The Ballad of Midnight Edge

Midnight Edge was reading the news articles, the four cases seemed interesting, and now he wanted to follow all of them. A prison break, stolen goods, vandalism, and apparent ghosts. It would be the first time he would take Babs Seed on an adventure with him, he couldn't take a dangerous case, but he could not take a boring one either.

The stallion could not make a choice, and so he decided to move on to the next step on his list, restocking. Using the bits he earned by selling trinkets, Midnight Edge bought a large amount of varied meats from Steel Arm's Meats. His purchase could last at least two seasons. As he left the venue, Midnight Edge felt tempted to taste some of the products he purchased, the smell of cured and smoked meats lingered in his mind as he walked back to his hotel.

He bought a newspaper to distract himself, the front page had news about several arson incidents taking place in different locations, most of them bakeries, the police was unable to find clues on the case. The case however had something in common with previous cases, a witness saw a possible culprit entering an alley and disappearing. There was something in the alleys, something that gave criminals an advantage.

Midnight Edge realized he could take on all five cases by finding out whatever was going on in the alleys. As soon as he found an alley he walked into it to find evidence. He could not find anything. It would take a while to check all alleys, but at that moment he decided to take a break, not only that, he would actually indulge in his craving. A piece of pepperoni was released from the green gem on Midnight Edge's cape, the stallion took a bite of the cured meat. The flavor was unusual, savory, salty, and spicy, its taste was unique, it felt delightfully strange, most ponies did not like it's taste, but to Midnight Edge it was amazing.

Midnight Edge was focused on enjoying every bite he took, while he was alert he was distracted enough to ignore a part of the paved floor sliding to reveal a trapdoor, and a brown stallion with red mane coming out of it. The stallion was surprised, he was not expecting anypony in his way, especially not a meat eater, rare among ponies. Midnight Edge noticed his presence a bit too late, he swallowed the last bite he took and made sure he could control the encounter by speaking first. "I am getting tired of being caught red handed in the middle of awkward situations. Enjoy the freak show man."

"Freak show? I'm not even impressed. If they sent you tell them their ambush was crap."

"Ambush? Who are you? Weren't you surprised by my feeding habits?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I know a couple of ponies who eat meat. At least the say so, and I have heard some soldiers do so too."

"I am no soldier. Now tell me what is that trapdoor and what are you doing before I hurt you."

"Intimidation. I see. At least I know you were not sent by them. I will tell you what I know." the stallion got ready for a long explanation. "But you go first. You didn't get here just for a snack."

"I won't tell much, but let's say I am here searching for clues, and I think I found them."

"Well mister snack. I am on a lead, maybe we are looking for the same. This trapdoor is part of a network of tunnels connecting different parts of Manehattan. Thieves and smugglers used them, and I think somepony is using them again."

"The guy who got out of jail?"

"Maybe, but I am sure the arsonists are using them, they target bakeries, and they might attack my sister next."

"Personal matters I see... Well. I shall introduce myself. My name is Midnight Edge. If you find any useful lead look for me at Golden Horseshoe."

"The name's Lock Pick." The stallion pointed proudly at his flank, showing a lock pick and a lock, his blue eyes were full of pride. "Master locksmith and baker assistant!"

...

After his meeting with the mysterious locksmith, Midnight Edge went to Babs Seed's home, he found a lead, not only to a case, but one that could probably solve all five cases. It was all tied to a tunnel network. They would start by meeting with Lock Pick, and would pull as much information from him as possible. Once they get things ready they went to Midnight Edge's hotel room and waited for their potential ally.

"I hope he doesn't take too long. I promised your sister you would be back at sundown."

"How are we going to catch the bad guys if we don't look for them at night?"

"Well, they must have a hideout somewhere, if we find it we find them. And then..."

"We fight them!"

"No! That won't happen. Actually you will stay as far from them as possible." A knock on the door ended their conversation, Midnight Edge opened the door, ready to fight in case it was an ambush. Before him there were Lock Pick and a younger mare, her cream colored fur, violet eyes and pink mane made her look like a calm version of the other stallion, her cutie mark was a rolling pin, and her mane was styled in two braids. Midnight Edge smiled and greeted them. "Come in. Time to plan this".

"Thanks. Well, I see we both brought somepony else. She's my sister, Sourdough."

"The bakery mare I guess. I hope you are ready for a bumpy ride!" Midnight Edge was extremely excited, he even forgot to introduce himself, the situation promised a great adventure.

"Hello! I'm Babs Seed, the big oaf is my coltfriend, Midnight Edge." Babs Seed smiled and then blew air at her mane.

Finally the young mare spoke, her voice like a chime. "Nice to meet you. My brother said you would help us stop the arsonists."

"Not only the arsonists." Midnight Edge spoke proudly. "I am sure this is connected to other cases. We will clean these streets."

"Cleaning Manehattan? I was a bit surprised when that filly called you her coltfriend, now I see you are just as naive as a foal." Lock Pick was skeptic toward Midnight Edge's claims. "Everypony thinks this city is full of glamour and style, but deep inside it's rotten and twisted."

"All cities are. There is always a Swarm, thought agents, and an Undercity. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to keep the innocents safe." Midnight Edge spoke, full of hope and bravado.

"An optimist... You sure you want to help us? You will get hurt. That filly too."

"Come on brother. I am sure they will be fine. I can watch over the little one."

"So... What do you know about the tunnels? Do you have a map or something?" Midnight Edge inquired, he was not going to waste time with worries and pessimism, if they were going to get things done, they had to gather as much information as possible.

"The network is large, I haven't explored all the tunnels, but I can guide you through them." Lock Pick replied, he was rather well prepared to explore the tunnels.

"Then let's get moving! We should check all the entrances you already know and see if they have something in common." Babs Seed took the initiative and they left the hotel.

...

The group observed three different entrances, they couldn't find much, some graffiti on the walls, garbage, abandoned items, the kind of things you would expect from shady alleys, but there were no markings on the entrances and no signs of anything else. Babs Seed however took mental notes of all she could see, in her mind she was looking for a pattern and after exploring two more entrances she stopped when they passed near an alley which had no entrance.

The filly entered the alley and began to look for something around the place, after it was clear she found nothing she seemed rather excited for somepony who had no clues. "Guys! I got it!"

"What did you find little one?" Sourdough was the only one to speak. Midnight Edge was just observing, as if he was evaluating her, and Lock Pick didn't seem to expect anything from her.

"I found a clue, and I think I also found who is behind this. Well, maybe."

Midnight Edge looked at her, his expectation building up, if she really found something he couldn't notice, then she was made for adventure, no matter what her cutie mark was. "Elaborate my dear, don't just hype us with half answers. Just remember, if you don't deliver the fans will be angry."

"It's the graffiti. The ones in the alleys with hidden trapdoors are signed with the same mark we saw earlier. I think they are marking their turf with them. It's the same broken horseshoe." Babs Seed explained knowing she found something important. "All the alleys with an entrance were marked with that same symbol. I don't think it's just coincidence."

Another part of the puzzle was placed on it, revealing more details in the picture. Yet still Lock Pick didn't believe her. He was mistaken, but he wanted her to back her claims with more evidence. "That's probably just a gang symbol, it could have nothing to do with the tunnels."

"Then let's look for more alleys with the same symbol! You'll see I AM right. If you draw a straight line from the front of the symbol to the other wall it should cross the entrance."

The group moved on and checked five more alleys, only those marked with the broken horseshoe had a tunnel entrance, and it matched the pattern discovered by Babs Seed. She found a way to detect the tunnels. Whoever was using them made sure they could be found by their allies, but also left a weakness ready to be exploited by a clever pony.

"What do you think Babs? Are all cases related? I would find that amusing since you asked me to look on them earlier."

"Aren't you jumping to conclusions quite fast snack guy?" Lock Pick was not convinced. How could he overlook an obvious clue.

"There's only one way to find out. We go into the tunnels." Babs Seed was ready to dive into the vast darkness of the tunnels and find the culprits.

"You know how to open them. Don't you brother?" Sourdough politely asked her brother, expecting him to open the trapdoor.

"Fine. I will open it. But if there is some sort of danger you must go back home. Understood?" The brown stallion placed his hoof on a slate which seemed to be loose, then he rotated it to the right and the pavement moved revealing the entrance.

...

The group walked through the dark tunnels looking for clues. They used flashlights and Midnight Edge's magic to illuminate the dark passages, there were many dead ends and exits leading to different alleys, eventually Babs Seed noticed the tunnels had subtle markings which pointed in certain directions, they went on for hours finding wide areas which looked like rooms, they were mostly empty, but it was clear ponies had been there earlier. Some of the rooms had spray paint cans, food leftovers, and other tools. It was clear they were near a criminal hideout.

They reached a smaller chamber which looked like a storage room, there were many objects including stolen and smuggled goods. Babs Seed looked at a shining object on the floor and took it. "Look! It's a gem! I think we found one of the stolen gems."

"Now we know at least three cases are linked." Midnight Edge was amused by the turn of events.

"Four counting the arson." Sourdough stated.

"Let's move on. We should find more evidence." Lock Pick stated.

Finally they reached an intersection, it was dimly lit and they could hear faint pony voices coming from a distant area. Midnight Edge ordered the group to stop and plan a strategy.

"Well. You should leave." Midnight Edge looked at Sourdough and Babs Seed. "This may be dangerous."

"No way! I'm coming with you." Babs Seed replied. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to help catching those criminals.

"It was not a question. I don't want you to get hurt. Go home. Sourdough, you go and bring the cops here."

"What if they are behind this? You are gonna get us killed!" Lock Pick responded angry and worried. "We should take them on now!"

"We are. Babs, you may need this." Midnight Edge handed her a belt with a knife holstered on it and a coat. "If somepony gets in your way you might need to fight back. You might need a weapon too." Midnight Edge took a small dagger and offered it to Sourdough.

"Thank you. Let's go Babs!"

The girls left, armed and carrying flashlights. Midnight Edge and Lock Pick planned a strategy to fight the criminals hiding within the tunnels.

...

Babs Seed and Sourdough came out of the tunnels, they kept their weapons concealed. They were not sure what to do next, they only knew they had to find help.

"Let's go to the police office. I helped the cops once." Babs Seed was eager to help, she had no intention to just go home and stay put.

"But Midnight Edge said you should go home."

"And leave him behind? I know your brother doesn't trust them, but the cops are our only choice."

They went ahead toward the police station, on their way Sourdough made a question which she was keeping for later. "Is that stallion really your boyfriend? He looks too old for you."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"Well. You are just a filly, he might be more experienced."

"My first kiss was his too. He is not experienced at all."

"You mean? How long have you been dating?"

"Since summer... Just for you to know... I want to marry him someday, that's why we must do something now before he gets hurt."

The girls finally reached the police station. They told the officers about the tunnels, and Babs Seed gave them the gem she took as proof. A group of armed officers got ready to help them and headed with them toward the tunnels. Sourdough was worried his brother could be right, but Babs Seed knew those officers, they actually were surprised she was helping them with another case.

...

Midnight Edge and Lock Pick planned a frontal assault, they were armed and ready to fight. Lock Pick was surprised when he noticed Midnight Edge carried a large amount of weapons and did not expect him to plan the whole attack. Midnight Edge was not only ready to fight, but willing to kill if needed. He didn't look like one, but he seemed as experienced in battle as a royal guard, if not more.

"Well. Are you ready snack guy?"

"Just one more thing before we leave. Tell me the truth. Who are you? What do you know about those guys?" Midnight Edge sought his secrets, he knew his friend was hiding something.

"I am a locksmith, my father was a locksmith too. But before that... I was a thief. I used these tunnels to get away with it. They never caught me, but when Quick Rhyme got caught. Well... I suspected he might tell other ponies about the tunnels and I retired. I began to work as a locksmith since there was no lock I could not open or fix. Then I began to help my sister with her bakery to distract myself. I missed the thrill I felt with robberies, but it was a nice life."

"Until the arsonists began to attack bakeries?" He didn't understand how that connected to everything yet.

"I suspected they could attack my sister. Maybe they were after me, I knew some gangs used the tunnels too. I worked alone, but knew some of those ponies."

"Do you know these guys?"

"No. Never heard of them before. The guys at the bar never mentioned them." Lock Pick began to wonder why he still went to that bar. He had some friends there, but maybe it was better to let them go.

"Good. We might have to kill them. You should leave that bar. It keeps you connected to that past you are running away from."

"What would you do?" Lock Pick sought advice, he blamed himself for getting his sister involved. "How would you handle this?"

"The way I am doing so. I will fight. I won't run away. I will face things and break any obstacle."

...

There were five stallions in the room, they were planning their next strikes, which places they would rob and which places they would attack. They planned to embolden their activities, maybe kidnapping a VIP or killing a few police officers. Their intentions were not good, and they had a group of obedient ponies, colts and stallions who would willingly do anything for their gang. Their leader was a large white pegasus stallion with golden mane, his face had a large scar in the shape of a crescent moon, and his cutie mark was a broken horseshoe, the symbol of their gang.

One of the stallions walked toward the door leading to the tunnels, as soon as he opened the door a fireball entered through the door and impacted the stallion on the entrance and another one. The blast took them by surprise and knocked them unconscious, the other stallions took muskets and waited for the smoke to clear.

Two stallions entered in the room and engaged in fight with the gang members, one was a brown earth pony with red mane and shining blue eyes carrying a baseball bat hard enough to work as a cudgel, the other a purple unicorn with blue mane and fierce green eyes covered in a black cape carrying a sharp sword.

The stallions struck before the gangsters could release the first volley, Lock Pick knocked one of them unconscious and broke the weapon held by another, Midnight Edge went straight for the pegasus and cut through his weapon.

The gang leader took a machete, got ready to fight, and spoke. "Kill the earth pony. The unicorn is mine!"

The thugs engaged in battle, the remaining lackey took a jury rigged device, it looked like a metal baton with a rubber handle and wires coming out of it, an electric baton designed for torture and interrogation.

The criminal used his electric baton to attack Lock Pick, who blocked the attack with his baseball bat. The leader tried to attack Midnight Edge with his machete, the green eyed warrior blocked the blow with his sword, then moved aside and kicked the gang leader. The large pegasus was barely affected by the hit, he just stumbled a little and then charged again.

The battle extended for minutes without signs of a clear outcome, then the gang leader managed to make Midnight Edge lose his footing and the caped mage fell to the ground. Before the criminal could land the final blow Lock Pick struck him, staggering him and saving his friend.

Lock Pick extended a hoof to help his companion, right after Midnight Edge got back on his hoofs a hissing sound ringed in his ears and the smell of ozone entered his nose. Lock Pick was struck by the depraved contraption, the shock caused pain to rush through his body as he fell to the round, he was still conscious, but the pain and shock kept him paralyzed, It was not a lethal hit, but he was no longer able to fight.

Before Midnight Edge could react, he felt a stab on his back, the leader was back on his hooves and stabbed him with a pocket knife. Midnight Edge fell to the ground, blood spilling from his wound, one of his lungs was probably punctured. He could not move.

Midnight Edge was consumed by anger and fear, those ponies represented the worst of his species, his friend was wounded, he knew Babs Seed and Sourdough might return to help them, and they would be in danger if he was defeated.

His sight went blurry, his body was trembling, he was about to fall unconscious. He saw the lackey take a knife and approaching his friend. Right before the thug could cut Lock Pick's throat, Midnight edge stood again and released a large ice needle from his horn. The frozen bolt hit the thug, nailing his front leg to a wall, then Midnight Edge threw another projectile to nail his other leg incapacitating the enemy. Then turned around and launched a fireball at the gang leader followed by a spider silk net. The large stallion could no longer move.

Midnight Edge approached his enemy holding his sword, resisting the pain of his wound as he prepared a healing spell, it was not enough to heal his wound completely, but it was no longer fatal. "Why are you doing this?! What do you want?!"

The gang leader tried to stand again. Before he could stand, Midnight Edge slashed his leg with his sword, damaging his tendons and keeping him on the ground. The gang leader realized he was in no place to fight anymore and decided to negotiate. "Maybe you will like this. I am the head of a gang of thieves and smugglers. I could pay you to work for me. You are ruthless and strong, just what I need"

"You were the ones who stole the gems. I get that, and probably the thief who escaped prison was one of your men. But why did you mark the city? And what about the fires?" Midnight Edge tried to piece together the whole puzzle as more pieces fell on it.

"Why do you think? Intimidation of course! We wanted to make sure nopony would challenge us. Every time the cops got in our way, every time they captured one of us, we just burn a place, bakeries were great for that, they are often managed by families." The crime lord was proud, he was the biggest threat to Manehattan in decades.

"So. She guessed right?" Midnight Edge got the whole picture now, Babs Seed inferred the graffiti and the fires were a form of intimidation, a worsened version of what bullies often did at schools, she even noticed the fires followed a pattern with the capture of some thieves and failed robberies where the culprits managed to run away. She considered the ones behind those crimes were not only criminals, but actual monsters.

Midnight Edge was disgusted by the stallion's pure cruelty and depravity. He felt so disgusted he decided to punish the gangster. He began by hitting him and thrashing him around the room, then electrocuted him with the morbid contraption used to knock his friend, finally he nailed him to a wall with an ice needle and stood before him placing the edge of his sword before the criminal's face. "Tell me why should I let you live?"

The crime lord was terrified, but suddenly he displayed a wide grin ad responded. "There are witnesses."

Midnight Edge looked at the criminal and saw something reflected on his eyes. A mare, a filly, and two armed police officers. His rage filled mind gave in to regret, horror, and doubt. His sword fell to the ground and he curled into a ball, as his anger faded he began to feel the tormenting sting of his wound which combined with guilt into crippling pain.

...

Midnight Edge woke up in a hospital bed, it was late at night. He didn't want to open his eyes, he felt disgusted by himself. Babs Seed saw him at his worst, surrounded by fallen enemies whose fate he ignored, and ready to kill. He did not remember much after that, he remembered he fell and a police officer called for an ambulance through his radio, then he remembered Babs Seed crying next to him as he faded into unconsciousness. He knew he was at a hospital because he could hear the sounds beyond the room, at least it was not a prison. He felt the pressure of a small hoof on his. Finally he decided to face his fate and opened his eyes.

"You're awake. – Babs Seed was sitting next to him, with her hoof on his, her face looked glad, but also pained. – You had me worried."

"You must hate me now." Midnight Edge feared the answer, but he had to ask.

"What for? You were right. It was better for me to leave."

"But I... Aren't you afraid of me? You saw me there. You were crying. I... I think I killed somepony."

"I'm not afraid of you. I love you. I will always love you."

"But you saw me there. I am not normal, I am... merciless."

"So are royal guards, and they still get married. I was crying because I thought you were going to die. Your wound looked worse than it was."

"I healed it a bit... It was worse... Where is Lock Pick? Is he safe?"

"He's fine, nopony died, the thugs were taken somewhere else." Babs Seed slid the curtain and Midnight Edge saw his friend, still unconscious, he was breathing normally, his vital signs were normal, but he was unresponsive. "He woke up a few hours ago. But he was too tired and went to sleep after having diner."

"I thought he was still affected by the shock. It's late, shouldn't you be at your place?"

"I told mom and dad you were attacked by some criminals. They don't know we were investigating. I asked the cops to not tell anypony about us." Babs Seed was clever enough to hide their involvement in the case, she feared her family wouldn't let her see Midnight Edge anymore if they found out.

"So the baker and her brother took the credit? That's good, I don't want those stupid journalists behind me."

"Are all your adventures that dangerous?"

"No... But you can't be my companion anymore."

"What? No! You can't say that!" Babs Seed was angry, she didn't want him to underestimate her.

"Technically you are my wife... You can't be my companion. I shouldn't put you in danger."

"But you said your adventures were not always that dangerous."

"I never know when things are going to get ugly. If you want to come with me you must leave when I tell you. Leave and wait for me to return safe and sound."

"I can't do that."

"You must. And we can't go alone. There must be somepony else you know, like your sister or another friend or relative."

"I guess it will never be just the two of us then?"

"It would never be just the two of us anyway. I never travel alone, remember?"

...