Apex Is Coming

A lot of things get on my nerves. Unfortunately, trying to explain how my gear works is one of those. And at the moment, I was stuck dealing with someone that wanted to know everything about my gear.

Fortunately, today was going to be a good day, at least after I was done with my current problem. Celestia would be explaining the assignment, and what I’d have to do.

“Listen, for the last time, I don’t fully understand how my suit works.” I was on the verge of shouting and was doing my best to hide my anger by speaking as calmly as I could.

“How could you possibly not know!?” The stallion scientist from yesterday complained to me. “Don’t you wear it all the time!?”

I groaned as I began taking deep breaths. “No, and like I said before, the suit reattaching itself is a new feature.”

Currently, I was in a lab of some sorts hidden in the Canterlot castle. The lab reminded me of Sara’s. Expect this one was a lot more clean than hers, but definitely not as advanced.

The lab was pretty average in size. Equipment and machinery sat in different corners, while tables littered with beakers and test tubs were pushed up against the walls.

My suit, grenades, daggers, helmet, and throwing knife pouches were currently sitting atop a metal table. The stallion has been examining my stuff for a couple of hours now, and I was there for every second.

Next to the stallion was the mare scientist who had fainted because of my smoke grenade. She had a shiny white coat that matched her mane and tail. Her mane also had a grey stripe running through it. Her eyes were a bright blue that matched her magical aura. She was currently noting down everything that I said about my gear. Even the smallest details.

The stallion on the other hand looked like an older guy. He had a dark brown coat with an all back mane and tail, both having noticeable white hairs.

“What’s the point if it can’t completely reattach it!” The stallion complained at me.

Since they didn’t believe my suit could reattach itself, I had to demonstrate by cutting it slightly. “It doesn’t regrow itself. And it’s not like I’ll ever lose a massive chunk of it.” I deadpanned.

I realized one thing about my suit. Like I stated, it doesn’t regrow itself. Meaning that if I lose too much of it it’ll stop reattaching itself due to insufficient material. But I digress.

“Yes, your suit is extremely durable. It certainly would take a lot for somepony to breakthrough it.” The mare muttered quietly.

I nodded while crossing my arms. “It is. Now can I leave?” I asked as nicely as I could.

“One last question if you don’t mind.” The stallion began speaking calmly, while at the same time being stern. “Do you mind if we study your glasses?”

“Yes, I do mind.” My answer was immediate. Both ponies clearly weren’t expecting me to answer so quickly.

They both had shocked and confused expressions on their faces. The mare opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off as a pony behind me began speaking. “What’s wrong with them studying them? It’s not like you need to have them on you all the time.”

I let out a sigh while turning around. I had completely forgotten Christmas was here. She was standing a few feet behind me. She hadn’t said a word till now.

“Because I have my personal reasons.”

“Is it cause you’re blind in one eye?” Christmas accused.

I put my arms up in defense as I panicked slightly. “Jesus Christ, don’t gotta let the whole fucking world know.

“Why does it matter? Someponies are blind in both eyes.” Christmas frowned as she began approaching me.

I sighed while scratching the back of my head. “It’s good to not let your enemies know your weaknesses. I can’t see to my right, and that’s a pretty big disadvantage.”

Christmas’s frown deepened as she sighed as well. “I’m not your enemy, Saint, and neither is anypony in the castle.”

I shrugged. “I don’t trust a single soul in this place, not even Celestia.” I turned to look at the scientists. “Ima keep them. For now, just keep what you got and do whatever.” I walked over and exited the room with my head held high.

Once, I was out of the room, I adjusted my glasses and began stretching. Christmas exited with me and stepped to the side, letting me finish.

After I was done stretching, I looked at Christmas. “Lead me to my room.” I demand.

Christmas tsked while turning in the direction of my room. “It would benefit the both of us if you would just remember the way to your room.”

Little did she know I did, I just enjoyed annoying her. “I’ll try my hardest.” I said sarcastically. Christmas began muttering under her breath, and as usual, I ignored her.

Christmas took the quickest path to my room. Passing by guards, castle staff, and sometimes fancily dressed ponies.

Once, I entered my room, I slipped off my boots and laid down in my bed. Christmas entered right after I had laid down and began her complaining immediately. “Shouldn’t you be preparing for when Celestia calls for you? Or better yet, shouldn’t you be going to talk to her yourself?”

I rolled my eye while sitting up. “This isn’t an adventure game where I go out and look for quests. If anything, you NPCs can come to me.”

“What did you call me?” Christmas asked angrily.

“An NPC.” I smiled while laying back in bed. “Don’t worry it’s not offensive.”

“Knowing you, it is.” Christmas trotted over and opened my door. “Make sure you tell me if you want to leave your room.” She finished by shutting my door as she exited.

I groaned while pulling my hair. I truly wanted to walk around without having Christmas up my ass 24/7, but last time I left without telling her, she carried me around in her magical grasp like I was an infant.

All I could do was stare at my ceiling. I wasn’t tired or hungry, so I didn’t need to eat or sleep. I wanted to do something to pass the time, but there wasn’t anything to do.

Roughly fifteen minutes passed in which I never moved. I just stared at the ceiling the entire time.

I was so zoned out that I barely heard the banging on my door. I was knocked out of my trance as I jumped out of bed and hustled over to the door.

I opened it, and to my surprise, Captain Sister Complex was looking back at me. “What you want?” I asked Shining as rudely as I could.

Shining Armor frowned as he cleared his throat. “I want you to be ready in five minutes. Princess Celestia will inform you of what we have to do.”

Hearing Shinning act like he was above me pissed me off. I frowned as I shook my head. “Fuck you talking about ‘I want you ready in five’. You ain’t my boss.”

Shining began growling. “I am if you’re going on this operation. You’ll listen to my orders, or you can stay here. And we both know what I’d prefer.”

Now I was getting angrier. I stepped out into the hallway and closed my door behind me. “You can blow me if you think I’m listing to your dumbass.” Shinning’s face twisted in anger as I continued. “Celestia asked me to help your incompetent ass. Not the other way around.”

Shining began grinding his teeth. But before he could respond, I went over and knocked on the door next to mine. “Christmas, ima be leaving in five.”

I went back over to my room and opened the door. I turned to face Shining and saw that he was glaring daggers at me. “It’ll be fun working with you.” I jokingly said while stepping inside and closing the door.

I instantly went over and began putting my boots on. After they were both on, I sat on the bed and sighed. “This place sucks.” I muttered while laying back down.

Once, five minutes had passed, I quickly sat up and exited my room. The first thing I noticed was Shining Armor talking to Christmas. “What up.” I spoke while approaching them both.

They both looked my way. Christmas looked annoyed while Shining looked angry. This awkward moment lasted a few seconds before Shining turned towards Christmas. “You don’t need to worry about Saint, for a while. Once him and I get back, you’ll be assigned to him once again.”

Christmas nodded while turning her head towards me. “Looks like you’ll be enjoying your time without me for a while.”

I rolled my eye while scoffing. “I’d much rather be with you than Shining.” I looked at Shining with a grin. “I hope that was offensive.”

Shining rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t.” He began trotting by me, heading down the hallway. “Let’s go.” He demanded. I groaned loudly and obnoxiously, but eventually followed him.

Shining lead me to the opposite side of the castle. He led me into a room that I believe was a sitting room. Inside were many couches of various colors. And on the biggest couch sat Celestia, who was casually sipping on a cup of tea.

“Hi.” I waved and sat down on a couch close to Celestia’s. Shining for some odd reason sat on the same couch as me, but luckily he sat on the opposite side.

Celestia smiled in my direction. “Good morning Saint.”

I smiled as well. “You know I actually never met your sister Luna.” I realized that I went off topic and never said good morning, but I didn’t care. “I’d like to thank her for telling Twilight the truth.”

Celestia nodded. “She’s currently asleep but I’ll let her know next time I speak with her.”

I nodded as well while looking over at Shining. He noticed my look and cleared his throat. “Princess Celestia I believe it’s time to tell Saint what we’ll be doing.”

“I agree.” I nodded with a small grin. “So, let’s hear it.”

“Very well.” Celestia cleared her throat before beginning her explanation after a few seconds. “There’s a group of ponies who banded together who call themselves The Sun Turners.”

“Sounds like a cult.” I muttered.

Celestia seemed to have heard my comment because she raised an eyebrow. But she continued explaining anyways. “I respect the ideas and beliefs of all my ponies. Even if their beliefs are incorrect.”

“What do you mean?” I cut in once more.

“She means they believe the sun turns on its own.” I looked at Shinning like he was retarded. He seemed to have noticed my look cause he gave me a confused stare. “What?”

I dropped my look and changed it into once of annoyance. “Fuck you mean ‘what?’ The sun doesn’t move. I don’t know what school you went to but you should’ve failed.”

Now Shinning was looking at with a look that said ‘are you retarded’. I looked over at Celestia and frowned. Before I could as for backup she let out a sigh. “Saint, the sun doesn’t move on its own. I move it.”

Now I was giving Celestia the retarded look. “Crackheads.” I muttered quietly. “The sun is a massive ball of gass. You can’t physically move it.” I spoke sternly to Celestia.

Celestia let out a sigh. I watched as the teacup she was sipping from suddenly disappeared. “Would you like me to prove it to you?” She asked.

“Yes, yes I would.” I demanded. I refused to believe that she was capable of moving the sun. I didn’t care if she was both a unicorn and a pegasus, it just wasn’t possible.

“Come closer. This spell takes a lot of energy, and the further you are the harder it is.” Celestia demanded.

I shrugged my shoulders and sat up. Once, I was seated closer to Celestia I gestured for her to continue.

She nodded and looked over towards Shining. “It’ll only be a few minutes.”

Shining got the message. He nodded while jumping down from the couch. He began trotting to the door and exited the room while muttering something under his breath.

I rolled my eye and looked at Celestia. “Let’s do this fast before he pops a blood vessel.”

Celestia nodded. I watched in awe as her horn began glowing extremely brightly, so bright that even with my glasses on I had to look away.

I loud whistling sound could be heard. I wanted to look but the light was blinding. I clenched my teeth together as I prayed nothing bad was going to happen.

Then all of a sudden it stopped.The whistling along with the bright light suddenly vanished. I mentally prepared myself for the worst, while slowly opening my eye. And I was so glad I prepared myself.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” I shouted. Instead of being in a sitting room with Celestia, I was in the middle of a place I never thought I’d journey to. Space.

I began hyperventilating as I started clinging to Celestia. “I can’t die here!” I shouted at her.

Celestia looked at me with a soft smile. “Relax Saint, look around you. And you’re not going to die.”

Now that I think about it she’s right. I would’ve popped like a balloon as soon as I got here. I think I would’ve anyways. I let go of Celestia slowly. The first thing I did was look down. I was still seated on the couch from the sitting room. I ignored the couch as I slowly craned my head around. I truly was in space. Stars twinkled brightly while small rocks floated around me.

My eye stopped as I stared at what I assumed was the planet I was on a few minutes ago. It looked absolutely nothing like earth.

The planet was still circular, but it was slightly smaller than earth. If I had to guess it was roughly the same size.

I could spot bodies of water, but they weren’t as big as I was expecting. The landmasses were confusing to me as well. They were awkwardly shaped along with the clouds looking a lot larger and darker in some areas. One area stood out the most. The land looked black, almost like it was completely burned.

“What happened there?” I pointed at the black area.

Celestia followed me finger and frowned. “That’s the land of dragons.”

“Oh.” I muttered quietly. That’s a place I’ll definitely be avoiding. I shook my head repeatedly as I leaned back on the couch. “Okay, I calmed down a bit. So how do you move the sun exactly?” I asked.

Celestia pointed into the distance and that's when I saw it. The sun looked like earth’s sun. But instead of fiery red and orange, it looked more yellow and orange.

“Shouldn’t I be burnt alive, or blinded by it or something?” I never was good at science so I fully didn’t understand how this works.

“No, I’m protecting us both with my magic.” Celestia reassured.

I nodded while crossing my arms. “So how do you move it?”

“Watch closely.” She spoke softly and quietly.

I didn’t respond as I did exactly as she said. Celestia’s horn began glowing, luckily not as brightly this time. I looked back towards the sun and watched closely.

Awkward seconds passed as nothing happened. I was about to comment about it, but before I could I noticed something strange about the sun.

Darker shades of yellow seemed to twist and turn inside the ball of gas. I watched in complete shock as the darker shades seemed to be twisting into shapes.

I was completely baffled as I watched the impossible. The shapes seemed to be resembling letters.

I read the letters to myself quietly. “S....a..i...n..and t.” I shivered as I began whispering to myself. “Saint.”

I was completely horrified. Celestia had the power to control the sun. If she ever wanted to she could just send me up to the sun.

I looked over at Celestia and she looking at me with a tired look, yet she still had a smile on her face. “Well, I believe you now.” I forced out.

“Good.” She looked away from me. “This spell is extremely tiring.” She muttered. Her horn began glowing a soft golden color.

I watched as my surroundings seemed to be blurring, till my vision was completely filled with black.

Seconds passed by the time I realized my eye was just closed. I quickly opened it and was greeted by the sitting room we were originally in.

I’ve never moved faster before in my life. I quickly jumped over and sat on the couch I was originally on. I looked back at Celestia, she was currently rubbing her head with a hoof.

The door opened, causing me to jump slightly. I looked over and watched as an annoyed looking Shining walked in. “So you believe the princess now?” He spat at me.

“Definitely.” I tried to speak how I usually do, but I was struggling. I’ve never been more afraid before in my life. My heart was beating fast, my hands were shaking, and my legs were trembling.

“Good, but let's hurry this explanation.” Shining sat at the end of the couch again and looked at Celestia. “You alright princess?” He asked gently.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just a little tired.” Celestia cleared her throat and looked at me. “Now where was I... oh right.”

Celestia explained everything to me. Apparently, the group was more of a cult. She wanted Shinning and I to infiltrate and investigate them. We would only act if they were doing any illegal activities, she was fine with them believing in whatever, but she wanted to make sure they didn’t do anything stupid.

And of course, I wasn’t allowed to kill them if they were doing illegal activities. And to make things worse, I couldn’t bring my lethal grenades.

I leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. “Wouldn’t they recognize Shinning though?” I pointed out.

“No, I’ll be going in disguise.” He instantly responded.

I looked over at Celestia and put on the best serious face I could muster. “Where is this happening?” I asked nicely.

“Las Pegasus that’s where the majority reside.” She answered.

I had a confused expression on my face as I looked at Shining. I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. I decided not to question it as I looked back at Celestia.

I was kinda wondering if Celestia meant Los instead of Las. If I had to guess, this place was going to be like Las Vegas, and I’ve been there before. Personally I’d rather go to Los Angeles. “How long will this take?”

Instead of Celestia responding Shining did. “As long as it takes.” I rolled my eye and kept my attention on Celestia.

“When we leaving?” I asked her.

“Now if possible.” I let out a low whistle. After a few seconds of contemplating I sat up and began stretching.

“I’ll be able to leave soon. Just gotta grab my stuff.” Right before I could exit the room, Shining spoke up from behind me.

“I’ll meet you in your room. If you’re not there in 30 minutes, I’m leaving without you.” He spoke sternly and angrily.

I decided not to respond as I exited the room. Once I was out into the hallway I began speed walking towards my room.

It didn’t take me long, but once I was inside, I shut the door softly. I threw myself onto the bed and let out a loud groan.

After watching Celestia move the fucking sun, I didn’t wanna stay here anymore. I was completely terrified of her. If she wanted me to, she could just kill me whenever she wanted to.

Now I wanted to be in Ponyville more than ever. I’d even prefer being back in America with Apex hunting me down. Celestia terrified me.

A sudden knock on my door made me jump. I looked at the door and a feeling of dread came over me.

“Who is it?” I casually asked. I wanted to pretend I wasn’t here, but I feel that would’ve been a bad idea.

“Christmas.” I recognized her voice instantly, even if it was slightly muffled. I stood up and quickly hustled over to the door.

I opened it and Christmas stood there looking up at me with a confused expression. “What?” I asked.

“Nothing.” She continued to examine me for a few more seconds. “When do you leave?”

“In like 30 minutes.” I peeked out into the hallway and scanned the area. Once I realized it was clean, I looked at Christmas and gulped. “Hey can I ask a serious question?” I asked sheepishly.

Christmas looked even more confused. “If it’s not serious I’m not answering it.”

Christmas sounded sceptical, but I couldn’t blame her. I never had a serious conversation with her before. Till now that is. “Are you not afraid of Princess Celestia?” I whispered.

Christmas looked at me like I was stupid. “Why would I be afraid of the princess?”

I sighed while closing my door slightly. “Never mind it was a stupid question.”

Christmas kept my door from closing with a hoof. “Are you okay?” She asked softly.

I know for a fact Christmas doesn’t care about me. So why should I even tell her? “I’m fine.” I spoke angrily. Christmas looked me over before letting out a sigh. She removed her hoof and I quickly closed the door.

I let out a sigh as I started running my hand through my hair. After waiting a few minutes, I shook my head repeatedly and swiftly exited my room.

I closed my door softly and began walking towards the lab area. My footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. My eye kept shifting between every guard and maid I passed.

I was so focused on my surroundings that I almost walked past the lab entrance. After quickly preparing myself, I entered with my usual style. “What up!” I called once I was inside.

I made the mare scientist jump. She quickly spun around and let out a sigh. “Hello, Saint.” She bowed her head slightly.

“Hi.” I waved while approaching her. I looked over the table from earlier, and as I was expecting, all my stuff was there. “Ima take these.”

I attached the pouches with throwing knives in them to my suit before grabbing it and sliding it over my shoulder. Next I attached the belt to my pants and began slipping things on it. I slipped on my daggers, flash and smoke grenades, and finally my helmet. “You can keep the rest.” I turned around and began walking towards the exit.

Unfortunately, my utility belt wasn’t made for the clothing I had on. As a result, I had to waddle over to the door just to make sure my stuff didn’t fall off.

“What are you doing? I haven’t finished studying those.” The mare sounded sad as she questioned me.

“A mission. You can study the things I left you.” Before anymore depressing questions could be asked, I left.

After about 10 minutes of waddling, I made it back to my room. Once I entered, I instantly threw everything on my bed and began looking over it.

I still had three flash bangs, but two smoke grenades. Since some dumbasses used one. My suit and helmet looked the same as when I lived with Twilight.

I grabbed my daggers and lifted them up. I twisted the handle of one and began stretching out the wire. After making sure the wire still worked perfectly, I twisted the handle again, causing the wire to retract.

After making sure everything was in order, I began stretching. After, I was fully stretched and refreshed, I quickly moved all of my gear and sat it gently onto the ground.

I then climbed into my bed and snuggled up against the pillows. I intended to relax for a couple of minutes before meeting up with Shining.

I regretted laying in bed instantly. I accidentally fell asleep so I was awoken to the sound of banging against my door.

I rolled out of bed and lazily walked to the door. I opened it and was greeted by an irate looking Shining. “You aren’t even ready.” He began complaining before I could even say hi.

“I am? I’m not going to wear my gear.” I moved away from the door and gestured towards my stuff on the floor. “I assumed we were going undercover.”

Shining looked past me and at my stuff. “We are. I thought you didn’t have anything at all with you, but let’s go, the chariot is waiting.” He ordered.

“Yeah, hold up.” I called. I quickly hurried over to my dresser and grabbed an extra change of clothes for myself. I decided to leave the rest inside because it’s not like I’ll need it all. I threw the extra clothing over my shoulder, along with my suit. I attached everything else to my belt and wore it with pride. “Ready.”

Shining nodded. “Let’s go.” I followed Shining out of my room and down the hallway.

I’d been walking behind Shining for awhile now. It was extremely awkward because nothing was being said. Then again I hated him, so I’d rather not talk at all. Just watching him trot makes me want to strangle him.

We ended our walk outside behind the castle. Celestia was already outside, standing idle next to a chariot.

The chariot didn’t even look like it belonged in Canterlot. It was all brown with scratches and splinters on the outside. The wheels looked worn out. One wheel looked bigger, causing the chariot so slant slightly.

“Hi Princess.” I forced out once I was in front of her. Celestia gave me a confused expression.

“Everything alright, Saint?” She asked in a tone of a mother.

I panicked slightly, but was able to come up with a lie. “Just kinda nervous. I’ve been in the air many times, but not like this.” I pointed at the chariot and shrugged. “As long as Shining doesn’t push me out, I’ll be fine.”

Shining groaned from behind me. “I won’t as long as you don’t bother me.” He trotted past me and jumped into the chariot, sitting himself down.

Celestia let out a quiet chuckle. “Well, good luck you two. Remember to send notes about what you’ve discovered.” I walked past Celestia and dumped my things in the chariot. I decided to keep my belt on to save leg room. I sat in the chariot next to Shining. Unfortunately, my legs were cramped because of the size of the ride.

“Who’ll be flying us?” Shining asked. I hadn’t realized it until then but our chariot was missing a pair of pegasi.

Before I could even add my own comment, a sudden gust of wind caught me off guard, almost tossing me out of the chariot.

I looked up, and before I could even see what happened, another gust of wind caught me off guard. “Fuck off!” I shouted

After waiting a few seconds, I looked up and saw two pegasi standing next to Celestia. “Sorry we’re late.” The mare pegasus began speaking calmly. “SOMEPONY wanted to eat extra!” She suddenly began shouting.

The stallion looked shocked. “It’s not my fault. It was half off on hay fries!” He shouted back.

The mare had a yellowish coat while her mane and tail were orange with a lighter orange stripe going through them. Her eyes were a dark orange which looked weird to me for some odd reason. But I recognized this mare from Rainbow’s posters of her favorite flying group. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember their names.

The stallion on the other hand had a pale blue coat with a very dark blue mane and tail. His eyes were a bright emerald color. Just like the mare, I recognized him as well from the posters.

I let out a loud and obnoxious groan as I slouched down slightly in the chariot. I was annoyed because I wanted to leave already.

“Whoa, so that’s the infamous Saint?” The mare excitedly asked.

I snapped my head in the mares direction and my eye began twitching. “Infamous? The fuck you talking about.”

“Rumors running around about how you almost committed murder your first day in Canterlot.” The unknown mare deadpanned.

I let out a sigh as I looked away from her. “Word spreads fast around here.” I muttered to myself. “I won’t confirm nor deny that.” I said louder for everyone to hear.

The mare began chuckling. “Relax, I’m not going to judge you on some rumor.” I looked over and watched as the mare began approaching me. She extended a hoof once she was close enough. “Name’s Spitfire.”

I reached out and shook her hoof. “You already know my name.” I looked over and saw Celestia looking at me with an unreadable expression.

I dropped her hoof and slouched back down inside the chariot. I groaned as I was becoming bored of sitting inside the chariot. I decided to zone out and stare at the sky.

I counted over twenty birds by the time we were ready to leave. Spitfire and the stallion were in the process of hooking themselves up to the chariot. “Remember, Saint.” I looked over towards Celestia. “Be kind to my ponies, please don’t bring them harm.”

“I won’t.” I saluted towards her. She nodded and gave me a smile.

“Thank you. Good luck to the both of you.” She bowed her head slightly.

Celestia turned and began trotting back to the castle. I watched for a few seconds before redirecting my attention to Spitfire. “Yo, how long is this gonna take?”

“Couple hours.” She responded casually.

“Fuck sake.” I muttered to myself. “Fuck am I supposed to do for fun?!” I shouted.

“Make small talk obviously. I’m interested in what happened to you.” Spitfire reassured.

That was the last thing I wanted to do. But at least I would be talking to someone other than Shining.

After Spitfire and her friend were set up, I gripped the sides of the chariot. Both ponies started off trotting before shifting into a full gallop.

It only lasted a few seconds, but my grip tightened against the chariot. Tense seconds passed as they both started flapping their wings repeatedly. Then moments later, we were ascending into the sky.

I never was afraid of heights. But flying without some type of protection was kind of unnerving. I looked over the side of the chariot and watched as the Castle was becoming further and further away.

My attention was cut off as the unknown stallion began speaking. “Wait, which way is Las Pegasus again?” He asked sheepishly.

“It’s west you idiot!” Spitfire scolded. I groaned once more as I realized this was going to be a long ride.

The small talk Spitfire was talking about went a lot better than I thought. I told her about being betrayed and forcefully being sent here. I talked about what happened with Blue Bridge, along with my time in Ponyville.

One thing I respect about her was how she respected my privacy. She never once asked anything personal about me, even if the opportunity was there.

Of course, not everyone respects my privacy. “If you’re an assassin how many ponies have you ki-”

“Shut up.” I ordered Spitfire’s friend. He groaned but eventually followed my orders.

Since the conversation I was having with Spitfire was ruined, I decided to look over the edge. We weren’t flying as high as I was expecting, so that was boring.

We flew above forests and rivers, along with a small town. I kept thinking about spitting like a kid, but I know Shining would scold me if he caught me.

I looked back towards the front and began playing with my hair. The wind blowing through it felt nice, so that was a bonus.

“Are we there yet?” I asked while looking at Spitfire.

“No,” Shining butted in. “You’ll know when we are there so stop acting like a child.” He scolded.

“I am a child though.” I definitely was so there wasn’t a point in arguing. I act like I’m in high school.

“Are you really!?” The unknown stallion excitedly questioned.

“No, he means I act like it, and I completely agree with him.” I looked over at Shinning and started speaking harshly. “But that’s not going to change. Ever.”

Shinning’s head snapped at me as he wore an angry expression. “How can a child be the leader of an assassin group!” He shouted.

“That’s none of your business.” I tried to hold back my anger. I looked back over the edge and watched the scenery.

The rest of the flight was uneventful. Shining stopped being a cunt, Spitfire dropped the small talk, and the annoying stallion stopped asking questions.

We must’ve been getting close to our destination because Shining began speaking in a serious tone. “I’ll be changing into my disguise in a second, but what’s going to be our story?”

I began humming softly as I quickly thought up a story. “You’ll be an adventure who discovered a great treasure. Me!” I finished by pointed a finger at myself.

Shining stared blankly at me. “That’s not a story.” He deadpanned.

I frowned as I looked away from him. “Just let me handle any questions. Just change into your disguise or whatever.”

“I’d rather have you handle nothing.” Shining spat. Before I could even think of a rebuttal, he continued. “But fine, I’ll let you deal with that.”

I decided not to respond as I looked ahead. I watched Spitfire for a few seconds before looking back at Shining.

Shining didn’t look like himself in the slightest. His colors were completely different. He currently had a grayish coat with a dark black mane and tail. Along with his eyes being a light gray. “What about your mark?” I asked, refusing to actually look at it.

“It’s different.” Shinning’s voice was completely different. He sounded younger, like a teenager. “My names going to be.......Black Shield.”

“No point in using a fake name if I’m the only human on this planet.” I let out a yawn as I finished.

“You’re already using a fake name.” Shining added.

I sighed as I adjusted my glasses. “You think whatcha wanna think.”

The conversation ended there. I didn’t wanna continue it because I’d end up getting angry and might strangle Shining. My real name is a massive insecurity, and you don’t hit people there.

I was pulled back into the conversation by Spitfire shouting. “We’ll be landing soon!” I looked over and saw something I wasn’t expecting.

“Of course.” I muttered to myself. “You know the cloud walking spell?” I turned to look at Shining while speaking louder.

Las Pegasus wasn’t a city on the ground. Instead it was a massive cloud city. From this distance I could barely make out buildings, but they were definitely sitting on clouds.

“I do.” Shining pointed his horn at me. It began glowing black as he touched me with the tip of it. “Done. Are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I looked down and looked over my suit and pair of clothing. “Yo, did you bring money? We need a hotel.”

“Already ahead of you.” I watched as Shining pulled out a small bag with his magic. He shook it and the sound of metal could be heard from inside. I decided not to question where he got the money from.

Once we were close enough to the massive cloud city, we landed inside a tight alleyway for cover. I quickly jumped out of the chariot. I adjusted my belt before I grabbed the rest of my stuff.

I looked back and watched as Shining did the same. “Good luck on the flight back.” I waved towards Spitfire.

She smiled softly at me. “Good luck on your mission kid.” I nodded while turning around.

I poked my head out of the alleyway and quickly scanned the area. It was the middle of the day so there were quite a few ponies going on about their business.

I was about to turn back around, but I felt something lightly tap my back. “There should be a cheap hotel on the other side of the city.” Shining whispered.

“Then let’s go.” I took my first step out into the streets of Las Pegasus.

I immediately regretted this discussion because I almost got trampled by a stallion galloping. I was successfully able to sidestep out of the way.

He never stopped galloping as he continued to head off into the distance. “Love this place already.” I muttered.

“It should be this way.” Shining came from behind me. He started trotting ahead of me and I followed a few feet behind him.

We stepped onto a golden road, and I quickly realized that I was practically in Las Vegas. Signs were sitting on clouds, saying something about deals or sales. Buildings with flashing lights were everywhere. The ponies were galloping in and out of them.

A ferris wheel caught my eye for a while, then I noticed what appeared to be a lake. Palm trees surrounding the lake, along with ponies jumping in and out of the water.

“So we’re in sin city.” I mused while passing by the lake.

“What?” Shining asked from my side.

“Nothing.” I instantly replied. I continued to look around myself, noticing something odd. A majority of the ponies here were either completely ignoring me or occasionally glancing over at me.

I shrugged it off as I continued down the golden road with Shining.

Shining and I continued walking for a few minutes. We eventually stopped at a cheap looking wooden hotel. “This the spot?” I asked looking the building over. It was honestly the cheapest and boringness looking place in Las Pegasus.

“Yup.” Shining announced while walking in. I shrugged and quickly followed after him.

The inside looked like an average hotel lobby. A staircase was off in the distance, some paintings hung on the walls, while a waiting room with chairs and couches sat in a corner. A mare talking to a stallion and another mare sat behind a receptionist desk.

Shining and I stood behind the pair, casually listening on. “Excuse me, but do you recommend any places we should visit?” The stallion asked sternly.

“You could always check out the various casinos!” The mare sounded cheerful, almost like Pinkie Pie. “Or you could check out Gladmane’s famous resort!”

I gasped while quickly looking at Shining. “We should go gambling!” I accidentally shouted.

“What? No!” He shouted back at me. I groaned while looking back towards the desk. All three ponies stared blankly at me.

“Carry on.” I ordered while gesturing for them to carry on. They stared for a few more seconds before continuing their conversation awkwardly.

Their conversation ended quickly and the pair of ponies quickly left. But something was weird about them. They both looked similar but I couldn’t remember where I’ve seen them.

The stallion had a brown coat with a purple mane and tail, while his eyes were a lighter shade of purple. And on top of his mane was an adventure hat, which I thought was pretty neat.

The mare pegasus had a peachy color coat with a blond mane and tail, including a white streak going through both of them. Her eyes were a very light shade of purple, which didn’t suit her.

I shrugged it off and stepped forward towards the receptionist. “N-no weapons please.” She meekly asked while looking away from me.

“They’re props for a show.” I tried to sound as serious as I could. “Completely harmless.”

It took a couple of seconds but she eventually looked back at me. She seemed to be scanning me, wondering if I was lying or not. “If you say so.” She whispered skeptically. She cleared her throat while looking at Shining. “What can I do for you sir?” Her cheerful tone returning slightly.

Shining decided we should stay for a week. We purchased our room, got the key, and quickly climbed the stairs. Our room was on the third floor, so it was not that bad of a climb.

Once we found our room, we quickly entered it. I instantly pocketed the key and examined the room. Our room wasn’t as big as I was expecting. Fortunately there were two beds, but they were barley separated. A mini fridge, bathroom, and a couple of desks and dressers were inside the room as well.

I decided to claim the bed closest to the door. I threw my clothing on it while unstrapping my belt. “What’s the game plan?” I asked before I threw my belt, along with everything attached to it, onto the desk.

“There’s still plenty of day left. We should see if we can find any leads in the city.”

“So let’s hit a casino!” I spun around and started walking towards the doorway. “It’ll be fun.”

Before I could open the door, the doorknob became engulfed in a black aura. “We aren’t here to have fun.” Shining scolded from behind me. “We’ll go, but remember we’re here for information.”

The doorknob lost its black aura and I instantly opened the door. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go!” I quickly exited the room, ran down the stairs, and left the hotel.

Shining and I walked around Las Pegasus for a while, before we eventually found what I assumed was casino. I assumed it was since the building had a giant playing card on it.

I entered the building nervously, but grinned when I realized the place didn’t have as many ponies as I thought there would be. I expected the place to be packed, but then again, it’s in the middle of the day. And who gambles in the middle of the day?

All sorts of games were being played at various tables. Poker, blackjack, roulette, and even some childish games like concentration and old maid. Practically every slot machine had a pony at it, some ponies excited, cheering with glee. While other ponies looked depressed and I’m sure some were crying.

Buckets of golden coins sat next to each pony at the slot machines, of course I thought about stealing one, but Shining wouldn’t allow that.

“Look over there.” Shining whispered while gesturing his head in the direction. I was kinda annoyed since he ruined my inspection of the place, but I digress.

I followed Shinning’s head tilt and noticed something odd. The stallion doing the dealing for the blackjack table was wearing a robe with the letters T.S.T stitched into it. “Wow....” I was at a complete loss of words. “This is going to be easier than I expected.” I muttered. “Well, let’s go play!”

Before I could even get the chance of move, Shining jumped in front of me. “We don’t need to play.” Shining angrily whispered.

“We do.” I pointed at the blackjack dealer. “We’re undercover and asking him suspicious questions ruins that.” I whispered back.

Shining groaned. “I don’t know how to play blackjack.” He admitted.

“I do. Well I don’t know how the rules work here but I’ll figure it out!” I shouted while walking past Shining, towards the blackjack table. “Go get me a bunch of chips!” I called before reaching the table.

I got the attention of everyone at the table when I got close enough. The dealer along with four other players looked at me. “Hi.” I awkwardly waved.

The dealer looked like an average Joe, he had brown eyes that matched his brown coat and mane. All together I’d say he’s the most simple colored ponies I’ve met. But I digress.

I was snapped back to attention as I realized all four players and the dealer stared blankly at me. I don’t know how much time passed but I felt like I was standing there awkwardly for hours. The dealer nor the playing ponies said anything.

I sighed as I decided to break the silence. “Where are the table rules?” I asked. The playing table was smaller than it normally would be. But I was expecting the rules to be laid out somewhere. I stopped looking for the rules when I realized no one answered my question. I looked at the dealer with a frown. “Can I play?” I asked nicely.

The dealer stared back at me for a few seconds before blinking slowly. “What are you?” He asked casually.

My frown deepened as I sighed. “Human. Now you tryna run some blackjack or not?” I tried to hide my annoyance.

The dealer stared blankly at me. “Do you even have bits?!” A player shouted before the dealer could respond.

I stared blankly at the angry mare player. I could tell she was rich. In front of her was a pile of different colored chips, they weren’t even sorted either. “I do in fact.” I answered bluntly. I looked up and noticed Shining trotting towards us with a bunch of chips on his head. “Here it comes now.”

Once Shining got closer I grabbed the chips from his head. “Sorry it took so long.” He finished with a sigh.

“No worries.” I sat down in a free seat at the table and sat my chips close to my chest. I looked over the chips and they were only 10 chips and total, all of them we red with the number 10 on them.

Doing the math in my head meant I had 100 bits to gamble with and try to get the dealers attention. Unfortunately, my attention was ruined as a shot glass with a clear liquid in it was slid in front of me.

I looked up at the dealer. “Drink up, you know the rules.” He ordered. I didn’t know the rules but I shrugged and downed the liquid. I mean, it’s not like it’s poison or anything.

It liquid tastes like cough syrup. I tried to not make any facial expressions so I didn’t look like a kid. “And are you playing?” The dealer directed his attention towards Shining.

“No.” Shining instantly replied.

“Remember, if I see any magic, you and your ape friend are instantly banned.” He spoke sternly and coldly.

Shining tapped me on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, no magic will be used.” He then leaned in and whispered into my ear. “Try to get the dealers attention.”

I nodded once and cleared my throat. “Let’s play!” I shouted excitedly.

Blackjack was a game played against the dealer, and not the other players at the table. Which I kinda hated because I wanted to take all the mean mares money.

The game started off as any normal blackjack game. Every player threw in a bet and got their cards. Since I didn’t care I decided to bet all 10 of my chips.

I completely ignored the other players and solely focused on the dealer. He didn’t seem to have a reaction at my bet unfortunately. He gave me my cards last. A 9 of hearts and an ace of spades.

I hid the excitement on my face as I looked at the dealers cards. An 8 of diamonds was his exposed card.

After every player was done saying hit or stand it was time for the dealer to turn over his other card. He turned it over slowly, almost making me turn it over for him. Once it was flipped over I silently pumped my fist. He had a king of clubs, meaning I won unless he wanted to risk busting.

Like I predicted, the dealer decided not to hit, and decided to keep his current cards. He collected the chips from two other players along with giving me my chips.

Now I had 20 chips. I looked over and watched as the two players who lost frustratedly stomped off. Now it was only me and the annoying mare. Unfortunately, she won last round. I wasn’t paying attention to how much she bet, but it was probably a lot considering her pile of chips.

We kept playing for a few rounds, and I kept earning profit. The only time I lost was when I decided to play it safe and only bet a few chips. I kept track of every card that was played, since the dealer was using a machine to deal and wasn’t reshuffling every round, I was able to keep track of cards.

I wanted to call him a moron for how he was dealing, but I decided against it. I was currently at 38 chips and I decided not to take this round seriously. “So how long have you been a dealer for?” I asked after setting down a couple of chips.

He sighed before looking at me. “Only for a few years. I’ll admit you are pretty good at this game, sorry for calling you an ape earlier.” He sounded sincere.

“No worries.” I received my cards and instantly regretted placing a couple of chips.

“Getting blackjack on a two chip bet is kinda unlucky.” The dealer muttered.

“Tell me about it.” I groaned after collecting my winnings. I looked over and watched as the mare seemed to be struggling. She had placed down a couple of green chips with the number 50 on them. I was hoping she’d lose the 100 bits and leave so I can talk to the dealer.

Fortunately, after a few tense seconds she ended up busting, instantly losing her 100 bit bet. She groaned loudly and scoffed. “As if an ape could profit off a complex game like this.” She angrily spat towards me.

I shrugged my shoulders and yawned. “It’s not that hard.”

The mare began grinding her teeth. For a moment I thought I had to fight someone. But instead she decided to storm off muttering angrily under her breath.

I sighed, leaning back into my chair. “May I ask what are you?” The dealer spoke up.

I sat up and looked at the dealer. “I’m a human, I come from a different planet.” I answered truthfully. I watched as the dealers expression changed from confusion to excitement. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he nodded a couple of times before extending a hoof over towards the card dealing machine. “Wait, I don’t wanna play anymore. Instead I wanna ask some questions.”

The dealers squinted his eyes while returning his hoof back to his original position. “Ask away.” He said sternly.

“You see.” I turned around and gestured towards Shining. “My friend and I were recently exiled from Canterlot, and we’re wondering if there’s any town nearby. This place is to hectic for me.” Shining gave me an odd look but I decided to ignore it.

I looked back towards the dealer and attempted to read his expression. He looked shocked and completely confused. “How did you get exiled from Canterlot?!” He loudly whispered.

I smiled while answering as bluntly as I could. “Called Celestia a fucking retard for thinking she could move the sun.”

Shining gasped from behind me while the dealer began laughing. “Honestly, it horrifies me to believe ponies out there actually believe her lies.” He spoke after calming himself down

“Literally everyone’s an idiot for believing her.” I kept adding to the fire. “Anyways.” I grabbed my collection of chips and was able to stuff them all in my pockets. “I’ll probably be here tomorrow. Bye!” I shouted while walking off.

Like I predicted, the dealer called out to me. “Wait just a second please!” I turned back around and put on a fake smile. “Come here for a second.”

I approached the dealer and crossed my arms. “What?” I asked.

“Take this.” The dealer reaches into a pocket in his robe and pulled out a card. He somehow was gripping it with his hoof and I really wanted to ask how, but I decided against it.

The dealer extended his hoof and gave me his card. I quickly grabbed it and read through it. It took me a few seconds but I quickly realized the card was in a language I couldn’t read. “Thanks?” I decided to hold the card since my pockets were full. I turned back around and walked away from the blackjack table.

Once I was out of sight from the table I quickly looked back at the card. “What does it say?” Shining whispered.

“I can’t understand it.” I muttered. It reminded me of Japanese letters, which is something I couldn’t understand either. “Here.”

I gave Shining the card and waited for him to read it. Instead of using magic he somehow gripped the card in his hoof. I sighed while looking away from the impossible feat.

Shining groaned, causing me to turn around and look at him. “I can’t understand it either. I’ll send a letter to Celestia, and see if she’ll be able to understand it.”

“You do you.” I shrugged while yawning again. “I’d say today was pretty successful.” I grinned while tapping the chips in my pockets.

“We aren’t done yet.” Shining said sternly. “We should see if we can learn anything else.”

“That’s all you.” I began rummaging through my pockets and pulled out every chip and dropped them on the floor in front of Shining. “Cash theses in or however you do it here. Ima go take a nap, I’m exhausted.” I stepped past a shocked and angry looking Shining.

I got to the exit of the casino and opened the doors. But before I could walk out, something tapped my back. I sighed but eventually turned around. “What?” I asked a annoyed looking Shining. Luckily he had all of my chips and the mysterious card atop his head somehow.

“You can’t leave even if you want to.” He spoke seriously.

“What do you mean?” I asked skeptically. I honestly thought he was threatening me.

Shining sighed. “The thing you drank disables all magic, including every spell that’s been cast on you.”

I groaned loudly and obnoxiously. Which attracted some minor attention from ponies in the casino. “How long does it last?” I asked, ignoring the stares from the ponies in the casino.

“Depends on how it’s made. Legal ones can last up to an hour.” He deadpanned.

“Fuck off.” I muttered under my breath. “Fuck it, let’s keep looking since there’s nothing else to do.” I said a bit louder.

Of course, Shining and I learned and found nothing suspicious. The dealer who gave us his card was nowhere to be found to make things even worse.

Since I gave zero fucks about Shining, I decided to go play old maid for a bit. Since no betting was involved in the game, I didn’t have to take the anti magic shot thing. But Shining saw that I wasn’t doing anything and decided to be an asshole.

He decided to try his hand in poker, then he remembered that his magic would’ve been disabled so instead he started betting on the players he thought would win. He even decided to be more of an asshole by using the money I earned.

I decided enough was enough. I left the casino before I ended up strangling Shining. Of course I didn’t have the cloud walking spell but I figured I’d be fine as long as I followed the golden road.

I slowly made my way over towards the direction of the hotel and made it there after a while. I was being careful, mainly because I was afraid one wrong mistake could throw me off the city. Once I was close enough to the hotel, I entered the lobby and made a dash to the stairs. “Hey!” The mare at the desk spoke up before I began climbing the stairs.

I sighed and turned to face her. “What?” I asked impatiently.

The mare flinched slightly. “I was wondering if your friend...” She began muttering under her breath.

“What? I didn’t catch that last part.” Now I was getting impatient. I was extremely tired and bored, and the best solution to those problems was to nap.

The mare began blushing deeply for some odd reason. She began drawing circles on the desk nervously. “I was wondering if your friend was seeing anypony.” She muttered quietly.

I groaned and began rubbing my temple. “He’s not he’s a single pringle.” I stomped off towards my room before the mare could respond.

I pulled out my key, unlocked my rooms door, and quickly entered. I thought about locking the door, but then again, Shining would wake me up by banging. I sat the key on the desk and let out a loud and long yawn. As soon as I finished, my stomach began growling.

Thinking back on it, I haven’t eaten all day. I shrugged my shoulders, took off my glasses and sat them on the desk, and climbed into bed. I’ll just take a quick nap and go buy something to eat when I wake up. That’s as long as Shining didn’t lose all our cash.