Instead of waking up in the middle of the night as I expected, I had managed to remain asleep until the morning. If I had to guess, based on the amount of light in the room, I’d say it was around 6.

I didn’t want to move, and even after sleeping for so long, I still felt drowsy. And to make matters worse, my stomach was hurting from how little food I had had in the last few hours.

After forcing myself out of bed, I began stretching. After I finished my usual motions, I looked over and saw Shining sleeping peacefully in his bed.

I decided to ignore him for the time being and go clean myself up. I stepped into the bathroom and threw some water on my face, along with spraying myself with what I believe was body spray. I figured that that was the case since it smelt like an air freshener.

After pronouncing myself as ‘clean’, I tiptoed over to Shining’s bed. I thought about waking him and going with him to eat breakfast, but I instantly reconsidered after I remembered who it was that I would be eating with.

I rummaged through his stuff and found the bag containing our cash. I picked it up and quietly slid a dozen of the gold coins into my pocket. Honestly, I don’t think Shining put the bits I won yesterday from gambling inside the bag. So if I had to guess, he lost it all.

I sighed but quietly grabbed my key from atop the desk and quietly walked over to grab my glasses. After setting them on my face, I hustled over to the door, opened it, and quietly left. I closed the door with a soft click before quickly heading downstairs.

Luckily for me, the weird receptionist from yesterday wasn’t there to bother me. I quietly cheered while walking out of the hotel.

Before I took my first step, a thought occurred to me. I still didn’t have the cloud walking spell cast on me. For a few seconds, I thought about just walking back up to my room and starving. But food is important, so I pushed on.

Just like yesterday, I walked on the yellow road with caution. Fortunately, there weren’t a lot of ponies trotting around the city this early. The few ponies who were awake were all casually trotting around, gracefully going in and out of buildings, and not sprinting as they had been the other day.

I quickly scanned my surroundings, looking for any place where I could eat breakfast. I spotted a bowling alley, more casinos, bars, and fancy looking hotels. I was about to give up my search when I finally found it.

I saw a building with a sign that said ‘Buffet’, a sight that made me jump with glee. I quickly ran over to the building and read the small sign that was atop the windows.

I scanned through it and realized that the buffet was currently open and making breakfast. I silently pumped my fist and headed inside.

The second I walked through the doors I was hit with a cold breeze. I hugged myself to warm up as I walked forward. The amazing smell of pancakes hitting my nostrils after only a few feet.

The place didn’t have many ponies inside. A few sat in booths with multiple plates sitting in front of them while others were currently grabbing food.

The food was set up like a usual buffet. Salads on one side, grains and stuff on another. My main focus was on the pancakes and eggs. Since ponies don’t eat meat, there was no bacon, which had upsetting for a while when I first learned about it, but when I realized I could live without it seeing as I rarely eat, I was able to get over it.

My focus on the food was interrupted as someone cleared their throat. I looked over and noticed a familiar mare staring up at me. “Get out of my way!” She aggressively started shouting.

I was too tired to deal with this annoying mare. I stepped out of her way and watched as she walked over to a mare sitting off to the side with a cash register in front of her.

She paid for the buffet, received a glass for drinks, and trotted off.

Before I walked over to the mare at the register, a thought occurred to me. I realized that the aggressive mare had been the same mare from the blackjack table yesterday.

I shook my head repeatedly as I realized it didn’t really matter.. As I walked over to the mare at the register, I noticed that she had realized I was approaching her as her eyes seemed to fix on me in confusion. When I was finally in front of her, she simply stared at me with a blank expression. “How much for the buffet?” I asked.

The mare kept staring at me for a few seconds before she quickly shook her head and put on a smile. “It’ll be 7 bits sir.”

I quickly pulled out exactly 7 coins and plopped them down in front of the mare. She smiled brightly and grabbed a glass and gave it to me. “Enjoy your time!” She energetically said. I nodded once and hustled over towards the buffet.

Instead of diving into the buffet, I decided to tactically pick a table. I wanted to pick a clean table that would be big enough for me and was the furthest from the ponies currently dining.

I quickly found a table that fit my criteria and grinned. Before I sat down, I decided to fill my glass. I prompty found a chug of apple juice and orange juice on a far off table. I put my glass underneath the apple juice’s tap and quickly filled it.

Once it was filled, I returned to my table and placed my glass atop it. After that, I decided to dive into the buffet. I grabbed a plate and slapped some scrambled eggs, a stack of pancakes, and some chocolate chip muffins on it. I sat back down, moved my muffins onto a napkin, poured a bunch of syrup onto my pancakes, and dove into my meal.

I ate slowly, mainly because the last thing I needed was to get sick and not get my money's worth of food. Even though I didn’t know what a bit was worth in American dollars.

When I was on my third plate of pancakes, a surprise guest decided to stop by. An annoyed and tired looking Shining sat down in front of me. “How did you find me?” I tried saying, my voice muffled by a mouthful of pancakes.

Shining stared blankly at me for a few seconds before responding. “Don’t worry about it.” Yawning once, he stopped speaking.

I stared blankly for a few seconds before shrugging. “Whatever.” I sighed. “Anyways, did you learn what the note says?” I continued to mumble.

Shining sighed deeply. “Unfortunately, no. I sent the note but haven’t gotten back from Celestia yet.”

“That’s crazy,” I said sarcastically while swallowing and taking a sip from my glass. “Well we can either wait or do something else.” I continued.

“What do you mean?” Shining asked skeptically.

“We set them up of course,” I answered while taking another sip. “I’ll meet up and talk to the dealer and see if I can learn anything new.”

“How is that setting them up?” Shining still sounded totally skeptical of the idea.

“Well, that’s the thing. If they hate Celestia, then they might hate her captain of the guard as well.” I smiled as I spoke more excitedly. “We can use Shining Armor as bait instead of Black Shield.”

Shining finally caught on as his tired look seemed to vanish. “I see. You can walk into the casino and talk to him and I’ll walk in later.”

I nodded and decided to finish for him. “And I’ll just drop a hint about being an assassin and see if he takes the bait. If he does, BOOM, we arrest and interrogate him.”

Shining didn’t look annoyed anymore as he rubbed his chin. “How would you prove to him you’re an assassin? You don’t really seem to fit the description of one.”

I decided not to comment on the second part of his question. “It shouldn’t be that hard. I could bring my throwing knives maybe?” I honestly couldn’t think of a way to prove to a pony who doesn’t know me that I’m an assassin.

“Yes, because a throwing knife is going to prove you’re an assassin.” Shining sarcastically replied. I rolled my eye but continued eating anyways. “Maybe it could work, but you’d have to prove it to him in another way.”

“I’ll figure it out,” I muttered. “Go get something to eat, it looks awkward with only one of us eating.”

Shining obeyed my command and left to get his own food. Once he returned, we both ate in what passed as silence. The only sounds being that of my occasional drinking and obnoxious sighing.

After we finished eating, Shining and I left and began walking the streets of Las Pegasus. Since the casino wasn’t open, we decided to head back to the hotel and relax for a bit.

I sat down on my bed and began stretching. “Man I’m bored.” I was about to continue complaining when I remembered something. “Aye, cunt, where’s the bits I earned yesterday?” I turned to give Shining a glare.

He stared blankly at me before looking away. “What bits?” He asked suspiciously.

I groaned while laying down in bed. “You’re shit at gambling,” I muttered.

Unfortunately, Shining heard me and sighed. He decided not to respond to what I said and instead sat on his own bed.

I sunk deeper into the bed and tried to sneak in a nap. But unfortunately, I couldn’t. “Saint, why are you the leader of Apex?” Shining’s question was rather abrupt.

“That’s none of your business,” I angrily spoke, “if you wanna know so badly ask my members when they get here.”

“It was just a question, you don’t have to get so mad.” Shining protested. “I just wanted to know why an immature child is the leader of an assassin group.”

I chose not to directly respond and just sighed. “I have my secrets and you have yours. And it’s no secret that we hate each other.”

“What’s not to hate?” I sat up and looked at Shining annoyed. “You’re immature and childish. You’re a compulsive liar and unpredictable.” Shining paused as he closed his eyes, as if thinking about how to finish his sentence. “You do things normal ponies wouldn’t do; for instance, almost killing Blue Bridge.”

I let out a loud yawn. “If you think I’m childish, you should meet Alice.” I chuckled as I began thinking about moments I shared with her. Even if I didn’t know her for long, I still miss her.

“If your team is as childish as you, then it shouldn’t be hard to deal with them.” Shining sounded so serious that I couldn’t help myself. I burst into a laugh so hard I ended up tearing up.

After a few seconds I calmed myself down. “You think what you wanna think.” The conversation ended there, mostly because I refused to answer any more questions about myself.

We both sat in silence, just waiting for the morning to fly by. I was bored out of my mind. I thought about playing darts with my throwing knives, but I doubt Shining would’ve let me. So instead, I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling.

I hate my life.

I don’t know how much time passed, but the sound of knocking interrupted my attention on the complex ceiling design.

I sat up and watched as Shining was already trotting over to the door. I watched as he opened it slowly and immediately frowned. I decided not to eavesdrop as I rolled onto my side.

Once I heard the door close, I looked back towards Shining. He had a letter in his hoof, along with a massive frown on his face. “You haven’t even read it and you’re already upset.” I joked.

Shining ignored me as he opened the letter with his magic. I watched as his eyes quickly scanned through the contents. “Celestia was able to figure out the card.” Shining’s tone was extremely serious. I raised a brow and gestured for him to continue. “It says to meet at a place called The Rainbow Bar tonight at 11.”

“The fuck?” I jumped out of bed and crossed my arms. “What was the point of all the cryptic bullshit?” I was annoyed that instead of physically telling me where to go, the dealer gave me a mysterious card.

Shining rolled his eyes and put the letter on the desk. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter since we have a lead.”

“Whatever. What you tryna do till 11?”

Shining frowned. “We should keep looking for clues and leads, incase this one leads to a dead end.”

Now it was my turn to frown. “Shut up. This lead isn’t going to be a dead end. Now what you tryna do?” I asked once more.

Shining stared at me blankly for a few minutes before sighing. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to Las Pegasus before.” Shining turned around and opened the door to exit. “We could always check out the resorts.”

I shrugged and stepped behind him. “Sure, but cast the cloud walking spell on me just in case.” Shining did as I said and cast the spell on me before we left.

Since it was almost noon, ponies everywhere were galloping in and out of buildings, many of them on the golden road.

We walked for a while until we found an interesting building with a giant golden double door. On the door was a stallion standing on his hind legs and with a serious look on his face. “How much you think this place cost?” I asked.

Shining took a few seconds before replying. “Probably a quarter of the Crystal Empire’s treasury.”

I forgot he was practically the king of an entire empire. I admit, I was jealous, but I wasn’t going to say it out loud. I stepped forward and pushed open the golden doors. And instantly my jaw dropped.

A roller coaster with twists and turns was currently being ridden inside the building. Ponies were actually riding, screaming, and enjoying a roller coaster while grounded ponies were running around, or listening to announcers going on about various shows and events.

I was completely baffled. The last thing I was expecting to see was a roller coaster inside a building. I quickly realized that I wasn’t going to be able to ride it because of my height, which of course, made me upset. I shook my head repeatedly and tried just to ignore it.

I walked slowly inside the building. Multiple ponies stared at me while others stepped out of my path.

I then noticed that the announcers had stopped speaking. The building was a lot quieter than it had been a second ago. The only sound I noticed was the screaming from the roller coaster.

To make matters even worse, I was starting to become uncomfortable. I quickly glanced behind me and noticed there was a crowd of ponies behind me; following me, examining me.

My eye kept moving back and forth repeatedly between each pony, making sure none of them were planning on getting closer.

I decided enough was enough. I couldn’t bear to deal with the crowd of ponies. “I’m leaving,” I whispered to Shining. Before he got the chance to respond, I turned around and took a step.

I quickly realized I wouldn’t be able to leave because of the crowd of ponies, and for some odd reason, there seemed to be a leader. “Hello there! Welcome to my resort, my name’s Gladmane.” The pony in front spoke in a snobby accent.

Gladmane had a blueish coat with a grey mane. His eyes were a sparkling green, and unlike most ponies, he was dressed. He was wearing what I could only describe as a blue tuxedo and a large bow tie.

I squinted my eye and cleared my throat. “I’ll admit, this is a nice place you got,” I forced through my teeth. I tried to hide my annoyance from being surrounded.

Gladmane wasn’t expecting me to be able to speak because his eyes widened at this. The crowd of ponies gasped silently and began whispering.

I frowned as I sighed. Shining stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Well, if you don’t mind, we really should be leaving.” He spoke nicely, but I could tell he was faking it.

“Of course, sorry about the hold-up.” Gladmane bowed his head slightly. He trotted over to the side and the crowd followed. Once he stopped moving, a pathway to the exit was made.

I nodded my head once and began walking towards the exit. I locked eyes with Gladmane while walking out of his resort. The massive fake smile he had bothered me.

Once Shining and I were outside, and the golden doors were closed, I let out a massive groan. “That was awful.”

“Agreed. Why don’t we go back to the hotel and come up with a plan for tonight? We already wasted enough time.”

I hummed as a quickly thought up a response. “It’s still early, and I’d like to at least do something.” I turned to look at Shining. “Like there’s a beach, let’s go swimming.”

Shining looked at me like I was stupid. “You can go swimming if you want.” He trotted past me and headed towards the direction of the hotel. “I’m going to think of a plan!”

I shrugged and decided to follow him instead of going to the beach area. Mainly because I didn’t want to go by myself and look like a loner.

Once Shining and I were back at the hotel, we decided to discuss what we were going to do at the bar.

Our plan was that Shining would drop his disguise and walk in around 30 minutes after I was already inside.

During the time before Shining came in, I’d be trying to drop hints that I’m an assassin by showing my skills with my throwing knives, but I wasn’t allowed to say I was an assassin. Instead, when Shining came in, we would talk about our hatred for Canterlot and Celestia.

I was supposed to see if the dealer would drop hints or actually attempt to harm Shining. And if he does anything suspicious I either relay the information to Shining or drop him myself. So in short, it was an easy plan to follow.

“Finally, I can take a nap.” I yawned while collapsing on my bed. “We still have so much time left before we actually have to go.”

“No, you should get all of your stuff ready now so you don’t have to later.” Shining scolded.

I sighed loudly while sitting up. “Yes mother.” I groaned. I decided to just get ready instead of arguing with Shining.

I decided to wear my suit and my belt under my clothes, having my shirt and pants covering everything. I decided to leave my daggers and bring my throwing knife pouches and grenades instead. I knew I had to leave my daggers behind because they were a lot harder to hide than my other items.

I sat back down on my bed once I was ready. “I’m done. I hope you’re happy.” I complained.

“I am.” Shining paused for a second before continuing. “You can rest now if you want to.”

I didn’t respond to Shining as I laid back down and closed my eye. Honestly, I was hoping I would wake up tomorrow and not have to deal with this stupid mission and Shining.

Unfortunately, my wish didn’t come true as I was awoken by Shining nudging me with a hoof. I groaned loudly as I sat up. I took off my glasses while rubbing my eye, trying to get the sleep out of it.

Once I was finished with that, I slid my glasses back on and yawned. “What time is it?” I groaned.

“Time for us to leave.” Shining ordered. I groaned once more while standing up and stretching. “Hurry, we still have to find the place.” Shining quickly trotted over to the door and opened it.

Once Shining and I were outside, we struggled to find the bar. Mainly because I was distracted by Las Pegasus at night.

Everything was lit up, lights were shining, the Ferris wheel was glowing brightly in many different colors, even Gladmane’s resort was glowing a bright gold.

The ponies of night were a lot more calm then they were in the afternoon. They all calmly trotted along the road instead of galloping. But I noticed that more ponies seemed to be paying attention to me.

My shock was interrupted by Shining bringing me back to reality by tapping me with a hoof. I looked down and realized he was walking away in the opposite direction. I shrugged and followed him.

After following Shining for a short time, we stopped in front of what I assumed was the bar. The Rainbow Bar was unusually large and it’s logo was a mug being filled with a mysterious rainbow liquid. The place had no windows so I couldn’t even tell if there were a lot of people inside.

“I have a really bad feeling about this place.” I muttered to myself. I noticed that this seemed to be the only place in Las Pegasus that didn’t have a glowing sign, which set off a major red flag.

“Well, we gotta do what have to do.” Shining reassured. I let out a sigh and began stretching. Finally, after taking multiple breaths I gulped once and forced myself to move forward.

Once I walked into the bar, I immediately checked my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was the lack of ponies and the style of the bar.

The bar was styled as if it was placed in the middle of nowhere. The inside walls, tables, chairs, and the bar itself were all a dull brown with peeling paint. The walls had ugly paintings, and sketchy looking rewards.

The ponies that were inside looked like the common thug you’d find hidden in an alleyway. Some had scars covering their faces while others had cutie marks that depicted violence. For example, one of the cuties marks was a pony wearing a ski mask.

I shifted my focus from the thieving pony and onto the bartender. The mare behind the counter looked extremely bored. She had a light reddish coat with a darker red mane and tail. Her mane slightly covered her eyes, but I could still see that they were a bright pink.

The bartender shifted her eyes onto me. She didn’t look surprised to see me. She acted casual as she lifted up her hoof and gestured for me to approach.

I was skeptical at first, but I shrugged my shoulders and decided to approach. Once I was close enough, I sat on the stool and adjusted its height. “What?” I whispered.

She stared at me awkwardly for a few tense moments. After many awkward seconds, she looked away from me and cleared her throat. “He’s waiting for you in the back.” She pointed a hoof towards a door with a sign that said “employees only” in bold red lettering.

I rolled my eye and stood up while cracking my neck. I was on my guard as I slowly approached the door. Once I was close enough, I turned on my glasses and switched them to the heartbeat scanner.

A few red blips popped up, but they were deeper behind the door. I nodded once, turned off my glasses, and opened the door.

I softly closed it behind me while I tiptoed down the dark hallway. At the end of it was a room with a bright light coming from it. The sounds of mumbling could be heard from the room.

“So when’s this “new guy” supposed to get here?” An unfamiliar male voice spoke. I paused and decided to keep listening to the conversation.

“He will come, just be patient.” I recognize this voice as the dealer from the casino. “The bartender knows what he looks like, she’ll send him in.”

“Yes, you described him as not being a pony. Does that mean he’s a griffon?” A new voice spoke up. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell if this one was a male or female.

After confirming they didn’t plan on attacking me I decided to step out. “Yo.” I said casually.

Before I could even say anything else, one of the unknown ponies inside, a unicorn, jumped up and a light purple began to surround their horn.

I reacted automatically as I jumped backwards into the hallway. I was fortunate, because as soon as I jumped back, a laser shot out of the unicorn’s horn and landed right where I had been standing.

The laser broke through the floorboards, causing some debris to fly around. I tsked as I reached towards my belt to grab a flashbang.

“WAIT!” I heard the dealer start shouting frantically. “THAT’S THE GUY!”

I paused and decided not to grab my flashbang. I stood to my full height as I decided to walk back into the room.

All three ponies were standing next to each other. The two I didn’t know looked dumbfounded, while the dealer had a frown. “You piece of shit.” I aggressively said towards the unicorn who shot at me.

Now that I was no longer being attacked, I was able to see that the unicorn was a mare. She had a dark purple coat with a black mane and tail. Her grey eyes bore into me with confusion and shock. I honestly would’ve ended up killing her if the dealer hadn’t have stopped her.

“Well how would you react if some ape thing walked into your house?!” The mare protested.

“Offer him a drink.” I bluntly lied. I couldn’t tell if the mare believed me because she tsked and looked away from me.

I looked at the dealer and crossed my arms. “Who are your buds?” I asked with an annoyed tone.

The dealer stared at me blankly before sighing. “This is Black Violet.” He finished by pointed a hoof at the mare who had tried to shoot me. I looked down at the mare and she still wasn’t looking at me. “And this is Dealer Aaron.”

I looked at Aaron with a confused look. “What do you deal exactly?” I asked suspiciously.

Aaron looked at me blankly. “Poker, blackjack. You name it.” He said casually.

I facepalmed and shook my head slowly. “I thought it was... I don’t even care anymore.” I muttered. “Anyways, why was the letter so cryptic?” I looked back at the dealer and frowned.

“So anypony who looks at it quickly won’t be able to read it.” He deadpanned. “What did you do with the note after reading it?” He asked suspiciously.

I felt like I was being interrogated so I rolled my eye. “I burned it.” I lied. “I’m not stupid.” I decided to walk by the three ponies and sit down at a little table they had in the center of the room. Unfortunately, like usual, sitting was uncomfortable as my legs always ended up underneath the table, almost touching the other end of it.

The room itself was fairly small. Pictures of Celestia hung across the room. Only thing wrong with them was the fact that the majority of them had inappropriate things drawn on them. I thought to myself that these people were childish and wouldn’t actually do anything to anybody.

I looked back at the three ponies. They were staring at me awkwardly, which annoyed me. “What?” I asked.

“You’re not going to ask questions?” Aaron asked suspiciously.

I looked at Aaron like he was retarded. “No. I’m waiting for you to tell me why you wanted me here.” I finished by pointed at the pony who gave me the note. “Also, what is your name?” I asked remembering I actually never knew it.

“Just call me Joe.” Joe got closer and sat down next to me. “I gave you that letter because I wanted to have a little chat.”

“About?” I asked. My eye kept shifting from Joe to his two companions. Both were watching me intently. I shifted slightly in my seat and awaited Joe’s response.

“Well, I was impressed by your courage to speak to Celestia in such a manner that I was curious if you’d like help me wit-“ Joe was cut off as a voice spoke up.

“Joe.” The voice was calm and soothing. I looked over and saw the bartender who led me into this room. When I first heard her speak she sounded rude and aggressive, but now it was a different story. “We have a.......guest.” I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue. “Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor.”

Everyone in the room gasped beside me. I tsked and got angry. I was annoyed by how he came into the bar much earlier than he was supposed to.

“Was he with anypony?” Joe sounded serious. He had a tone that made me raise a brow. He’d completely changed his posture, his tone, and his attitude after learning that Shining was in the building.

“No, it was just him.” The bartender responded.

“How should we deal with this?” Joe turned and looked back towards Violet and Aaron. “I’d say cripple him but that’d cause too much attention.”

My eye widened as I looked at the faces in the room. No one besides me was shocked to hear what Joe said.

“Why don’t we just take him hostage and force Celestia to see the truth?” Aaron pitched in. I was completely baffled at what I was hearing. The ponies who I thought were childish were actually savages.

“Could always kill him,” Violet suggested in a way that sent shivers down my spine. It was starting to become hard to hide my shock. I didn’t want to believe that the ponies in this room were capable of harming Shining, let alone acting so violent.

I decided I’d heard enough. I thought about dealing with everyone in this room, but I wouldn’t be able to do much with Violet around. “I’ll deal with him,” I said calmly as I stood to my full height. “Go deal with him for a second.” I pointed towards the bartender.

She hesitated at first but eventually obeyed. Once she left the room, I let out a sigh. “What do you plan to do exactly?” Violet hissed.

“I have a history with him so let me deal with him.” I cracked my neck and began walking towards the exit of the room. “And if you want, you can watch.” Once, I was back into the main part of the bar, I saw Shining sitting alone and talking to the bartender.

I calmed my nerves quickly and decided to approach. Once I was closer, I slapped Shining on the back and laughed. “I’ll have whatever he’s having.” I finished by putting on a fake smile.

The bartender gave me a weird look but nodded slowly. I watched her turn around for a second before looking back at Shining. “How’s it been?” I asked like nothing was wrong.

Shining raised a brow but still responded. “Fine?” I nodded and looked over towards the employees door. And as I expected, they were watching. But Violet was watching with a great deal of intensity while Joe and Aaron just looked interested.

I sighed, I couldn’t think of a way to communicate with Shining without looking suspicious.

My thinking was interrupted as the bartender returned and sat down two glasses of water. I stared at the water as thoughts kept racing through my head. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t look weak in front of Joe, and I needed to find a way to inform Shining. After a few long seconds, I had an idea. Not a good one, but it was the best I could think of.

Shining’s horn began glowing its usual rose color before his glass of water became engulfed in the same aura. “Sorry for this,” I muttered quietly.

Before Shining could react to what I said, I grabbed his glass of water and threw all the water inside of it at him.

Shining became distorted as he shouted loudly. “What the bu-“ Before Shining could finish his sentence, I grabbed his head and repeatedly began slamming it into the bar. Of course, I held back as much as I could without it looking fake.

After doing it a few times I stopped and pushed him off his chair. Shining was on the ground coughing repeatedly. At this point, the ponies in the bar were either shouting for a fight or running out of the bar.

I stood to my full height and took off my shirt. Underneath it was my suit and my throwing knife pouches. I quickly took two knives out of the pouches and spun them in my hands. “How fast is your reaction time?” I asked menacingly.

Shining stopped coughing and groaned. He stood up and wobbled slightly. “Pretty fast I’d s-“ I didn’t let Shining finish his sentence as I threw a knife at him. Obviously my aim was off slightly.

Instead of dodging as I expected, Shining’s horn began glowing and a bubble formed around him. My knife bounced off the bubble and hit the ground with a metallic thud.

I groaned and decided to back up slightly. I wasn’t prepared for Shining to be able to make a shield with his magic. I didn’t know what to expect and it annoyed me.

Before I could even think of a counter to the shield, a purple beam of magic shot from behind me and connected with the shield. I turned around and saw the beam coming from Black Violet.

I tsked and looked back at Shining. He seemed to be dealing with the beam with ease. There was nothing I could think of that would counter Shining’s shield. All I could do was hope that he wouldn’t lose against Violet

The purple beam quickly died down and I heard Violet snarl. I turned and watched as Violet began lifting multiple chairs, stools, and tables with her magic. “Put all the damage on my tab!” Violet shouted before throwing the objects one by one at Shining.

Majority of the things thrown shattered on impact with the shield. And nothing seemed to be phasing Shining.

Before any more objects could be thrown at the shield, the door to the bar flew open. Multiple ponies who I could only call guards flooded inside the building. “We’re here sir!” One of them called.

An idea popped into my head as I saw the sheer amount of unicorns among the guards. I didn’t want word to get out that I was a rat but I figured it would be fine if the ponies I was going to betray would end up in jail.

I shrugged my shoulders and turned towards Violet. She still had multiple objects in her magical grasp and I didn’t want anyone in the guard to be harmed. I quickly threw the second knife I had at her.

The knife pierced her eye and she began screaming loudly. All the objects that were being levitated dropped to the floor with a loud thud. Violet dropped to the floor, still screaming in pain. Joe and Aaron both looked shocked as they watched Violet try to take out the knife in her eye. It didn’t take long for Joe to look at me irately . “You rat!” He shouted with pure hatred.

“You’ll get over it sooner or later.” I joked. I watched as the guards in the bar quickly charged towards the trio of evil ponies. It didn’t take long for them to pin Joe and Aaron. Violet, on the other hand, struggled at much as she could with only one eye.

Violet was screaming incoherently. I couldn’t make out any of the words she was saying. I didn’t care enough to keep listing to try and decipher exactly what she was going on about. All I could do was shake my head at the display of Violet’s insanity.

I turned and walked over to Shining. “You good?” I asked while bending down to grab my throwing knife I threw at him earlier.

“Are you an idiot? What was the point of fighting.” Shining was clearly pissed at me. I spun the knife in my hand and shrugged my shoulders.

“Trust me. You would’ve preferred that happening over what they had planned. You see that unicorn over there?” I pointed at Violet who was currently still struggling. “She’s insane. I’ve been killing for a long time and I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say the word ‘kill’ like that before.”

“What do you mean?” Shining asked while raising a brow.

I sighed and began explaining. “Kids say kill jokingly and killers say the word nonchalantly. But the way she said it sounded like it was her passion. As if she would’ve enjoyed doing it.” I shivered slightly. “Like, sure, Delta used to be a serial killer, but she’s different.” My thoughts went to when I first met Delta.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to think long because Shining began talking. “So you decided to bash my head into the bar ‘cause you didn’t want me to fight her?” He deadpanned.

I shook my head, I couldn’t be bothered with explaining any further. “Just know I think differently than you ponies.” I tapped him on his head lightly. “I held back just for you so don’t worry.”

Shining swatted my hand away. “Whatever. So what should we do with them?” I turned towards the crime scene and watched as Joe and Aaron were being escorted out of the building. Violet, on the other hand, was unconscious and being levitated out the building.

I rubbed my chin and quickly thought of an answer. “Arrest Violet for attempted murder immediately. And question the other two for information. We should assume everyone in this group is hostile.” I finished by clearing my throat.

“So The Sun Turners are hostile?” Shining questioned.

“Very. You should’ve heard the other two.” I joked while stretching. “This mission was easier than I expected.”

“I’m glad you thought it was easy,” Shining mumbled. “We can go back to Canterlot tonight and report back to Celestia.” He said louder.

I pumped a fist into the hair and grinned with glee. “Finally!” I enthusiastically shouted. “I can’t wait to go ho-“ I cut myself off as I realized I don’t really have a home to go to.

Twilight kicked me out and I feel like a freeloader when I’m with Rainbow. Then there’s still the fact that I’m most likely going to have to deal with Christmas still.

I let out a sigh as I shook my head. “I’m going to go take a nap at the hotel.” My enthusiasm left me as I started to feel depressed.

“Have fun with that,” Shining said without a care in the world. I watched as Shining left the bar quickly.

I looked around and noticed that no one else was in the bar. Well, no one besides the bartender. “Sorry for the damage.” I joked. Before I could leave, I remembered that I took off my shirt. I quickly retrieved it and slid it back on. After dusting it off of course.

Once I was outside, I quickly speed walked in the direction of the hotel. I still wasn’t 100% sure exactly where the hotel was, but I figured I’d find it eventually.

I found and entered the hotel as fast as I could. I didn’t even talk to the receptionist. I just threw open the door and slammed it behind me. I slipped my glasses off and set them on the dresser while I laid in bed and stared at the ceiling.

I was annoyed that I remembered that I’m technically homeless. I kept rolling around in my bed as I was starting to become angry.

“Fuck sake.” I groaned. I didn’t want to return to Canterlot homeless. And I wasn’t planning on staying in that stupid castle either.

I quickly sat up, annoyed that I couldn’t calm down so I could nap. I decided to mess around with my throwing knives. I didn’t know if there were even maids at this hotel, so I decided to throw them at the door a few times.

I didn’t even throw the knife at the door 10 times before the door flung open. Luckily, I didn’t let go of the knife when I was about to. Unfortunately, Shining was the one who came running into the room.

“Damn, learn to kno-“ Shining didn’t even let me finish my sentence before he started shouting.

“They escaped!” Shining forced out between heavy breaths. I let him breathe deeply a few times before I began speaking.

“What do you mean they escaped?” I asked calmly. Shining looked sick, like he was going to throw up at any second. “Jesus Christ what happened?” I was starting to expect the worse.

I knew it felt way too easy. Everything happened too quickly and smoothly. I completely underestimated this little group of psychopaths. I looked back at Shining and was waiting for him to calm down.

Shining caught me off guard as he started shouting. “She killed the guards!” It took me a few seconds to register what Shining actually said.

“Calm down and tell me what happened,” I demanded.

Shining was still panicked but he was able to tell a very quick and short version of what happened. Shining left the guards so he could send a letter to Celestia, and once that was done, he returned to find all the guards dead and the trio gone.

I tsked as I reached over to slide my glasses on. “Send a letter to Celestia,” I said seriously.

“How can you be so calm?” Shining asked. He seemed to have calmed down a bit, his breathing wasn’t as ragged as before.

“Because it’s important to stay calm.” The seriousness of my voice was slowly disappearing. “Shining, we need to send a letter to Celestia.”

“Yes, you’re right. We need her to send guards.” Shining finally sounded calm.

I raised a brow as I faced Shining. “That’s not what I want to happen.” Shining gave me a confused expression so I decided to explain. “I want you to get Celestia to send me the rest of my gear and send you home.”

Shining gave me a look I could only describe as complete confusion. “What? I’m not leaving, and why would you need the rest of your gear?” Shining sternly spoke.

I sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed. “I need my gear so I can deal with those three, and you shouldn’t have to deal with them.” Shining opened his mouth to speak but I quickly cut him off. “Shining, have you ever killed someone before?”

Shining kept his mouth opened as he responded. “No.”

“Then let me handle it. I’m going to try and detain one of them, but if I can't, I'm not going to hesitate.” Shining looked at me with an unreadable look. “They won’t hesitate to kill you, Shining. You and I both know that.”

I didn’t mean to sound cool, cold, or anything similar. I was being serious when I said I’d deal with those three. My goal was to kill Violet as quickly as possible and capture either Joe or Aaron.

And I know that sending Shining home sounded stupid, but I don’t want something to happen to him. It sounds out of character for me, and sure I dislike him, but he doesn’t deserve to die. Unlike me, he has a family and a home to return to.

“I don’t care. I’m asking Celestia to send backup and I’m not leaving.” Shining completely ignored my request as he turned around. “I’m going to send the letter now. For now, we are going to wait for backup.”

I groaned and crossed my arms. “Whatever,” I grumbled. Shining nodded once and left the room.

I was annoyed that Shining wasn’t going to leave Las Pegasus. I’m afraid that something is going to happen and he’s going to be forced to harm someone. Or that he’s going to hesitate and get himself killed.

I let out a sigh as I realized I forgot I was still holding my throwing knife from earlier. I shrugged as I began spinning it around in my hand.

It took Shining roughly 15 minutes to return back to the room. “Letters sent,” He said immediately after entering the room.

“What now?” I asked, trying to hide my annoyance.

“We wait and investigate silently. If we have a chance to detain them, we will.” Shining ordered.

I rolled my eye and sighed. “Whatever.” I slipped my throwing knife back into the appropriate pouch and began cracking my knuckles.

I was still determined to kill Violet on sight. I knew it would be hard to fight a unicorn, but then again, I’ve dealt with harder targets.

There’s nothing Shining and I could do at the moment besides wait, unfortunately. During my time of silence, I was trying to mentally prepare myself to take down a pony. I’ve never killed a pony before, but then again, there’s a first time for everything.

Author's Note

I'm back! Yay!