Luck of the Draw

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

This is part of the Vampire Cheerilee Series. Cover art by Doctor Whooves. Please enjoy.

Luck of the Draw

Being another face in the crowd was sometimes not the best option. On certain rare occasions maximum visibility was prefered.

The spotlight was not where Cheerilee was used to being. In the decade that she’d been working for Princess Luna, the schoolteacher had spent most of the time trying to stick to the shadows.

The brightly lit Casino Equine nearly overloaded her senses. It was difficult to stop her ears from twitching towards every little sound, of which there were thousands. Ponies packed the building, and somewhere among them was Cheerilee’s target.

The mission was much different from the mare’s usual. She was merely to locate a stallion named Silverwing and take from him a large sum of money. He was a courier for a criminal organization, but beyond that there were no further details.

Cheerilee was used to being short on information. For example, when she’d been bitten by a vampire, it had been up to her alone to figure things out because there wasn’t exactly a how-to guide available. It was lucky Luna had recognized her new abilities and given her a job where she could put them to use.

The mare worried slightly that the train departing that evening would be late. The tracks near Las Pegasus had been under maintainence earlier. She still taught school during the day Monday through Friday, and wouldn’t think of calling in a substitute in her place.

Again focusing her mind on the task in front of her, Cheerilee took a stroll through the gaming area. Several heads turned in her direction. Under a false name, the mare had ordered a dress from an old friend of hers in Ponyville. Unfortunately, the outfit maker didn’t know the meaning of subtle, and Cheerilee was probably one of the best-dressed mares in the casino.

The schoolteacher was nothing if not adaptable, however, and had decided that if she had to look like a million bits, she might as well go ahead and complete the illusion. Dusting off an old cover identity that she hadn’t used in years, Cheerilee stepped onto the gaming floor pretending to be a completely different pony. Her head was up, and she walked like she owned the place - or at least was in negotiations to purchase.

It did not take too long to locate Silverwing. He was a pale grey pegasus dressed in a dark waistcoat with slits in the back for his wings. The stallion was sitting at a poker table and appeared to be frustrated that he was only breaking even. A few beautiful young mares seemed to be hanging out with him, but were being ignored.

Cheerilee wondered if the money Silverwing was transporting would be with him. That seemed like a lot of bits to carry around, even with the new paper currency. A better bet would either be in his hotel room or in the casino safe.

It would take a while to find where Silverwing was staying. It would be easier to just follow him there. Maybe there was a way to force him to leave early without alerting him to something unusual. Perhaps if he went broke at the poker table...

Cheerilee did not usually gamble in pony-versus-pony games. It was too easy. Her senses provided more than enough advantage over other players. Besides, with her expense account she didn't need the money. The schoolteacher drifted near the table where Silverwing sat. It was a twenty thousand bit buy-in.

Retreating to the money changing counter, the mare ordered one hundred thousand bits’ worth of chips. The teller looked surprised. Large sums were traded all the time, but not usually by lone mares in the casino all by themselves. Cheerilee gave him her identification to authorize the transaction. The name on it read Countess de la Cheer.

The fake identity had been directly authorized by the Princess, so of course it checked out as legitimate on the magical ID network. The teller gave Cheerilee one hundred thousand-bit chips on a small tray.

A handsome, yet nervous-looking unicorn stallion in a tuxedo intercepted the schoolteacher as she was heading back to the poker table. “Ma’am? Could I have a word with you for a moment?”

Cheerilee nodded warily, making sure to keep her chips within sight. It wasn’t her money, and it would be irresponsible to lose track of it.

“My name’s Smooth Operator,” said the stallion. He didn’t move his head, but Cheerilee saw his eyes dart around. “I understand that you work for the Princess?”

“Who are you?” asked Cheerilee, fighting hard to keep surprise out of her voice.

“Equestrian Intelligence Agency,” said Smooth. “Could we please talk somewhere else?”

Cheerilee agreed. “How about my room?”

The stallion nodded and the two of them walked into a back hallway that led to the hotel adjoining the casino. After going up the stairs, Cheerilee unlocked her door. She set the tray of chips down and then kicked Smooth’s hooves out from under him, knocking the stallion onto the bed. An instant later, the mare was on his back, pinning him.

“What the-” he started to say, but Cheerilee mashed his face into the sheets.

“I wasn’t expecting to meet with anypony. I hope you understand that I need confirmation that you are who you say you are.” Without changing the tone of her voice, Cheerilee explained matter-of-factly, “If you aren’t, I’m going to kill you.”

The mare removed a small mirror from her luggage and tossed it on the bed. The reflective surface changed to reveal Princess Luna’s face.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to give you an update,” said the royal pony. “The EIA got in at the last moment and convinced me this would work better as a joint operation. They sent an agent to meet with you.”

“Is this him?” asked Cheerilee, tipping the mirror towards the stallion under her.

Luna’s lips twitched as if suppressing a smirk. “Yes, I think so. Smooth Operator, was it?”

The stallion nodded as best as he was able. Cheerilee let him up and turned back to the mirror.

“Good luck tonight,” said the Princess. She raised an eyebrow. “And try not to spend all that money.”

Cheerilee promised restraint and the mirror went silvery again. Smooth sat up, rubbing at his sore muscles. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“I’m stronger than I look,” Cheerilee said.

“Well, I guess Luna wouldn't want just anypony working for her,” muttered Smooth.

“Now, what did you want to talk about?” Cheerilee got up, adjusting her dress. It had a few anti-wrinkle and anti-stain enchantments to keep it looking nice.

Smooth performed a quick spell to straighten out his tuxedo. “Well, I’m here with the EIA as a joint operation - the Princess said that. We’re trying to take down Silverwing and the money he’s supposedly carrying.”

Cheerilee explained her plan to separate Silverwing from his poker chips and then follow him. With an extra pair of eyes, it should be even easier now.

The two of them went down on the gaming floor. Smooth saw the sign about the high buy-in at the table and glanced at the tray Cheerilee carried, only now realizing that every chip on it was worth a thousand bits. The mare winked at him and whispered, “Watch this.”

Walking to the table, Cheerilee asked, “Room for one more?”

Silverwing and the other three stallions that sat there looked up, looked at her pile of chips, and motioned her her to sit down.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a pretty thing like you in a game like this,” chortled one of the ponies. He was older and looked like no stranger to rich food. Silverwing nodded in agreement, saying nothing. The other two stallions appeared not to notice, their dark sunglasses indicating that they were either professional players or thought they were.

Cheerilee put twenty chips in the pot and received her first dealing of cards. Poker was still a relatively new game in Equestria, but had caught on quickly. As long as luck-modulating enchantments were placed on the gaming table, anypony could play with even odds.

Well, almost. Cheerilee’s senses gave her more than luck. If a pony’s heartbeat sped up, they were excited about their cards. Dilated pupils meant the same thing. A cold sweat or rapid breathing indicated nervousness. If there happened to be something shiny in the background then it was game over. The reflection, however tiny, would give away to Cheerilee the other pony’s cards. There was still a random element of luck in the game, but the schoolteacher had never had a losing game of poker since becoming a vampire.

The mare looked at her cards and back up. She watched the others decide what to do with their hands. One of the sunglasses-wearing stallions folded. The rest of the players put in chips, as did Cheerilee.

Over the next few rounds, the pot grew larger but not seriously so. Deciding to push things a little, Cheerilee doubled the next bet. Only Silverwing matched her. The two of them faced off, and turned over their cards. His three of a kind beat her pair.

Silverwing smiled and raked in the pot. Cheerilee frowned, but recovered. She didn’t want to appear like money meant nothing to her, because that might make the other players think she had enough spare change to play them into the ground.

The cards went out again. Cheerilee followed a similar pattern of betting as before. This time, she, Silverwing, and the heavyset pony were still in. The mare put down one last bet. With a sigh, the corpulent stallion folded.

Cheerilee and Silverwing turned over their cards. Her queen-eight full house made his two pair look pathetic. She shot him a confident smile, which he did not return. In fact, he looked annoyed, which was all right with her.

A stallion came over to the table and placed a note in front of Silverwing. Cheerilee surreptitiously changed her position, trying to either see the paper or find something to view its reflection with. Silverwing read the note and nodded once. The messenger left.

Cheerilee glanced around casually while waiting for the next hand to be dealt. She didn’t see Smooth. Hopefully he had followed the note-bringer.

The next hand Cheerilee folded immediately. A waiter had gone by with a silver serving tray, showing her that one of the ponies with sunglasses was holding a flush. One by one the other players fell out, leaving the pot small.

Several more hands went by, none of them too large, but Cheerilee took the majority. She was on a streak and won about thirty thousand bits.

Through the noise of the crowd, a familiar laugh carried through. It was loud enough that several ponies turned to look even if they didn’t recognize it. Cheerilee’s eyes went wide upon glimpsing a giggling pink mare and the five others with her.

Composing herself, the schoolteacher turned back to the game. A Las Pegasus casino was about the last place she expected to meet six familiar faces from Ponyville. Silverwing was staring at her. Cheerilee dropped a few extra bits on the table in challenge.

Out of the corner of her eye, the mare saw that Smooth was back. She listened carefully to the noise of the crowd, able to pick out the voices of the ponies she knew. They still seemed to be on the other side of the room and not in danger of spotting her.

Cheerilee threw more money down. It was a fine line between appearing confident in her hand, and looking so confident that the other players thought she was bluffing. The betting went around the table until only she and Silverwing remained. Cheerilee raised again, adding to the already bloated pot. The stallion thought for a moment and then folded.

It was not required for the last pony standing to show their cards, but Cheerilee did. She had a pair of fours. Silverwing’s jaw clenched in anger, knowing he had made a mistake. The mare didn’t give him time to stew on it, turning towards Smooth and waving him closer.

“Take over for me,” she said. The EIA agent’s face went blank with surprise. Cheerilee’s total was close to two hundred thousand bits, nearly double what she had started with.

Smooth stuttered, but Cheerilee was already getting up and pushing him towards her seat. He may have been surprised, but kept his wits and took the opportunity to make a covert transfer. Under the table, he patted a pocket in his tuxedo.

Cheerilee leaned over and planted a kiss on Smooth’s cheek. Pressing her body close to hide her movements, she retrieved a small notebook from his pocket.

“Good luck,” she said, pulling away. Smooth nodded, speechless.

“Sorry to see you go, m’dear,” chuckled the portly pony. “Even if you did take most of my money.”

Cheerilee gave him a nod and hurried away. Once clear of the game floor - and the visitors from Ponyville - she opened Smooth’s notebook.

There were a few notes about her; how to recognize the mare who called herself Countess de la Cheer. Lavender coat, pink mane, green eyes, probably well-dressed.

Further back, Smooth had written what had transpired when he followed the messenger away from the poker table. The notes were in an odd shorthand that probably made sense to the writer. After a few minutes of puzzling, Cheerilee managed to work it out.

The pony who had brought a note to Silverwing had gone into the hotel, speaking briefly with a bellhop before going upstairs. He had entered room 216. Smooth hadn’t managed to get any other information, except to notice that there was a faint smell that might have been fresh produce. What that might be doing in a hotel room was anypony’s guess.

Cheerilee listened carefully at the door. A ventilation fan in the room blotted out most of the sound. It would be terribly embarrassing to kick the door off its hinges only to discover that she’d gotten the wrong room, so instead Cheerilee knocked.

There was a squeak of bedsprings and somepony came to the door. Cheerilee made sure she was visible in the peephole.

“What do you want?” asked a voice.

“I talked with Silverwing a little after the game ended,” she said. “He sent me up here.”

After a moment, the door unlocked and opened just enough for the stallion inside to peer out with interest. “What can I do for you?”

Cheerilee took out a bag of unspent bits. “Can I come in and talk about it?”

The door opened wider and Cheerilee stepped over the threshold, looking around. The hotel bed was wrinkled, but still roughly made as if the room’s occupant had been only resting on it. Two suitcases with vegetables in them were propped open against the wall.

“So what do these do?” asked the mare. Surely nopony would be selling regular produce with such secrecy.

The stallion frowned. Clearly he wasn’t an idiot. “Why are you here if you don’t already know?”

Cheerilee sighed. “Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. You can either be nice and tell me what’s with the vegetables before going with the local police, or I can beat it out of you and give you to the Royal Guard.”

Smart though he may have been, the stallion made the worst decision of his life. He swung a hoof at Cheerilee. The mare caught the blow on the side of her face, absorbing it like she was made of stone. Surprised, the criminal took a few steps back. Cheerilee hurled the bag of bits at him. It wasn’t very heavy, but the speed she put on the throw was deadly.

The stallion’s limp body hit the floor. Cheerilee retrieved the bag from the crater it had made in his face and licked blood from the fabric. Killing had unfortunately become a way of life since the schoolteacher had gotten her fangs. It troubled her sometimes, but she could usually justify it as self-defense.

Turning to the vegetables, Cheerilee picked up a cucumber. She inspected it, finding nothing wrong with the outside. The mare’s body wouldn’t let her eat anything, so she didn’t try to taste it. Instead, she broke it open to look at the inside and discovered a glass vial filled with a green powder.

Cheerilee didn’t know if the cucumber had been purposely grown around the vial or if it had been inserted magically. She checked another vegetable and found the same thing inside.

The schoolteacher quickly packed up the two suitcases. She didn’t know if anypony besides the dead one on the floor had access to the room, but it seemed best not to leave the altered produce behind. Her own room was not far away, and she transported the luggage there.

After making a few additions to Smooth’s notebook, Cheerilee came back downstairs, spotting the familiar crowd of six mares. They had drifted closer to the table where Smooth was still playing.

Deciding she could still stay unnoticed, Cheerilee carefully made her way over to the poker table while using anything and anypony she could as cover. She saw Smooth looked nervous, and with good reason. He’d lost more than a hundred grand. The chips he had left amounted to barely seventy thousand. As if sensing easy prey, a few other players had joined the game. Cheerilee decided to tell him to quit, and they would regroup and come up with a new plan. The Princess and the EIA should probably know about the green powder.

The schoolteacher made a show of looking disapprovingly at the reduced pile of chips, which made Smooth swallow hard. The friendly, rotund pony gave Cheerilee a shrug as if to say, Don’t be too hard on him. It’s just the luck of the draw. Silverwing wore a smirk.

Cheerilee bent down to Smooth’s ear, but before she could speak, a shriek cut the air. “There’s a dead pony upstairs!”

Chapter 2

After the scream, the whole casino went silent for several seconds before conversation nonchalantly resumed, although at a slightly lower level. Cheerilee heard a familiar voice say, “Come on, girls. Maybe there’s something we can do to help.”

Glancing around, Cheerilee saw the six mares from earlier hurrying off Well, they were about to bite off more than they could chew. She turned back to Smooth, whispering, “I found out that Silverwing is working with some kind of smuggling operation. I’ll try to figure out how many more ponies are involved.”

Smooth nodded, looking worried. “Make it quick. I’ve lost a lot of money.”

“Keep playing. As long as he’s winning, Silverwing will stay here where we can watch him.” Cheerilee covertly slipped Smooth's notebook back into his pocket.

The EIA agent nodded again, nervously. Despite his name, Smooth Operator was apparently anything but. Cheerilee straightened up from whispering in his ear. For no reason in particular, she flashed Silverwing a confident smile. The expression on his face changed a little, perhaps wondering if she’d introduced some new strategy with her whispering. The mention of a dead pony also probably gave him pause.

Cheerilee went back upstairs. The room where the slain stallion lay was taped off while police and medical ponies worked. The six mares that kept causing problems were crowded around. Cheerilee slipped by while their backs were turned.

Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Familiar names and faces that Cheerilee hadn’t thought about in years. A few of them knew a little about Cheerilee’s situation with Princess Luna. Since moving away from Ponyville, the schoolteacher hadn’t had any contact with ponies from that town.

While it wouldn’t hurt much to say hello to them, it would inevitably lead to questions about what Cheerilee had been doing for the last decade, and why she didn’t look like she’d aged a day.

It was a shame, really. Twilight the purple unicorn was smart and helpful with school. Rarity, also unicorn but white, had made several articles of clothing for Cheerilee in the past. Pinkie Pie, a bubbly earth pony, always had something interesting to say and knew how to cheer a pony up. The orange cowboy-hatted Applejack was good for more down-to-earth practical conversation, and Cheerilee knew several other members of her family. Rainbow Dash, a pegasus as colorful as her name, was always making the news for something or other. Fluttershy, a shy yellow pegasus was perhaps the nicest, most caring mare the schoolteacher had ever met.

And somehow the schoolteacher had to keep them from getting involved. Granted, the six of them were capable and had dealt with plenty of bad ponies in their day, but that generally did not involve death, illegal substances, and vampires all in the same incident.

Down the hallway, Cheerilee passed two stallions going in the opposite direction. Both had their eyes fixed on the group of mares. Acting on sudden instinct, Cheerilee swung around a corner and stayed there, peeping out.

The two ponies stopped behind the crowd assembled around the emergency crew. Rather than watching the scene, they appeared to have their eyes on Twilight and friends. After a few moments, Applejack said something to her cohorts and separated from the group. After a quick discussion between the two of them, the stallions followed.

Cheerilee stayed long enough to see which direction Applejack went on the staircase, and then sprinted in the other direction. She found another set of stairs and went up, arriving on the third floor. Peering out from the stairwell doors, the schoolteacher spotted Applejack walking up to a room and pulling out a key.

The two ponies following her were not far behind. Cheerilee knew that Applejack was strong and tough from years of working on her farm, but being attacked would certainly convince her and her friends that the case was worth pursuing.

As Applejack opened her door, the two stallions turned towards her. Cheerilee shouted, “Murder!”

All three ponies turned in her direction, although the schoolteacher was out of sight. Cheerilee called, “Never mind! False alarm.”

Applejack snorted in disgust. “Some ponies...” Turning, she nodded politely to the two stallions. “Gentlecolts.”

Still off balance from Cheerilee’s interjection, the pair of thugs failed to react as the mare closed her door. Realizing they had missed their opportunity, the two of them began walking back towards the stairs while whispering angrily.

Cheerilee traveled the length of the hallway quickly and quietly enough that the two stallions were pinned on their faces before they even knew she was there. She held each of them in a modified headlock, faces to the floor.

“If either of you struggle, you die,” the mare whispered. “If you speak loudly, you die. If you don’t tell me what I want to know, you die. Understand?”

One of them said, “I don’t believe-” Cheerilee broke his neck with a twist of her hoof. The other stallion gasped.

“What is that green powder hidden inside the vegetables?” the mare demanded. The pony in her grip looked like he was about to panic and scream. His eyes darted around, and he look a deep breath, opening his mouth.

Crack. Cheerilee rolled her eyes. Was it really that hard to follow simple instructions? Her students didn’t have problems, and they weren’t even being threatened with violence. The mare hefted the two limp bodies onto her back and headed for a nearby supply closet. Inside, mops, brooms, soap, and other cleaning supplies lined the walls. There was a trash chute there, but it was too tight to permit her to shove the dead ponies down it. Oh well. The cleaning staff would probably not be back until morning.

Coming out, Cheerilee went back downstairs, skirting the crowd that still hung around watching the police and paramedics. She didn’t see the remaining five mares from Ponyville, and that worried her. They could be anywhere now.

The schoolteacher may have had abilities beyond the range of any normal pony, but she was still just one. Keeping track of six was a tall order, especially now that it seemed that somepony wanted to hurt them. Reluctantly, she decided to go get help.

Cheerilee stopped by the front desk of the hotel on her way back to the casino. She gave the clerk a smile. “Hello, I’m looking for some friends of mine.”

She told the stallion behind the desk their names, also adding in Silverwing. He shrugged. “Sorry, procedures say I can’t do that. I might have broken them and helped you anyway, but with that mess on the second floor, I can’t take the risk right now.”

The mare pulled out her bag of bits, keeping the bloodstain hidden from view. “How much?”

The stallion stuttered. “I’m sorry?”

“I don’t have time for subtlety,” Cheerilee said. “How much for those seven room numbers?”

“Uh, seven hundred bits?” said the clerk, as if pulling the number from thin air. Cheerilee paid him, and stood with an expectant look on her face. The clerk quickly wrote the numbers down and slid the paper across the desk.

Cheerilee stowed the note and headed for the casino. Smooth Operator had about thirty thousand bits left. He was visibly sweating now. Silverwing’s pile of chips had only grown larger. As the next hand came up, Cheerilee shoved Smooth’s chips forward. “All in.”

The EIA agent’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. Amused, the other ponies at the table matched his bet. The players laid down their cards. Smooth lost.

“It was fun while it lasted,” said Cheerilee. She pulled Smooth up. “Come on.”

Quickly explaining the situation as they walked, while leaving out why she couldn’t allow the six mares to see her, Cheerilee talked Smooth through everything she’d learned.

“Between the two of us, we need to keep them safe and figure out any others that might be working with Silverwing.” Cheerilee pulled out the paper with room numbers and tore it. She gave Smooth the piece that had just three numbers on it. “You watch these rooms.”

“Uh...” The stallion stammered. “I’m not really qualified for this. I don’t know anything about fighting. I guess I’m not really cool under pressure, either.”

“You’re not living up to your name, then,” said Cheerilee in disgust. In response, the stallion raised the hem of his tuxedo jacket, revealing a cutie mark that looked like a quart of oil.

Cheerilee facehoofed. “Your special talent is lubrication?”

Smooth shrugged. “The EIA is kind of understaffed right now.”

The mare shook her head. “We don’t have time for this. Are you helping or not?”

“I...okay,” agreed Smooth. He didn’t look confident.

“If you see anything suspicious and you don’t think you can handle it, come get me,” Cheerilee told him. “Otherwise, just keep on the lookout for trouble.”

The two of them split up. Cheerilee watched the second floor, reasoning that it would give her more time if anypony with bad intent was on their way upstairs.

A few minutes passed and Fluttershy came down from the third floor. She seemed to have a destination in mind. Cheerilee debated briefly what to do. Of the six ponies, the yellow pegasus probably needed the most protection.

The schoolteacher decided to follow Fluttershy and at least check where she was going. The yellow pegasus went down to the first floor and headed for the courtyard. A few rooms had balconies that overlooked the trees, grass, and landscaping. Gently beating her wings, Fluttershy flew up to the upper branches of a tree and began to sing softly. Cheerilee suspected that she was tucking some baby birds in for the night.

Turning to go, Cheerilee spotted a shadowy figure moving on one of the balconies that overlooked the courtyard. It was a pony raising a blowgun to his lips.

Without alerting Fluttershy, Cheerilee sprang into the air and landed on the second-floor balcony, jumping again to land where the hostile pony stood on the third floor. Surprised, the stallion turned to face her, leveling his weapon and firing. The dart stuck in her neck, but that didn’t stop Cheerilee from launching a spinning kick that drove the blowgun down the pony’s throat.

The mare quickly dragged him inside and out of view just in case Fluttershy turned around. In not very long, the stallion suffocated, and Cheerilee checked the hallway outside the room. The same supply closet she’d used earlier was right next door, and Cheerilee dragged his body in, putting it with the other two.

Cheerilee pulled the dart out of her neck and sniffed it. There was a passive chemical smell, probably some kind of narcotic or poison. It probably wouldn’t affect her, but may have been very bad for Fluttershy. She stowed it in the pocket of one of the dead ponies.

Coming out of the room, she saw Smooth looking at her curiously. She waved a hoof. “No problem.”

The stallion shrugged and walked back towards the other end of the hallway. Cheerilee took the stairs down to the casino floor, checking to see if Silverwing was still at his table. He wasn’t. Well, that was too bad. She decided to see if the stallion had gone up to his room.

Silverwing’s room was actually located near Rarity’s. Cheerilee knocked on his door and waited. There was no response, so she figured a little breaking and entering would do no harm.

The door handle was integrated with the lock and looked quite sturdy. Cheerilee doubted it would break even under her whole weight. Instead, she took a solid stance and pushed upwards on it. With a groan of stressed metal, the handle twisted off. Cheerilee pushed the other side of the handle through the lock cylinder and pulled back the bolt.

After opening the door, she retrieved the other side of the handle and stuck it on the outside so the door appeared undisturbed while she was in the room. After closing the door, the schoolteacher set about searching through Silverwing’s belongings.

She found the cash almost immediately. A large suitcase filled with paper bills lay unsecured in the closet. At a glance, Cheerilee estimated that it contained several million bits. She had no way of telling if it was real, but had no reason to suspect counterfeit. It did seem a little strange to find it there, not even in a lockable suitcase.

Not one to turn down a gift, Cheerilee picked up the money. Taking it from Silverwing was her whole mission. Glancing out the window before leaving, she did a double-take. There was a pony climbing a rope on the outside of the building, a few windows down.

Mentally counting the room numbers, Cheerilee realize that he must be heading for Rarity’s, which was just down the hallway. She ran from the room, still hauling the suitcase.

Things happened quickly as Cheerilee kicked open Rarity's door. The lock splintered and tore loose from the frame. The schoolteacher observed a grappling hook secured to the window frame and a pony with a knife in his teeth climbing in. Rarity sat up in bed, a sleeping mask over her eyes. Without pausing for an instant, Cheerilee flew across the room and knocked the intruder backwards out the window. Her momentum carried the mare and the money along for the ride. Rarity, still struggling with her mask and unable to see, exclaimed, “What in Equestria...!”

The pony with the knife hit the ground first, the suitcase falling on him and Cheerilee on top of that. The three story drop was not kind to any of the three, but worse towards the bottom. The suitcase cracked along one side, bills sliding out. The stallion beneath did considerably more cracking than that.

Cheerilee quickly wrapped the suitcase in the dead pony’s jacket to prevent it from leaking any more cash. There was no way to stop leaking from the pony, however, and Cheerilee dragged the body carefully to prevent any harm from coming to her dress.

They had landed on the backside of the building, and nearby dumpster presented itself. Disposing the corpse there was much easier than transporting a fourth dead body up to the supply closet.

Cheerilee carried the damaged bag full of money back to her room and set it with the two suitcases of suspicious produce. She had no time to examine any of the things she’d recovered, however. Half the mares she was trying to protect had already been threatened with death, and the schoolteacher wanted to make sure the others were safe, as well.

She trotted upstairs once more. Smooth approached, a worried look on his face. “I saw a suspicious stallion hanging around one of the rooms on the list you gave me.”

He told Cheerilee which one. She remembered that it belonged to Rainbow Dash. The lavender mare nodded. “I’ll handle it. You cover the second floor in the meantime.”

Smooth nodded and went downstairs. Cheerilee turned and went down the hallway. Sure enough, there was a pony surreptitiously attempting to gain access to Rainbow’s door. He stopped as soon as he saw he wasn’t alone and casually attempted to look like he was searching for something that had been dropped.

“Can I help you?” asked the mare, smiling.

“Oh, no thanks. I’m good.” The pony didn’t look up. From inside the room, Cheerilee could hear Rainbow snoring. The schoolteacher continued to stand there until the stallion glanced at her.

“Something on your mind?” he asked, slightly annoyed.

“Just waiting until you realize your cover is blown,” she replied. The stallion froze for a moment, and then leaped at her. Cheerilee put a hoof in his face, perhaps a little harder than she intended. Her attacker dropped, out cold. The thud of him hitting the floor startled Rainbow out of her sleep.

“What the hay...” said the awakened pony. Cheerilee paused, listening to see if Rainbow would get out of bed. After a moment, she heard hooves hit the floor.

The lavender mare grabbed the unconscious stallion and bolted for the stairwell. Just as she heard Rainbow’s door unlock, she rounded the corner. There was a pause as if Rainbow was looking around the hallway. Then the door shut.

Cheerilee sighed. It wasn’t often that she had to run from one of the fastest pegasi in Equestria. Her break was short, however, by the sound of hooves coming upstairs. She quickly jumped into action once more.

Pinkie Pie ascended to the next flight, humming to herself. Cheerilee watched from an awkward position near the ceiling. Her hooves were outstretched and pressed against the walls to hold her there. The knocked-out stallion rested on her back, making her acrobatic stunt even more difficult. If Pinkie looked upwards even a little, Cheerilee would be seen.

As the schoolteacher watched, Pinkie came to a sudden halt. She glanced backwards at her tail. It was twitching.

Chapter 3

The pink pony glanced upwards. There was nothing to see except a blank ceiling and an air vent. As she watched, a coin dropped out of the vent. Pinkie squealed with excitement and chased the money as it rolled down the stairs.

Inside the air ducting, Cheerilee put her bag of bits away and nodded in satisfaction. She maneuvered around and began pushing the comatose stallion upwards.

Several floors later, the duct ended at the roof. Cheerilee pulled the other pony out and laid him on his back. A few light slaps to the face woke him up.

“Want to live to see morning?” said Cheerilee. “Answer all my questions.”

The pony shouted in surprise as the mare hauled him up by his throat and dangled his legs over the edge of the roof. As he continued to yell, she rolled her eyes and said, “Nopony is going to hear you from this many floors up.”

“Who the buck are you?” demanded the stallion, glancing fearfully at the ground.

“It’s not about me,” Cheerilee told him. “Just know that the instant I let go, you’re going to fall. The sooner you tell me what I want to know, the better things will go. Now, what do you know about Silverwing?”

“He handles the money,” the stallion gasped. Now that he had hung by his neck for a little while, it was becoming harder for him to breathe. “He was bringing in a big deposit for a transaction. It couldn’t go forward without him.”

Well, that explained why Cheerilee’s original mission was to take the money. She asked, “A transaction for what?”

“Drugs. It’s this green stuff, so we call it Grass. It’s the latest in entertainment.” The stallion actually sounded a little proud of that. While mood-altering substances weren’t new to Equestria, organized groups to distribute them were beginning to pop up.

“And you store it in vegetables?” asked Cheerilee.

The stallion nodded, his face beginning to turn blue.. “If you let me catch my breath, I’ll tell you who else is involved. Cheerilee considered that, and then pulled him back from the edge.

The stallion collapsed to his knees, breathing hard. He glanced up and then quickly pulled a magical trinket from the pocket of his coat, activating it. A shiny glow surrounded his whole body, and suit of metal armor glimmered into existence.

The pony stood up, suddenly more confident. “I was about to take down Rainbow Dash! If you’re going up against somepony like her, it's smart to be prepared for anything. You might be strong, filly, but let’s see you get through this!”

Cheerilee studied the armor carefully. She tried a quick front kick to the chestplate, which the stallion appeared to barely feel. He was completely covered by the sturdy suit, helmet and all. The mare studied the joints, looking for anything she could exploit. Her fangs were sharp, but they had to find an edge to dig in. She circled, searching for an opening.

The helmet appeared to turn freely. Cheerilee wondered if there was anything securing it to the rest of the suit. The stallion rushed forward more quickly than expected, even with the heavy suit. The schoolteacher got out of the way and kicked at the pony's armored front leg joint. Her hooves smacked hard against the metal, but did little damage.

The stallion turned, having shrugged off her attack. Cheerilee wondered if she could get her teeth in one of the seams of the armor and peel it back. She circled again, forcing her attacker to turn in place.

The next time the stallion charged, Cheerilee stood her ground and let him plow into her. The force knocked the mare to the ground, but she tripped the onrushing pony and he piled into her, swinging his hooves.

Catching a couple of blows to the face and chest, Cheerilee grappled with the pony, digging her fangs into a joint near the shoulder of the armor. Other than restricting the stallion's movement, the metal suit refused to budge.

Rolling off her, the stallion got up and set up for another attack. Cheerilee decided to try bucking again, although a little better planned this time. She studied the armor carefully, and then feinted to the side which gave her time to line up a powerful kick directly at the stallion’s head.

The edges of the helmet and suit were not sharp, but the tremendous force caused them to slide over each other, neatly cleaving the pony’s head straight off his body. The head, with helmet still attached, soared over the edge of the roof and landed in the dumpster many stories below.

Cheerilee nodded with satisfaction amid the shower of blood and pushed the rest of the stallion over the side. The body joined the one already down there. The mare glanced downward and then did a double take. There weren’t just the two bodies she had put there herself, but five.

The dress’ anti-stain enchantments did wonders, and the schoolteacher was able to get herself cleaned up easily before going back downstairs. On the second floor, Cheerilee met up with Smooth again. The stallion looked somewhat nauseous, but pleased with himself.

“So how did you get the bodies down the trash chute in the supply closet?” asked Cheerilee.

“Simple,” said Smooth. “A little liquid soap from the shelf worked great to make the chute slick enough to get them to slide easily.”

Cheerilee was sorry that she had doubted the EIA agent’s effectiveness. She nodded. “All right. You’re doing a good job here. I’m going to see if I can find the sixth pony and make sure she’s not in trouble.”

Twilight was not in her room, but after wandering downstairs, Cheerilee spotted her across the casino. She was talking to the group of ponies at the table where Silverwing had been sitting.

Cheerilee felt a little panic. Surely the purple unicorn hadn’t discovered a connection between the discovered body in the hotel room and the poker player so quickly?

Twilight was talking loudly, trying to keep the attention of the gamblers. “So I’m asking if any of you might know something related to the killing I’m trying to solve.”

A couple of the ponies shrugged. None replied. A stallion wearing a casino employee uniform walked up carrying a fancy drink on a tray. “Are you Ms. Twilight? A gentlecolt over by the bar bought this for you.”

The purple mare was more than a little surprised. “Really?” she stuttered. “Well...okay, thanks.”

“Oh my gosh, Twilight, how long has it been?” said Cheerilee, shoving the waiter aside.

Surprised even more, Twilight said, “Wow! Hello, Cheer-”

The schoolteacher cut her off. “You look good.”

Twilight nodded. “You look like you haven’t aged a bit.”

The unicorn knew at least some of what had happened to Cheerilee in the last decade. Still, Luna had been very adamant about not revealing more than necessary to anypony. Cheerilee would have prefered to avoid contact with Twilight at all, but she felt that she had to.

“I was just about to go for a drink,” said Cheerilee. She turned, appearing to spot the waiter for the first time. “Well, that’s convenient.”

Seizing the glass, she took a sip. The beverage tasted nice, but her vampire system wouldn’t even let her attempt to swallow. Cheerilee was forced to spit it back in the glass. “Yuck, what is this stuff?”

The waiter gasped. “Ma’am, I assure you we only use the finest-”

Cheerilee ignored him, turning back to Twilight. “It was nice seeing you, I think I’m going to be sick, got to go!”

Leaving a confused unicorn in her wake, Cheerilee made for the restroom. It was lucky that vampires weren’t actually invisible to mirrors, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to see the red, ugly sores that were spread across her tongue and her bleeding gums. The drink had been poisoned.

Stepping out of the restroom, Cheerilee spotted Twilight harassing the poker players again. The pony with the tray was returning the now-ruined drink to the bar.

Cheerilee faced a choice. She could either get the waiter to tell her who had sent the drink, or she could covertly track Twilight on the assumption that the mare would continue to make good progress.

The purple unicorn either got what she wanted from the card-playing ponies or gave up in frustration. Cheerilee saw her walk away from the table. On impulse, the schoolteacher decided to follow her.

Unfortunately, Twilight headed back upstairs to get her friends.

Chapter 4

Cheerilee followed Twilight carefully. Now that the unicorn was alerted to her presence, it would be harder to stay incognito. That would get even worse when Twilight told her friends. The schoolteacher sighed. That was just how luck sometimes went.

Silverwing was probably still in the area. It hadn’t been that long since Cheerilee had broken into his room. While her mission was technically over, the mare hated to leave somepony like him to run free. Still, priority one was making sure the six visitors from Ponyville stayed safe.

Leaving Twilight for a moment, Cheerilee flew into her room. The items she’d confiscated over the course of the night were still there. The mare threw open her suitcase and yanked out a different dress. It wasn’t quite as nice, but at least it was different—black and cut shorter. She dropped her Countess de la Cheer ID and grabbed a new one. After quickly running a brush through her mane to restyle it, it was time for the lenses.

Most ponies would refuse to put glass of any kind into their eyes. The curved pieces of clear glass were contoured to match the shape of Cheerilee’s eyeballs. Each one had a carefully colored depiction of an iris. The upside of wearing the uncomfortable things was that it completed Cheerilee’s illusion of being a different mare. Her eyes now appeared to be magenta.

After quickly applying some lipstick, Cheerilee was out the door again. Her disguise probably wouldn’t fool Twilight and the others if they looked directly at her face, but every little bit helped.

The schoolteacher dashed up to the third floor, spotting the irksome purple unicorn going around to the rooms of her friends. Rarity was bemoaning her broken door. It was obvious from Twilight’s worried look that she was quickly organizing the six of them to step up their investigation to a whole new level.

Cheerilee spotted Smooth coming down the hallway. Taking a risk, she stepped out and met him, her back to the six mares. Hopefully they weren’t paying attention.

Smooth looked Cheerilee up and down and grinned. “What brought this on?”

“It’s for the job,” she replied. “Have you learned anything?”

“I spotted a couple of ponies downstairs that looked like they might be part of this drug ring,” said Smooth.

“How could you tell?” asked Cheerilee.

“They looked scared that they might wind up in a dumpster.” Despite his unpleasant experience shoving bodies down the trash chute, Smooth appeared to have bounced back. Cheerilee didn’t appreciate his attempts at humor, however.

“Do you have any idea where Silverwing went to?” asked the mare. “I’ve been a little busy keeping those six out of trouble.”

“I haven’t seen…” Smooth trailed off, staring down the hallway over Cheerilee’s shoulder.

The mare grabbed him without hesitation and maneuvered the stallion against the wall. Carefully keeping her mouth closed, she kissed him on the lips and got as close as their clothing would allow. Considering that each of them were only wearing a layer or two, that was very.

Smooth’s eyes bugged out comically. Cheerilee heard a pony pass by, walking quickly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw it was Silverwing. The pegasus paid no attention to the two ponies in lip-lock, and headed straight for his room. When he got there, the doorknob Cheerilee had broken fell off in his hooves.

Silverwing threw the door open and quickly checked his room. Finding the suitcase of money gone, he came back out into the hallway, fighting to keep his face calm. As soon as he was gone from the hallway, Cheerilee broke her embrace with Smooth.

The EIA agent made a show of gasping for air. Cheerilee ignored him and glanced around, not seeing Twilight or any of the others. She figured they had probably hidden upon seeing Silverwing.

“Come on,” said Cheerilee. “Let’s go after him.” It would make things easier if she and Smooth could get to Silverwing before the six mares did. The two of them hurried away.

Carefully keeping their distance, the mare and the stallion managed to follow Silverwing as he strode quickly through the hotel. It was clear that he was worried, something that Cheerilee took a little pride in knowing she’d caused.

Silverwing entered the casino and passed through without pausing. He made his way to another part of the building and went into an unmarked door. Cheerilee gestured for Smooth to stay back, and pulled the door open.

There was nothing beyond it except a rough set of stairs leading downwards. The schoolteacher could hear Silverwing’s hooves on the steps. She motioned Smooth to come along and the two of them descended, stepping quietly.

The stairs switched back and forth in short flights. They went for what felt like a few stories. The floor appeared, and the two ponies stepped out into a service tunnel that ran perpendicular to the stairs. A couple of branches separated from the tunnel, running to various rooms.

Cheerilee concentrated hard, picking out the sound of Silverwing’s walk among the echoing passageways. He’d gone down one of the closest branches to the stairs.

“I’m going after him. Go check around the rest of the area,” she whispered to Smooth.

The stallion nodded and turned to go in a different direction. Cheerilee peeped around the corner and observed the passageway where Silverwing was currently working on unlocking a door. He was a little ways down, and there was no cover between him and her. Well, it would just have to be a rush, then.

Cheerilee coiled her legs and launched forward, sprinting at the pegasus. He didn’t have time to properly defend himself, but did manage to get one wing up into her face. Cheerilee clamped down on it, but only got a mouthful of feathers.

Silverwing turned, getting into a takeoff stance, but Cheerilee hit him again, scattering more feathers. She flipped him over and hit his face a few times, although not very hard by her standards.

“What’s behind that door?” she asked.

Stunned by both the attack and by the recognition of the mare he’d played cards against, Silverwing was slow to respond. He eventually stammered, “Emergency kit.”

“For what?” asked Cheerilee.

“For an emergency,” spat the stallion. “Like all my money coming up missing.”

Cheerilee allowed him to stand up, but kept a tight grip on his neck. “Open the door.”

Silverwing finished disengaging the lock, and Cheerilee swung the door open. She saw at the last minute a piece of string that was tied to the inside of the handle. From inside the darkened room there was a click.

Something slammed into Cheerilee’s chest, knocking her back a step. Looking down, she saw a crossbow bolt protruding from her chest. Forcing herself to keep the pain from showing on her face, she glanced at Silverwing irritably. “It’s a good thing this dress has ballistic protection built in.”

The stallion’s eyes were wide. “That…could have been me opening the door.”

“Some friends you’ve got, huh? Loose a little money and suddenly they want you dead.” Cheerilee glanced up as Smooth rounded the corner. The EIA agent saw that she’d captured Silverwing, and pulled out a pair of hoofcuffs.

Cheerilee’s sensitive ears caught the sound of the door at the top of the stairs opening. She could hear Twilight’s voice faintly. “Okay girls, Rainbow and Fluttershy stay to cover the exit. The rest of us are going down there!”

“We’ve got to move quickly,” said Cheerilee. Before Smooth could ask questions, she turned away so he couldn't see and carefully pulled the bolt out. It wasn’t easy or painless.

Seeing an opportunity, Silverwing attempted to break free of Smooth’s grasp. The two stallions struggled, a battle that was brought to an end by Cheerilee’s hoof smacking the pegasus on the back of the head. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The fight had wasted too much time, however, and Cheerilee could hear Twilight and friends reaching the bottom of the stairs. Smooth glanced in that direction, seemingly not very concerned.

“Let’s try this way first!” called Twilight. She and the three mares with her charged down the tunnel, coming closer. They slid past the corner, unable to stop, and crashed into a heap somewhere down the passageway.

Smooth grinned. “I found the boiler room that warms the building and borrowed some heating oil. It worked well enough.”

Cheerilee nodded in agreement and tossed the limp Silverwing onto her back. They made their way back upstairs before the mares on the slippery floor could recover.

“Sorry, he’s a little sick,” called the schoolteacher, carefully hiding her face and the cuffs on Silverwing’s hooves from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy who guarded the door. Smooth had tossed his jacket over the unconscious pegasus to help disguise him.

They made it back to the casino. The plump, jolly pony from the card game walked by, mistaking Silverwing’s forced nap for something else. “Ah, looks like someone had his fill of the high life? Wish we could all be so lucky.”

The two ponies kept walking with their unconscious cargo. “My backup is waiting outside,” said the EIA agent. “They’ll take care of this guy.”

True to his word, a couple of ponies were loitering outside the building and took custody of Silverwing. They went through his pockets and found a sizeable number of casino gaming chips.

“Tell you what,” said Cheerilee. “Take my room key. You’ll find a lot of cash and some confiscated drugs there. I’ll take the chips.”

The other ponies from the EIA seemed agreeable to that, so Cheerilee collected the bag of game pieces that was in Silverwing’s pocket. It was not a small bag.

Smooth followed her back into the casino. “Well, that’s over with. It was good to work with you.”

“You weren’t so bad yourself,” she said.

The stallion paused for a moment, appearing to steel himself for something difficult. “I was wondering if you’d like to get something to drink and maybe talk a little?”

“Sorry,” said Cheerilee without looking at him. “I don’t mix business with my personal life.”

“Then what were you doing earlier?” he demanded.

“Using you as a distraction,” she said, glancing at him. It was almost comical how much his face fell. Also kind of sad.

“Sorry if I misled you,” said Cheerilee. At the same time, she was slightly sorry for herself. While she was practically married to her job, it had been a very long time since she’d been romantic with anypony.

Cheerilee pushed those thoughts away. The job wasn’t quite finished yet. She walked up to the money exchange and placed the bag of chips on the counter. The teller sorted through them in surprise. “There’s almost half a million bits’ worth here. Somepony got lucky.”

“Not me,” muttered Smooth sullenly.

Cheerilee smiled at the teller. “Cash, please.”

Author note: Thanks for reading. Want more vampire Cheerilee? Check out the rest of the series.