Money Is Everything

Twilight rolled up the scroll and turned to look at me. "Cross I appreciate your support and willingness to help, but-"

"Twilight," I interrupted, "Let me help.. Please."

She bit her lip nervously and contemplated it for a moment. "I don't know if this is the best idea, Cross– I mean, you're still at large!"

"Not necessarily, but you're right... That doesn't mean I'm giving up, though."

Twilight nods and sighs deeply. "Alright, alright. You can help."

I smiled, "I might be your best bet, Princess. I won't let you down."

Rose giggled lightly. "Wow! Go and be a royal guard for her, why don't you?"

Twilight smirks ever so slightly and tries her chance at poking some fun.
"Yeah, you're right. Cross definitely doesn't come across as the kind of stallion who'd become a knight and then make an oath to a princess."

At some point between their teasing, my face turned slightly pink. "What, what is it? Is it the mane?"

"Your mane?" Twilight chuckled, "No, it's the 'outlaw' impression you give off."

Rose poked at my cheek, and a small grin formed across her muzzle.

I looked at Twilight for a second while my brain processed what she just said.
"Outlaw? Geeze, is it really that impressionable? I've already–"

"Been called that once before?" Twilight rolled her eyes jokingly and giggled with a smirk that seemed to taunt me. "Don't you know girls talk?"

"Well next time you 'talk'..." Rose butted in with a glare.
"Count me in!"

Twilight and Rose began to giggle.

I just tried to trot away. That is, until Twilight got serious again.

"Hey, Cross?" Her smirk relaxed into a small smile, which slowly faded. "We can head out in the morning. I didn't expect you to end up tagging along, so I figure you could use some time to prepare, should you need it."

I nodded and returned the smile.

For a few minutes we talked about distances of travel, and how this could last a few weeks if the days on the train are counted; then Twilight left.

"Can we go back to bed now?" Rose turned her head to me, away from the door Twilight had just closed behind herself.

"I thought you'd never ask," I joked with a chuckle and made my way upstairs with Rose not far behind me.

When we got back into our bed, Rose gently pushed up against my side.
"Cross, why don't we have a foal?"

"What?" I muttered with a momentarily stunned expression.

Rose lowered her ears a bit. "I'm sorry, Cross. I don't know why I said that, I just-"

Interrupting her with a kiss seemed like a good idea at first... and it was. In fact, up until this moment, it might be one of the best moves I've ever made in the history of our three year relationship.

When Rose slowly pulled away from my face, she paused for a moment to look at me. Her face was living up to her name, and her mouth hung slightly open, as if she wanted to say something.
But she was speechless, and to make up for it she pressed a hoof down on my chest and she lay her body over me.

The following morning I had awoke to find that Rose was still asleep on top of me. I felt the need to let her sleep, but I knew that I had to get up.

"Rose, love.." I tapped a hoof on her back gently, "I've got to get up."

"Just stay here.." She groans and mumbles.

Oh how I'd wished I could...
"I won't be gone as long as I was when I left you last time. I promise you that much."

She raises her head from my chest and rolls off of me. "Don't get yourself killed, Cross."

"Don't spend time alone while I'm gone, and we have a deal." I climbed out of bed and made my way around it to bend down and hug her. "Your Apple Family, Pinkie, and the Cakes aren't going anywhere."

"Yeah, but they're not you."

I let her out of my embrace, and when I didn't kiss her she complained...

"You're leavin' me and won't even give me a farewell kiss?"

So of course I went back to her and made sure to make it a long one. After we both caught our breath for a second, I smiled softly and whispered. "Saying farewell implies that I'm not coming back, and you'd have to kill me to keep me away from you. Especially in the event that you get pregnant."

She rolled her eyes, as if the dark color of her face wasn't enough to tell me that she was just teasing anyways.

"I'll be home in a week, maybe three at most."

On the way out the door I grabbed a recently purchased black bandana (since I managed to lose my own between Appaloosa and Ponyville), and stopped to call back to Rose before I closed the bedroom door. "The scroll specifically asked for Twilight to NOT bring her drake, so I'll talk with him. He might be able to send me your letters, should you have something important to tell me."

As I approached the library, Twilight came out of the door with a somewhat bulky satchel. Behind her, is the little drake.

"Are you sure you've got everything? Paper? Books? Toothbrush? Soap?" He asked, trailing her.

"I've got everything I need, Spike." She assured him, and made eye contact with me. "Hello, Cross. Ready to head out?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but I have a question for 'Spike' first."

"Me?" He raised a brow and came up to me. "Yeah?"

"Can you send letters with your breath? I know there are dragons who can, so I figured I'd ask."

The little dragon nodded. "Sure, but it'll cost ya."

"Spike!" Twilight scorned him.

I apologized on his behalf. "No, no, no, it's fine. I mean there's usually a fee for that anyways.. I was just asking because I wanted to know if Spike here could be the messenger for Rose and I, while I'm gone. We won't write unless it's important."

"Normally Cross, the letters can only be sent to and from Celestia." Twilight informed me, "But you're lucky, Celestia will be at the Crystal Empire until we figure this out. I'm sure if I ask she won't mind receiving and sending a few messages!"

I excitedly smiled at Twilight and Spike. "That's great, thanks! Both of you."

Spike shrugged and waved a claw. "No problem."

When we left the station, Spike sent us off. The train is expected to chug along for a couple of days before we reach the Crystal Empire.. So in the time between departure and arrival, Twilight and I make small talk.

"So, how did you and Rose meet?" Twilight asks after a few hours.

"It's a long story, but it was basically through her brother."

"Oh? I assume that didn't go over well. With as sweet as Rose is, he must be pretty protective."

"You don't know the half of it." I scoffed, "He literally got his drunken step-father to join him in coming after me, the second time he caught us together."

Twilight nodded and it hit me what she must have been thinking.

"Not like that– anyways, he'll still deny this, but he knew that his step-father was going to try to kill me. The bad part is he didn't care either, not until he saw how it affected Rose."

"So he loves his sister, but hates you?" Twilight looked at me, and I shrugged.

"I mean yeah, I guess. He loves her to an extent, but he didn't stop hating me until shortly after the fact that he had me nearly killed, and he still doesn't like me that much."

"It could've been worse." She smiled again, "Either way, congratulations."

"Congratulations?" I looked over at her.

"For finally telling Rose. She seemed to understand why you wanted to come with me..." Twilight looks at me questioningly.
"Speaking of which, you still owe me an explanation as to what you meant."

I looked over my shoulder for a split second, and then relaxed in my seat again. "I'll tell you what I'm thinking when we get to where we're going."

The next day we mainly just kept small talk going and took a few naps.. Nothing too eventful, but after all how eventful could it be, stuck on a train?

By the third day, we had gotten more comfortable around each other, so at least that was a plus. As the previous night had dragged on, we had gradually began to talk more and more casually, and less cryptically (though we still had to be somewhat careful for other ponies eavesdropping—even in the first class traincar, she's still a princess).

"Cross..?" Twilight had whispered aloud, looking out the window at the passing landscape.

"Yeah?" I whispered back, turning to look at her.

"I'm really worried about the Crystal Empire" She lowered her head and away from the window.
"We've had problems before, but never like this."

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Twilight." I reassured her, "We've got some pretty powerful and intelligent ponies on our side, and you just so happen to be one of them."

She sighs, "I'm just worried we won't find what we're looking for."

I knew what she meant. It's not what we're looking for, it's who we're looking for.. The missing ponies. Finding out what's behind the disappearances is important, but finding those who have disappeared is important too- if not even more so.

I simply nodded my head. "Well... Well I won't sleep, or take a break until we figure out something."

Twilight shakes her head slightly, "Don't be silly, you'll need all the strength you can get."

"Sleeping will just waste time.. Besides, I know you've got an idea of what my lifestyle used to be like. I didn't sleep pretty much at all, used to run without sleep for twenty-eight hours, minimum."

"That doesn't mean it's a good thing, Cross. You know that." She responded with a hint of concern.

"Yeah, I know it. I don't take pride in it, and although there were a few moments where it was from my own stress that I couldn't sleep, the truth is that a lot of the time it was because I couldn't sleep. There were too many things that could have happened while I was out, and I couldn't risk it. I wouldn't risk it." It wasn't until now that I realized just how openly I've become to talking about it.

"One day and four hours was the minimum you went without sleeping, huh. What was the longest you could normally go?"

"I don't think I actually know. When I would be up longer than two days, somepony would usually urge me into sleeping, even if it was only for an hour. The only times I went to sleep on my own terms past two days, was, I'd say.. Maybe past or around the fifty hour mark."

Twilight shook her head some more. "Have you improved your sleeping pattern at all?"

"I'd definitely say so, but only because I feel a bit safer at home and because I let myself get the sleep." I shrugged.

"I guess I just wouldn't understand unless it was me." She said kind of sympathetically, and quickly corrected herself into a somewhat more cheery tone. "But, I'm glad that you're improving."

"It still just doesn't feel right, though. I had to live like that for so long, that I can say without a doubt I know my limit. Five days without sleep, before getting fatigued."

Twilight smiled a little. I found it odd, but whatever.
"It'll take some getting used to, that's for sure," She remarked.

"Heh, you got that right.." I looked past her at the scenery. The green landscape had just transitioned to mountains.

"We'll be there within the hour." She continued, "You plan on coming with me to the Crystal Castle, don't you?"

I looked at her with a concerned gaze. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, I–"

Twilight stopped me, "You'll be fine, Cross. We won't tell them your name, just that I believe you can help."

"No, it's-" I sighed and lowered my voice to a whisper. "If what I'm thinking is right, I might not be safe if I'm seen openly. Do you remember what I said, about my old boss having eyes everywhere he went?"

Twilight nodded slightly. "Is that why you brought that bandana?"

I looked up slightly at where our luggage was tucked in an overhead compartment.
"That's one of the things I brought in preparation.."

She seemed a little concerned about that. "You didn't bring any. Erm.. Weapons did you?"

"How could I not, you have no idea what I might be getting myself into–"

"Cross!" Twilight shout whispered.

I sighed.

"Guns? Knives?! What is it-"

"It's a gun, a parting gift from my boss. It'll help with identification when we get there."

"Well," Twilight sighed too, "Is there anything else in there I might have to worry about?"

I shook my head. "Not at all, just some clothes."

Twilight, relieved, relaxed her muscles and body from the tension it had just held.

My eyes focused for a minute in thought, before I spoke again. "Random, but do you have any spells that could mask my eye color? Teal eyes are a dead giveaway, at least that's what I've been told."

She nods and winks. "Sure, and I can see why. They are pretty unique.. What color did you have in mind?"

I shrugged with a light chuckle. "Look, whatever you can think of will do."

Twilight's horn lit up and for a moment my vision went dark. As it slowly regained, Twilight leaned back slightly so that I could see myself in the reflection of the train window. My dim gray mane was still the same, and so was my livid (blue-gray) coat, but my eyes were no longer teal. They were red. Fire red.

"I thought that they should still stand out.. Just not in the same way."

I stared at myself for a second, still adjusting to the change.
"Twilight, that's badass."

She giggled, and the train began to slow. "Here's our stop, Cross."

Stepping off the train, I immediately put the bandana on my face. I definitely looked awkward, but all in all I probably just seemed like some foreigner, new to the town and handling business with a princess.

The castle stood further away in the center of the kingdom, and gradually grew in size as we made our way towards it. Rather than feeling increasingly nervous as I thought I'd might, I became more intimidating in my presence; as if my gaze meant I had something to take care of, and you shouldn't get in my way.
I knew this, by the look on some of the faces of ponies we passed. Deep down I genuinely hoped that this wouldn't cause a problem in the grand scheme of things. But if I'm being honest, I'd probably feel a little intimidated too.

"Princess," A guard greeted Twilight once we had approached the bottom of the castle. "Mister..."

I raised a brow. "Don't worry about it, my name is of no importance."

Twilight apologized and we made our way past the guard.

We entered a leg of the castle, which was basically just a staircase that led up to the main foundation of the structure itself. There were quite a few flights of stairs, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed.
When we went through the door at the top of the stairs we passed yet another guard. I was ignored, but Twilight was greeted.

After awhile of following Twilight, we eventually came upon the throne room.
I had a strong feeling that beyond the throne room doors, I was going to be greeted by two more princesses... and possibly quite a few guards.
But I was wrong- at least about the guards, seeing as Princess Celestia and Princess Cadence both were there, the amount of guards was more than I expected. Instinctively I bowed, which was proven to be the right move, as I was given a courtesy nod from Twilight.

"Hello Twilight, mind if I ask who your friend is?" Celestia questioned.

Twilight smiled a little bit and looked at me. "Well, princess.. He doesn't go by anything, but he may be able to help us with the 'situation' that you've summoned me here to discuss."

"Hmm.." Celestia looked me up and down. "Do you trust him?"

Twilight gave a single confident nod.

"Very well," Celestia ordered her guards out of the room before she continued. "What have you got?"

I cleared my throat. "I believe I may know who is behind these disappearances, princess. Or, at the very least, somepony who may have something to do with it."

She formed a small smile. "You've got my attention... Tell me more."

"His name is Dwight. Dwight Callahan."

Celestia looked at me with a focused glare.

"He's a wanted criminal, whom until now, was known just by his looks. A little birdy told me that he was responsible for the bank robbery in Manehatten."
I stared back at her.

"He what..?" She asked, somewhat surprised. "Why is he here, then?"

"I suppose it wasn't to disappear after a heist, given the fact that you've come across a problem." I glanced to my left at Twilight for a second.

"And you're certain it's him?"

"No, I am not. But it's what I've come to assume. If it's not Sombra, or Chrysalis, it's a possibility."

She nods slightly and releases her glare.
"This would make sense.." Celestia looks to Princess Cadence, who proceeds to look down slightly before facing me.

"We've found remains." Cadence speaks with a high voice, and straight posture. "Bullet wounds, on both equines.. Nopony within the Crystal Empire has weapons, so an outsider would put things together."

I nodded. "Other than this info I've given, I'd like to add a request, if I may."

Celestia raises a brow.

"I'd like to ask if I could assist you, princess, in taking this bast– er... Jerk down."