Pinkie was biting her lip. Her back was pressed against the tree she was hiding behind. This is bad! He's got Skystar! I can't fight him head-on, but I can't let him do what he wants with her! Who knows what he'll do!

Skystar yelped as her body was splayed out on the ground.

The dog leaned down. "Big Dog Daddy won't let Rover's targets move at all. Not unless Rover makes them move."

Pinkie quickly moved to a different tree, making sure Rover didn't see or hear her. Circle... huh? Pinkie rummaged through her mane. Circle? Why did I think that all of a sudden? Was that because of the Occhio Futuro? She pulled out a small stone. This stone. Maud gave it to me as a parting gift when I first left home. I hadn't realized what it was at first, so I thought my spasms were some medical problem. Once I learned why those spasms started happening, I started figuring out what each "sign" meant. But never has a sign been that clear. But what does it mean by circle?

Confetti laid on the ground below her.

The two stallions stared at the mare. "Why do you want to help us? Do you even know what we're doing?"

"You're trying to capture Applejack to hold her for ransom. That way, you can get a ton of money that you can use to start a new life elsewhere. As former Passione members, you're used to killing your targets, so kidnapping should be easy, right?"

"You know about Passione?"

"But..." The mare moved to the end of the alley, staring at where Applejack was standing. "... it's not going to be that easy. Had you targeted one of the other Apple Family members or one of the other Elements of Harmony, you would have been able to use your tactic of forcing them to lie. But Applejack is the Element of Honesty. Now that the part of her that holds unwavering truth knows your power, your power will no longer work."

"Damn." Tiziano's partner stood up. "Maybe we should-"

"Hold on, Squalo. You still have two advantages."

Squalo turned around. "What?"

"First, she doesn't know she's immune to Tiziano's Stand. She's going to keep quiet until she knows she's not being affected by it regardless of how. Second, she has no idea who you two are. All she knows is that she's under attack from an enemy Stand. Your best chance of victory is to keep her away from her Stand using friend."

The two stallions stared at the mare. Squalo was the first to respond. "Tiziano, think we can use that?"

Tiziano put his hoof to his mouth. "Maybe. Come on. Let's keep an eye on our target."

The two stallions left. A third stallion approached the mare from deeper in the alley. "Why did you tell them that?"

"They have two futures laid out before them. In one, they become known as highly dangerous Stand Users, professionals at isolating and executing their targets. In the other, they kidnap Applejack. Which future awaits them depends entirely on them." The mare looked at Applejack, who was now quite distant. "And on her."

Author's Note

Stand: Big Dog Daddy
Master: Rover
Destructive Power: E
Speed: B
Range: A
Persistence: A
Precision: A
Developmental Potential: B