Author's Note

Read, review, Mihoy Minoy.

Keep Your Smile

A Week Later. . .

The streets of Chinatown were ever present with the hustle and bustle one would expect when dealing with people from all walks of life. New York to Pinkie, however was underplayed in some aspects while overplayed in some. Yet, like, many people say, this is just one of the few places that held a large payout if one paid up with money or influence. For Pinkie it was 15/85%. Given that she had to put down Zecora the way that she did left a somewhat mentionable hole in her operations. She would have to find someone with the loyalty and vigor and fearlessness to not be deterred easily by the police or others.

''Come one, come all, this deal won't last long!'' a merchant selling what looked to be some oddly colored pretzels shouted, drawing one or two stares, but nothing significant.

''Yelling won't you help really,'' Pinkie mumbled under her breath, taking out her phone and looking to see the caller I.D. of the person who was currently calling. Rainbow Dash. It's been weeks since they last spoke, not since the last faux outing her and her friends had. Well, she didn't know if she could still call them her friends, not with all of them disapproving her life choices and all but leaving her the lion's den that is the open world all for herself to figure things out. She. . .didn't know if she actually missed those times; the late nights, the breakups. the small accidents, the parties.

''Might as well see,'' Pinkie groaned, handing a nearby Cantonese woman a 20 dollar bill and taking a plate of shorts ribs before answering the phone with a small amount of annoyance. ''Yes?''

''Hey, Pinkie,'' Rainbow's voice got considerably deeper from the last time Pinkie remembered, but she could never forget no matter how hard she tried. ''Is it true?''

''A lot is true,'' Pinkie mumbled through eating her ribs. ''I got a hand in a whole lot of very successful and influential companies, could go just about anywhere I want at next to no cost, or could-''

''I mean Zecora.''

Pinkie stopped walking, her face showing a bored expression. ''. . .''

"Surprised I know?'' Rainbow sounded cocky. ''I got my ways to-''

''Her 'Panic Button' did a few things. 'Alerted the cops', probably told you or everyone else or gave you instructions to do certain things should she pass and what it might do in some way relating to me. And I'm here to say-'' Pinkie burped, licking her lips and clearing her throat. ''-it won't work as well as you think; you may be able to do some form of damage, know that I almost always can come back from-''

''You killed our friend!" Rainbow shouted, the anger in her voice more than evident as Pinkie held the phone away from her ear. ''How do you sleep with that?''

''I sleep rather well, even more so when you think about how I had nothing to do with the death of an associate of mine. She was dead the moment she betrayed and lied to me. I merely took care of a rat problem before it got too big and I had a infestation on my hand.''

''But-''

''The world is a harsh place, Dash, I'm gonna need you to understand that if we are going to continue to talk any further than this. You trying being the person who's liberated child soldiers in foreign countries and given them a better life, amassed about as much digital currency the same as the top 20 richest people, became a small time activist, and is doing her best to make the world a better place, and you can tell me one life being taken is so bad if it can help fuel the much bigger picture that I am trying to paint,'' Pinkie walked over and hailed a cab, finishing off the last of her ribs before belching and sighing in satisfaction. ''Unless you have anything of use, then I will talk to you later.''

''You'll pay for-'' Rainbow tried but was cut off by the call being cut.

''-For nothing,'' Pinkie said, sitting back in the seat of her cab, straightening out her hair and listening to the cabbie ask for directions. ''Take me to the airport, I need to head to Michigan.''

''And what are you going there for? I couldn't help but hear some of that,'' the male cabbie chuckled, curious. ''If you want to tell.''

Pinkie stared out the window as the car began to merge into the flow of traffic, noting the small nuances in the things she noticed people doing. ''I need to see a blind man about a sword.'' Pinkie knew sooner or later, she would have to face parts of her past, but she didn't know it would be soon, and from the person she would think would be the last one to come to her on the matter. If Zezora tried to sell her out to somebody that could prove problematic, so she would go to the one person she knew she could always look to for advice.

''Hehe,'' the cabbie laughed, shaking his head. ''You kids these days.''