Magnificent Bastard

by MonolithiuM

Rating: mature
Tags: Adventure, Dark
Length: 5465

To do what is right, one must be a bit wrong. One stallion takes it upon himself to gather a team of ne'er do wells to do... good.

Upset at the state of his beloved country, an earth pony by the name of Deciduous decides to fight fire with a hotter, angrier fire. By his reasoning, evil only responds to either a strong-willed good or a far more intimidating evil. All his life Deciduous hasn't been all that great at being good. He has, however, always excelled at trickery and deceit. Such skills are looked down upon in Equestrian society. As gangs, corruption, and dark magic rise in Equestria, Deciduous decides that he is tired of his neighbors living in fear.

He sets out with a mission in mind: be bigger, scarier, and more devious than any other in Equestria. Cow his enemies, earn the wary respect of the government, and get a slice of the pie for himself along the way.

And maybe–just maybe–he'll make some friends along that way.

Rated 'Mature' for graphic scenes of violence, sexual acts, language, and adult themes.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-11-23 04:41:33 UTC

Chapter One, "Margins"

“Fuck you.” Incredible. Right out of the gate and already with the ‘fuck you’. Can’t say I’m surprised, considering who she works for and where we grabbed her. I had been sorely lacking when it came to information on South Stalliongrad’s largest prostitution ring. Preferably we would have gotten a more weak-willed prisoner. Oh, well. At least Gerard’s lackeys look you in the eyes when they insult you.

I look to my own lackey, more of an employee, actually. Possibly an acquaintance. “Gina, do you know how frustrating it is to use chopsticks as an earth pony?” Honestly, these things were hard to manipulate. I could only hold them for a few seconds at most. The entire time I had been waiting for my people to deliver this one, I had been holed up in the back of this Neighponese eatery attempting to control these damnable pieces of wood. “They always seem to…”

Thunk. A scream of pain and a small gush of blood.

“…slip.” I release a sigh. “There I go again. I really do envy your talons, Gina.” Credit where credit is due, though, Gerard’s underling glares at me through her one good eye. “Anyway, back to the previous matter we were discussing. When and where is your next shipment due?”

Despite her wound, the cretin stays tight-beaked, even as blood oozes slowly from the shut lid. The chopstick quivers slightly as she releases a low, breathy growl. “You think I’ll betray Slightfeather so easy?” She spat at my hooves. “Good luck.”

“Well, than you for the warm wishes. However, I have something–or should I say someone–better than luck. Gina, if you’d be so kind as to take my place?” It wasn’t a command, but the gray-feathered griffoness acts much like a soldier. In a blur of gray and white, Gina’s amber eyes glare into the baby blues of our prisoner. “Now, you see, I’m a bit of a softie when it comes to these… situations. Tell her, Gina, if you would.”

“Really, love, just an absolute coward of an earth pony. Couldn’t hurt a fly.”

“I wouldn’t say that I’m a coward, Gina. Additionally, I’ve killed my fair share of flies.” I give the bound griffoness a pointed look. “Hurt some of them, too.”

“Only when you’ve had to, love. Left some of those flies hospitalized, if I remember right.” Gina turns her attention back to the captive, a small grin on her beak. “I tend to misspeak. Sorry.”

"Ah, ah, Gina. Remember, it’s ‘my apologies’. If we’re going to deliver someone to the brink of death, the best we can do is be polite as we go about it.” Despite a few slips, Gina was most definitely improving on the rough street slang she was accustomed to. From a hooligan in a rough neighborhood in Trottingham to a respectable position in a crime syndicate. I am a miracle-maker.

Gina digs her talons into the captive’s ribs, drawing blood. The griffoness in the chair screams and writhes as Gina flexes her talons. “Now, the next shipment location, as well as a time, if you wouldn’t mind. Gerard isn’t the only one with deadlines to meet.” Gina yanks her nails out of her victim, and blood mars the brown pelt if the bound griffoness. Spitting up a bit of blood, she looks past Gina at me.

“In hell. You can pick them up on your way there.” Oh, a comedian. Goodie.

“You sure do have a lot of excess breath to waste, don’t you? Gina, please take care of that issue.” As I finish my request, Gina’s talons return to the wound made only moments ago, only deeper this time. A shout of anguish is silenced. “Since one of your lungs is collapsed, and no doubt that you’re hemorrhaging somewhat, why not tell me where the shipment is going to be?”

“Ne… Never…” She sounds short of breath now, shouldn’t take long after I drop this bombshell.

“Well, then, if I can’t get through to you with physical pain, then we are at an impasse. Gina, you can take a break for now, it seems only words will get what I want this time around.” Gina retreats from the bleeding griffoness, wiping her talons off on the handkerchief I gave her. Couldn’t stand her leaving that blood on her pelt.

I kick a seating pillow in front of our captive and take a seat. “So how is your little brother doing?” Now I have an audience, if the wide eye and attempt at a gasp is anything. “I heard that he was recovering at Restful Hooves in room twenty-five A.”

“B,” Gina reminds me.

“Yes. B. If you could tell me where that next shipment is due, your sibling’s surgery may be successful. However, you could always keep the info to yourself and spend the rest of your life alone, in your brother’s hospital bed.”

“The docks. One in the morning.” Excellent.

“Anything I should worry about? I wouldn’t want to disappear. If that would happen, your brother might not make it through the night. Medicine can be tricky that way.”

“Seven guards. Three unicorns, one griffon, two pegasi, and a minotaur. The shipment will arrive by boat. There are three griffons on it.” Amazing how someone will talk once you push the correct buttons. I glance to Gina. She recognizes the look in my eyes and moves behind the prisoner. Tears come from the haggard griffoness’ face, her damaged eye’s tears are red.

“Now, I’m quite sorry about this, but… I can’t take risks in my line of work.” Gina’s talons dig through my victim’s wings, raking away at the feathers and sinew. “I’ll get a bed next to your brother’s for you. You can talk with him all you like.”

Once Gina is done and the screaming stops, I pull the ropes free and motion toward the darkness. Two ponies emerge and haul the sobbing griffoness away. “Gina, get Gerry and his boys together, we’re going to give a gift to Gerard’s men.”

I pull my pocket watch out of my coat. Thirty minutes until the ship reaches the docks, so we’ve plenty of time. Gina and her detachment are most likely setting up near the docks at this point. A small wave rocks our boat, and I replace my pocket watch to glance at Gerry and his crew. Three griffons and four earth ponies are with him, not including me, and all the disguises are in order. We have one small lantern lit, lighting only a small portion of the deck.

“I see ‘em!” shouts one of the earth ponies. Gerry looks to me and I give him a nod, and the black-winged griffon shoots me one of his trademark grins. Clutching the siren’s crank, he begins to turn it as we speed toward the shipping boat, spotlights on. We’re still quite far from the shore, so the rest of Gerard’s group at the docks shouldn’t hear. We pull in front of the other boat, and I step forward.

“Stop where you are! Throw out anchors and prepare to be boarded!” Goddess, do I hate the Stalliongrad accent, but I’ll do anything to sell this. “This is random search!” I had been doing accents since I was young, mostly to entertain my friends when we were joking around. We pull up alongside them, and I’m not surprised to see that they’re all smiles. They must have the girls hidden somewhere. No matter.

“How goes it, friend?” asks a Stalliongrad unicorn aboard the ship. The intel was off by a single margin, but I can’t expect a street urchin to know all of the mob’s moves. That’s why I brought more muscle than necessary. As the siren wails, three of our earth ponies slip into the water unseen, moving around to the other side of their ship. “Seas are bit choppy, but not too bad, yeh?”

“Yeh,” I respond neutrally. At this point, I don’t want to push my luck with my fake accent. One slip up around a native and I’ll be seen through. “Gabriel, quiet siren!” The siren cuts out and I step aboard the other ship with one griffon and one earth pony. Gerry stays aboard our boat with one of his griffons. My jacket whips a bit in the wind, and I shake hooves with the enemy. “Anything on board dangerous?” I ask.

“Just you,” jokes the stallion. His smile is genuine, he believes that we are just another clueless patrol boat. Perfect. I move onto the deck proper, taking a look around to stall for time. I stride up to the plethora of wooden crates, going over everything with a lazy movement. “Is all just routine shipping, friend. Prench wine and other commodities for good living. Ponies like to spend big bits for worldly pleasure.”

I’ll bet my tail worldly pleasures are on this ship, just not the like that are to be bought and sold. “You like to drink? Let’s break open box and talk, yeh?” There’s the smile again, he must think we’re the normal Stalliongrad patrol, here to take a tithe and leave them alone. He uses his magic to crack open the box all too quickly. I see Gerry flash a thumb and turn back to the stallion.

“Drink between friends! Tonight is a good night!” As he turns to me with his magic gripping the expensive wine, I plunge a knife right between his ribs and watch his smile drop instantly. A couple of twists and he hits the deck soundlessly. Spitting the knife out of my lips, I nod at the two with me and we move toward the bridge. Three dead griffons and a severely beaten stallion await me along with three dripping wet earth ponies. Two margins.

“Now, before you ask, yes: we are here for the girls. I toss the coastguard cap into a pool of blood. “How you answer now determines how we handle you. Where are you hiding your shipment?” The stallion is shaking, most likely frightened, though the broken left forehoof could be a factor.

“In… In cargo hold, behind fake panel near engine…” He’s cradling his shattered hoof, still in shock from the surprise assault. I give a pointed look to the griffon and two of the earth ponies and they move away silently. I stride toward the hurt stallion. As I do, I notice something on the dash of the ship and swipe it. A still lit cigar. Just by the smell I can surmise its origin. Minotauria, and not cheap at all.

Placing it between my lips, I take a large puff and exhale. Absolutely marvelous flavor, and smooth to boot, I’ll be nabbing a few boxes of these along with their other, more illegal shipment. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m a proponent of crime. Murder, perjury, embezzling, you name it.” I take another pull. “However, everyone is within a certain frame of freedom to commit those crimes. One pony has just as much chance to murder someone as another has, and so on and so forth. Prostitution is a bit one-sided, in my humble opinion. Now, I know that my opinion doesn’t much matter to you. You could argue that some mares will elect to sell their bodies of their own volition, and I’d have to concede that point. However…”

I drop the cigar into the growing pool of griffon blood and remove my coast guard jacket. “These girls didn’t elect to be kidnapped and drugged to sell their bodies for your boss’ profit, did they?” The stallion weakly shakes his head. Good, he’s getting it. “I knew you’d understand. Would you happen to have any close family? Any of them female?”

“My ma, sir,” he responds.

“Ah, I see. Well, I don’t have any close living relatives of my own, but I can be certain that my mother wouldn’t have approved of selling girls’ futures away for profit. What must your mother think of her dishonorable son?”

“She would be angry if she knew.”

“I thought as much.” I turn and buck him square in the muzzle, and I can hear his jaw pop. He lets out a yell and I turn back to see him holding his face with his good hoof. “Do you think she’d have done that to you if she found out?” I ask him calmly. He doesn’t respond in any way, he instead keeps his head down in shame and pain. “Knowing Stalliongrad mares, she’d probably do worse, right? Something like this?” I drive my hoof into the back of his head, smashing his jaw against the wooden floorboards.

I trot over to my stallion and tap him on the shoulder. “What would you expect one of these mares’ brothers to do?” The stallion I touched moves on over to the damaged stallion on the floor. “Picture him as one of those brothers.” As one stallion brutalizes another, I leave the bridge to find a few cases of those Minotaurian cigars. Thinking back to a few minutes ago, I smile.

Tonight is a good night.

“Deci! We’ve found them!” The shout comes from below, and Gerry alights on the deck with another of his grins. I regard him with a reserved smile of my own, and he begins to shout at his people to get the goods we brought with us. While they move, I trot down into the cargo hold. I can hear calming words and scared, skittering hooves.

The mares refuse to move from where they are, stuck next to the engine. Gerard’s group had bolted two false walls on either side of the engine, concealing the two spaces to hide his shipment. I approach the right side of the engine slowly. Wearing a comforting gaze, I extend a hoof. “Is Dawn Blossom in there with you?” I ask quietly.

“I’m… I’m in here,” comes a small voice from the other side of the engine. I look up and move to the left, and a filly no more than twelve years old stares up at me. I give her the same comforting smile and put forward my hoof in greeting once again.

“Your brother, Wind Vane, told me about you, about all of you. He asked for my help, and I agreed. Come with us, you’ll be safe.” None of the mares move. “We are not and never will be like Gerard’s scum, you may not trust me, but trust my words: you are safe with us. We need to get you out of the harbor and back to shore. My people will get you back to your families.”

None move. Fine.

“My compatriots and I killed the five guards on this ship and we’re going to kill the rest at the docks. If you don’t want to wind up at the bottom of the harbor along with the rest of these bastards then I would strongly advise coming with us. Now.” That did the trick. Fifteen mares in total follow us back to our boat in a hurry, giving us wary looks. Gerry’s squad moves past us with our ‘surprise’, securing the false walls along with the triggers.

Once everyone is on our boat, I point the shipping boat towards the docks and begin piloting it forward. One of Gerry’s griffons stays behind with me, and our boat pulls out into the darkness. The griffon with me starts tossing all the bodies over the side of the ship, and cleans up the gore left behind with the spare cabin towels.

After twenty minutes of gliding through the darkness, we arrive just after one. I pull the boat alongside the dock and a surly pegasus stallion glares at me. “You’re late,” he says in a thick accent.

“Got held up by pigs,” I say. The stallion’s ears jump. “No problem, priyatel. Only wanted fancy drink, the p’yanitsy!” He calms down considerably and shares a laugh with me. Flashing me a smile, he hops aboard along with six other stallions, a couple minotaurs, and a griffon. Another few margins.

“Where are the others?” grumbles one of the massive minotaurs. I throw a hoof over my shoulder as I adjust the anchor line, waving it around the ship in a vague manner.

“Down below, keeping watch over girls! Make sure they only look, no touch!” I say. I return to fiddling with the thick rope, my griffon friend assisting me. The minotaur nods and moves with his group as a single unit. Two griffons on the docks keep a lookout, their gazes away from the boat and toward the city. I hold up a bottle of that expensive Prench wine. “Oi!” The two others turn. “Want a drink?”

While they’re keeping their attention on me, two crossbow bolts shoot out from the dark. One pierces the first griffon’s neck, and the other impacts the side of his friend’s head. They drop wordlessly. I look at the griffon with me. “Move.” We hop off the boat and stride down the dock toward our allies. A shout of alarm comes from the bottom of the boat and we take off into a sprint.

An explosion of metal and wood follows far behind us, tearing a portion of the dock down into the dark waters. Flames billow up from the corpse of the shipping boat, and we unite with our backup in the shipping yard and take off into the night, splitting up into smaller groups as we go.

Tonight was a resounding success.

“I can’t thank you enough,” says Wind Vane. The skinny pegasus with wings a tad too large for his body beams at me, happy tears in his eyes. While it warms the core of my heart very much so to see him ecstatic about his younger sister’s safe return, I’m running a business operation. Time to pay up.

“You’re correct, you can’t thank me enough. To pay off your debt to me and to my compatriots, you are going to have to do some work.” The stallion’s face falls. “Yes, I know that you’re still healing from the clobbering Gerard’s men gave you, but once you’re back in action, you’ll be doing some incognito operations for myself and for a griffon friend of mine.”

Wind Vane puts on a brave face and nods. “Da. I’ll do anything.” Now that is what I like to see.

“Good, you’ve got conviction. Let me make myself clear: you try to stab any of us in the back, and you’ll lose your family all over again, except this time they won’t be found. I did this because I have a moral code, however malleable I perceive it to be. You get yourself recruited by Gerard’s crew, and you pump us intel as fast as you can, as safely as possible. Got it?”

He nods again, face stern and understanding. I like this stallion. ”Shipments, moves, everything, yeh. I can do this. My debt will be repaid. Thank you.” I stare at him evenly, and he doesn’t break eye contact for a second. No faltering, no hesitation. This kid is going places.

“Whatever you do with Gerard’s crew will be forgiven, just make it so that we know about it so that we may launch a counter-move. Go, be with your sister, get your leg healed, and be safe. You’re welcome.” The stallion limps off, but keeps his head high and his chest swelled with pride. I look past him at the gaggle of mares we took off that boat. We’re getting names, addresses, and promises to keep quiet about our operation. Excellent.

I flick my hoof at one of the griffons dealing with the mares, and he glides over to me. “I have a meeting in Manehatten today at noon. Get whatever mares are from Manehatten and inform them that they’ll ride in first class with me on the next train. Get four of my ponies to make the trip with us, just as a precaution.” The griffon affirms my order with a nod and heads back to the mares.

“Tonight couldn’t’ve gone any better, eh?” Gina asks from a beam above me. She lazily swings her tail, slicing an apple apart with one of her talons. She grins at me confidently and I smirk. “Whaddya think Gerard’s gonna be doin’ ‘bout this, boss?”

“I don’t much care for the next twenty-four hours. There’s no trail to go by, no survivors, so he will be scrambling to gather information on the hit. His shipment is gone and his business is under pressure, however slight. He’s worried and confused, and we’ll be going dark for the next few days just to let his group get restated. Then we’ll hit them again, mainland this time.” Gina’s grin becomes a smile, and she finishes the apple she was picking at. She stares at the the core stuck on her talon.

“Slice away at ‘em, devour each bit of their power, but what do we do with the core, Deci?”

I smile widely now. “What we do with any trash, Gina. We throw it away in a metal box and let it rot.”

I open my eyes on the train to Manehatten, giving a quick look around in first class. Each mare is accompanied by a member of my group, with two of my people–a unicorn stallion and a pegasus mare–sitting alone side by side. We’re spread around the cabin randomly, and each of us is dressed befitting a first class passenger. For myself that is a collar and a plain red tie. The first rescued mare is three rows behind me, and the second is on the opposite side of the car two rows ahead. The first is a seat over from an earth pony stallion under my pay roll, and the second is sitting right next to another unicorn mare under my command, chatting with her casually.

Reaching forward, I claim a personal care kit and open it, taking note of my bloodshot eyes. My light brown eyes move around as I examine the reddened veins, looking like two dollops of drying sap washing around in glasses of milk. As I move my head, my faded orange mane, looking more like dying leaves, comes loose, and a strand enters my vision. An oak-colored hoof swipes it up and back into the mass of mane and pushes it back.

I have always been quite plain-looking for an earth pony, which suits me just fine. I can disappear into a crowd after I poison someone and I’m too damn vague to describe. Just how I like it. Taking a sip of water, I curl my hooves up against my body and rest my head along the seat. I close my eyes and attempt to get another hour or so of rest, but I can’t seem to do so. I sit back up and take out my pocket watch, checking the time. As I do, the train whistles.

Here already? I must have slept longer than I thought. The time is eleven thirty-six, so I’ve plenty of time to get to the Feuille Verte to meet a contact of mine. Though she isn’t as much a contact as an advisor, one that isn’t on my payroll. It’s difficult to explain the relationship and even more so to maintain. Regardless, she wants to meet at the upscale eatery, so we shall.

The train pulls up to the station and I step out onto the platform, not giving a glance to any of the mares or stallions with me. They will do their job, I will do mine.

I just pray to the Goddess that this mare I’m meeting doesn’t attempt to arrest me again.

I pay my carriage puller and thank him, then turn to head inside Feuille Verte. Groomed vines crawl up the wooden exterior, kept in check by gardeners that happen by every week or so. The glass doors are open, letting air circulate during these warm summer months. I stride in and give my false name: Maple Branch. The greeter welcomes me in and guides me past the wealthy ponies enjoying their meals at their tables. The surfaces they eat on are wooden and polished to a shine, with white plates accenting the enchanted obsidian cutlery they use.

The greeter takes me upstairs and seats me near a balcony. A bit wide open for my tastes, but I didn’t choose this table or this venue. My contact has yet to arrive, so I busy myself with looking out onto Manehatten. I wasn’t born here, but I spent most of my young adult life on those streets. I cheated, lied, and stole my way to a sizable sum of bits, then used what I had to rally a small crew on those same streets and ran a tight gig. It was only when I found robbing and burglarizing the well-to-do could only get me so far that I turned my focus on other illegal organizations that displeased me.

That was about four years ago. It took a long while to secure my position as one of Manehatten’s ‘Crimelords’ before I considered other cities. Trottingham still had a ways to go, but I’ve left someone in charge while I scope out Stalliongrad. I expect good news from him after this meeting. Busy, busy.

I here hoofsteps coming up the stairs, even over the din of the city’s streets. I turn my attention as the greeter leads a white-coated mare with an orange mane over to me. She’s carrying a messenger bag and is giving me a slight glare with her yellow eyes.

As she is seated, I request two glasses of water for the both of us, and the greeter hurries off to put in the order to a waiter. The mare and I sit quietly for a moment before I begin to speak. “Horizon, how are you?” I ask neutrally.

“Fine. What have you been up to? You haven’t been in Manehatten for the past two weeks.” She opens the messenger bag and pulls out an assortment of files. This ought to be entertaining.

“Keeping an eye on me, as usual. I would expect no less from a Lieutenant of the Solar Guard. I decided that a change of scenery would be nice, I’ve been taking boating lessons to the east.”

“What are you doing out East?”

“I needed a hobby.”

Another tense moment of silence sits between us. It’s interrupted when a stallion in a black suit jacket strides up to our table. “Two glasses of water, is there anything else I can get you? Sir? Madam?” He gazes at us impassively, with the practiced façade of a professional used to dealing with the hoity-toity.

“Yes, thank you. I myself will take a Summer Blend salad with a glass of your nine-oh-three white. As for the lady, I’m sure she will think of something,” I order with a smile. She gives me a look. “It’s all on me, of course.”

“I’ll take the same, minus the wine.”

“Excellent. I will be back shortly with your meals.”

Silence again.

“Level with me, Deci. What have you been doing these past couple of weeks? You know that I can put pressure on anypony that’s giving you trouble. Long as you keep up your side of this bargain, I can supply you with weapons, intel, even transport.”

I take a sip of my water and swallow theatrically. “Well, it’s less that I’m receiving trouble and more that I’m giving someone else a taste of the vice. Additionally, he’s not a pony. Gerard Slightfeather in Stalliongrad. He’s been kidnapping girls and supplying them drugs to run his ring, and I intend to halt that nonsense.”

“To replace him with your own brand.” My smirk slips.

“Yes, admittedly. Though why can’t you see a good deed for what it is? I came into Manehatten with two of the mares. As we speak here, they’re being returned to their families, same with the others I pulled off their ship.”

“What did you do with Gerard’s group?”

“I believe the more poignant question to ask would be: what did the harbor do with them? They’re gone, and Gerard knows nothing. Not who hit him, not why. I prefer to operate undercover until I have a good grip of the situation. Speaking of which, what does the Solar Guard know of him?”

“Nothing. This is news to me. Though now that we’ve got that tidbit of information, I see the opportunity for a sweetened deal.” Now she grins, tapping the table with her left hoof. I know that look and I know that motion. She has me at a disadvantage. Typical.

“The only other info I have on him is a circulated rumor among Stalliongrad’s street gangs. Apparently, he has learned a modicum of dark magic.” Horizon’s ears shoot forward, and she stops her tapping hoof. She sits up, and is about to speak, but the waiter returns. Her enthusiasm is quelled as he sets down our plates and pours out a glass of wine for myself.

Once the stallion retreats downstairs, she looks me in the eyes. “Deci, don’t pull my hoof on this. Dark magic is a serious offense in Equestria, and if Slightfeather is using it…”

“Yes, yes, I know. It’s gung-ho for the Solar Guards and all that. However, it’s like I said: a rumor. Until I know more than the facts that he is selling girls and is a griffon, there isn’t much I can give you.” Now is the time. “However, if you can supply my crew with stealth-enchanted cloaks I can supply more info to assist in your career.”

“Deci, do you know what’s happening in Trottingham?” Oh no. What has she been doing while I’ve been gone? My mind races with possibilities. Has Cornerstone been disobeying my wishes? What’s she done this time around? “There’s war on the streets. The Polliwogs and Granite’s boys are out for your head. They don’t seem to like the idea of you being on top. Things are rough.”

“Exactly how rough do you mean? Is this an information war or something more physical?” I ask.

“Blood. Lots of it.”

“Shit,” I say. I don’t swear very often, so Horizon arches an eyebrow at my foul mouth. I won’t ask her any more about Trottingham, she doesn’t know enough about my operation there to warrant questioning her any further. “I’ll take care of it, the Guard will enjoy peaceful streets within the week. You have my word.” In fact, I will be having words with Cornerstone regarding her handling of the situation. Two weeks and she hasn’t targeted Granite and Pond? The news is turning my wine.

“Good. You set them up for the Guard, and I’ll knock them down. Then you’ve got those concealment cloaks for your stint in Stalliongrad.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Taking a holiday in Trottingham? Most unusual for you, Horizon.” I pop a cherry into my mouth from the plate before me, savoring the acute, sweet taste. Thankfully, they’ve already gone ahead and removed the pits, leaving halves of the small fruit scattered about the lettuce on my plate.

“Things are quiet here in Manehatten, you’ve seen to that. I figured that I’d transfer to Trottingham and continue making my name from there.” Clever mare, taking full advantage of our partnership. I suppose she does deserve the promotions she has been getting. A vision of an Equestria rid of undesirables is a dream for both her and I, though whether or not she sees myself and my allies as undesirable is yet to be seen.

“Diluted poison joke and loans free of taxes is more than a fair trade, yes. The populace is happy with being a bit stoned with some spare bits in their pocket. I’d dare say it’s even less harmful than prostitution, robbery, and illicit black market chemicals. There hasn’t been any of that while I’ve been gone, has there?” I left Checks and Balances here to oversee everything, so nothing should have gone awry.

“Like I said: quiet. You would hear a syringe drop in an alleyway.”

I finish my food and my glass of wine, which now tastes far better than before. “Thank you, this has been very informative. Now, just so that we are clear on the arrangement. I prepare those foals’ fall in Trottingham, you supply me with the cloaks, and I–in turn–either affirm or dispel rumors of Slightfeather’s use of dark magic. Agreed?”

Horizon gives a nod and returns her files to her bag. We didn’t need them today, it seems. I get up from the table and straighten my tie.

“Check, please!”