don’t give me that look. I didn’t leave without freeing a few slaves without your help.” He saved some slaves? How? When did this happen? “Once I checked to make sure the cameras were off I used a spell around the cages to shock War unconscious. Did you see those armed ponies marching out the door?” I nodded. “I disguised them and filed a report to Dead Eye that his money had been stolen. That was at eleven fifteen. Oh, and I was the one that kept that alarm from going off. You know the one.” The puzzle was all there in front of me. Each piece rotating around until it fit together.

There was still one thing I couldn’t figure out. “How did you get by the laser field?”

Thirty six lasers that only the pink party pony could get through with her pinkie sense. To my knowledge there wasn’t any way to break inside of there without getting caught. Han smiled and set his hoof down. “Ah ha, the laser field.” I looked down at the object Han had knocked over to me. It was a memory jewel. Han nudged his head at it. I focused my magic and the world started to rip away. “Well … you see.”

*** ***

I blinked and saw pink lasers moving behind statues, across works of art and priceless glass vases all around the room. Four statues were placed along the room, each one depicting a different princess, they didn’t capture their real elegance. The box was attached to the top of the ceiling well out of reach, in the middle of the laser field making it impossible to turn it off, it pulsed with magic to keep it guarded from spells. Han blinked and so did I.

Without a second thought I tried to focus my way into a third person view, but it didn’t work. The jewel itself was locked in first person view. My attention was locked on the thirty six randomly moving lasers. Let’s see how you did it.

Han’s head dipped down to bow. “To the four princesses, I dedicate this .” Han lifted his head back up, strapping a music player to his flank. A pair of headphones went over his slightly pointed ears while he cracked his neck to the left then right. His hooves took two steps forward then he gingerly swung the lower half of his body to the right. Han pushed himself up and kart wheeled over the first two lasers. He stopped on his fore hooves, keeping the lower half of his body raised in the air. Our eyes looked at two lasers heading right for us. Han’s right hoof stuck out and his back hooves stuck out in two different directions. Each laser traced around the only hoof Han had on the ground, never once touching him, before moving away.

His body went down to the ground while he beat his fore hooves against it in tune to the music we were listening to. His fore hooves planted firmly on the ground and the lower half of his body shot up into a hoof stand. Three more lasers went around us while we kart wheeled back to the starting point.

Han took three steps back and galloped towards the first laser. Five lasers scanned the ground while he dove over them summersaulting to a stop in front of lasers six and seven. Han lay against the floor then bucked a statue that felt cemented to the ground. Propelling himself towards a statue we avoided a laser that was getting WAY to close! Han stood back up and spun around with all four hooves brought together. Several different lasers went by in a blur. That was lasers eight through eleven.

The zebra and I came to a stop and jumped on top of the Celestia statue in the middle of the great hall. I looked down at the lasers. ONE WAS RIGHT BY OUR HOOF! It moved away. Setting our fore hooves against Celestia’s head, Han lifted his entire body into the air then used the tip of her horn for balance while lasers twelve through seventeen traced the statue from head to hoof. They didn’t trace her horn at all. Han kissed the tip of the sun goddess’s horn. His hoof propelled us through the air over lasers eighteen through twenty three.

This going back and forth is making me sick to my stomach. Can I hurl inside of a memory?

Laser twenty three moved towards us while laser twenty four swung right behind us. Han threw his head back. NO PONY OR ZEBRA’S BODY SHOULD BEND BACKWARDS LIKE THIS! Han arched his stomach up, gently easing his was over a laser before throwing the front of his body up to avoid the laser passing underneath him. Laser twenty five was an inch away from his back while he rolled forward. He stopped on his head keeping his lower body held in the air. His fore hooves threw us around in circles using his head to keep us spinning. Lasers twenty six through thirty moved all around us with only an inch of clearance between every part our body. The lasers moved away and Han landed with his back hoof sticking out to regain his balance.

His other back hoof stuck out then followed laser thirty one while lasers thirty two and thirty three followed right behind him. Han put his fore hooves out and he flipped over laser thirty four. He landed on the ground then flattened his body out as much as possible. Laser thirty five went right over his body without touching it. Beads of sweat were running down from his mane. If I could actually sweat inside of memories I would have been drenched by now.

Once laser thirty five was a couple inches away, Han put his fore hooves behind his head and propelled himself over laser thirty five while it swung back around for another sweep. We landed on his back hooves, pushed off against the ground front flipping over laser thirty six, then landed on top of the stairway in front of Dead Eye’s vault. We started swinging our fore hooves around and fell back.

Han swept his back hoof to the right and set all four hooves down firmly on the ground. I could feel the smile on his face. Brimming with full confidence from a job well done. We turned back around, jumped into the air and clacked all four hooves together.

The world ripped away.

*** ***

I blinked my eyes a few times noticing the room was completely empty. “That is the coolest zebra I’ve ever met.” Han had made his escape and … I felt around in my bag. My pale gemstone was gone! Oh, screw you Han! I’ll admit this though, I’m scared of turning into the kind of thief Han is. Throwing every pony under … an autowagon … to make off with more bits than a pony could possibly know what to do with.

I did this to help the slaves. Remember that, Runner. You did this to help the unicorn slaves.

Breathe in. Breathe out.