De_Termination//

Chapters

MemLog_1_TS
Act I (Part I)
Act I Part II
Act I Part III
The Ponyville Job
Act II Part I
Act II Part II
Act II Part III
MemLog_user*null:return_filename: Sometimes You Still Lose
Open Your World
The Joke Chapter That Blew The Story Up Apparently
Act III Part I
NEW CONTRACT BY // APPLEJACK
MemLog_1_*null:return

MemLog_1_TS

Tired, violet eyes glazed over with sleep and restlessness glossed over an old book. It was an old book about fairy tales and myths, one quite similar to the same one that had foretold about Nightmare Moon's return. Though its cover was hardly as ornate, it was still embossed with gold thread and a silver-lined back, the magically infused stiff linen that made up its pages seemed to guarantee its durability in any weather, and if the enchantment were to run out, the pages were sturdy since they weren't paper.

Sure, she didn't really find anything useful about it now, she'd likely read it a few times already during an organization session that she had done herself, (rather than let Spike deal with it). Twilight Sparkle's horn flared, and the pages began to turn, essentially just skimming to see what she might've missed or forgotten, to try and ease her mind into some very much-needed sleep, thank you very much. Such was the toll for drinking far too much coffee again.

Her horn stopped on an interesting diagram of sorts, or at least it looked like one. A professionally sketched depiction of a fox on two legs, if its angular snout and tipped tail were of any indication, wearing a robe with a hood down. Twilight stared at it in confusion, she didn't remember this in the copy back at the Canterlot Library. 'Maybe something added after publishing? She thought.
The title for this section of myths and fairytales was simply titled "Volpe" in bold, neatly written cursive. Underneath it was the sub-title "Cossidore Volpe", an ancient word that when translated to modern ponish was something called a Weaver Fox.

"While modern foxes walk on fours and can commonly be seen harassing farm animals at times or stalking your local forests, these did not. Legend states that they were the ones to have taught the unicorns how to spellcraft, using their knowledge of reportedly being able to weave ambient magic, and refine it into unique spells for any application.
Objects recovered from alleged Volpe campsites and ancient towns are few, but seem to be magic given form, like this tapestry. (Fig. 1)

It is unlikely any living being will ever see them again, as they were believed to have vanished after Canterlot was frozen in hateful ice by its ethereal predators, the Windigos.."

Twilight shut the book, she could have more time to read this page later. For now was sleepy time, because she didn't want to be chided by Spike again for staying up all night. He already did enough around the library without her carelessly spending a night up studying another book.

Figure 1: Various hand-drawn sketches and renditions of objects, one is a tapestry with no faded color, the other a journal of some kind with a cover made of wood, clothing. All of which were skillfully crafted out of natural materials, and also thousands of years old and definitely not supposed to have withstood the test of time.

Act I (Part I)

It'd been several years after the Merlaut job, before that, he spent his time as a fixer and assassinated the CEO of Abstergo at one point. (A job where he didn't get much in the way of details) and even more years after that, he spent some of his time spent in London, and yet even more time once his temper had cooled off a little and his age started impeding his status as The Fox. (Just a little bit).

He was in his late seventies now, but with all the training, conditioning, and non-stop gunfights he was in more or less peak condition, still being able to beat down someone with his faded baton, though his movements were less flowy and an iota stiffer.

Aiden sat in an old, cushioned chair in the console room of the Bunker. An old, abandoned Blume facility, once used by him and a few other allies during the incident with Damien Brenks.

In his old age, he found it funny how when one person wrought havoc using CTos connected systems and devices, they just decided to rebrand themselves and connect [ieven more/i] things to the CTos network. Like that strange, Optik thing that had come out in (not so) recent years. While he sat he contemplated what to do as he drank from a coffee mug, the brown liquid steaming hot as it warmed his cold bones. He wasn't quite the same man he was thirty years ago.

Looking around he spotted some (likely expired) pill bottles, the same that he had used to keep his focus sharp and his wits tough during prolonged gunfights. Sure he didn't need them, but they helped. Not like he was planning on taking some anyways.
Maybe he could try one of his old digital trips?

While he would never do another playthrough of Alone, the thought of just piloting a Spider Tank, or beating his old high score on Psycadelic! was tempting. Firing up his old save data of Alien Invasion (Titled NVZN for short.) also seemed tempting, but despite this, he didn't quite want to invest all his time in simple games.

Another sip of his coffee was taken.

It wasn't like he could do much else, he was for the most part retired, not much to do as an ancient fixer, much less one with his... Notoriety. Discovering memes was confusing, a lot changes when one isn't busy exchanging full metal jacketed "Fuck you"s to each other. Well, not like he was going to put that knowledge to use.

'Remember to tend to the suppressor later' he noted, mentally reminding himself to check the baffles of the suppressor on his Spec Ops 1911. The appearance was dated, a .45 Colt that had a special, more efficient suppressor, which had eliminated the need for subsonic munitions.

Not that he didn't use them though, it made it quiet as a mouse when he did, except for the noise caused by the slide.

"Argh, fine. One last game for the road." He thought aloud, finishing his coffee as he started pulling out his phone, and then later inserting something similar to an earbud in his right ear, he selected the NVZN app and started from level one. In almost no time at all he was taking precise shots through hordes of tiny polygonal aliens with a simple blaster one moment, and then clearing out bigger ones with a shotgun the next, with him occasionally needing to run around the room to grab more ammo, or "health".

By the time level 9 arrived he felt himself panting a little, not rusty per se, just his body saying it was time to take a break.

Then again, each level was about five minutes of moving and shooting, so he'd been at it for quite a while. Powering through this level, by the time he had completed the game he was utterly drained, and slumped back down into his chair, tempted to reach for his mug of coffee (though it was already empty).

He might be just a tad sore tomorrow, it had been just a little under a year till he had properly retired from his "career", though he still occasionally dealt with back alley crime that showed up on the Activity Monitor, handy little thing cobbled together with CTos code to use GPS and stolen CTos software information to determine their location, and if a crime was in progress. A "Less Than Lethal" gun he had picked up in London made it somewhat less dangerous, for the aggressor anyways (he still had a habit of going for headshots).

He'd first doubted them, but at least they worked and were decently effective.

Now if only he remembered to use it.

After a minute of rest, he pulled his gun from his holster, unloaded it, and checked the slide before he set it on the counter to prep it for maintenance, pulling a large plastic bin that he poured chemicals into where he placed the gun (sans silencer).

As Aiden finished drying off his gun, and adding a fresh new barrel to it, his thoughts wandered to its history. Unfortunately, it was almost always about his niece. Sure, everyone else might've moved on, but he didn't get the memo. Even now when there might not be a body in the grave anymore.

Thoughts drifted about his nephew. Likely a grown man by now. Despite him being responsible for being kidnapped along with his mom, it seemed he didn't hold it against him. Or at least he never showed it. Either that or he made it up to him by showing off the Bunker. It was long enough that he was certain neither Blume nor CTos cared about him anymore.

Despite how much trouble he could cause and how much he could set them back, there would eventually come a time where he simply wouldn't be able to. He was a temporary solution, to CTos, a temporary problem.

Though likely others were doing the same too.

Maybe he should've just gone for a digital trip instead. Perhaps tomorrow? He didn't bother to check the time, but he figured it was night. Brushing a hand across his face he felt one of his cheekbones, feeling it sink in around the eyes. He really needed to get out more during the day. Sitting up he stretched and got up, bones audibly popping into place. He grabbed his gun and placed it in its holster as he went to an old mattress to rest in, back from the days when his motel hide-out was blown up.

Right as he was about to lay down, he paused mid-way as his breathing felt a little funny, and his chest seemed to have a dim ache. Ignoring it he set an alarm on his phone for ten hours, laid down on the hardly used springs, and went to sleep. He was surprised by how cushy it was compared to a fancy modern one, but besides that, he couldn't shake something, was it just him? Or was the ache in his chest starting to hurt a little?

Act I Part II

He was able to get what felt like three hours worth of restful sleep before the pain started kicking in.

Coughing sharply and loudly, the pain would scamper off before shooting back in with a vengeance, his chest feeling like it was being shredded in two with bullets.
He stood up to try and search for medicine, his mind running over time in his memory before he kneeled, the pain stopping him from going any further as he stumbled his way back onto the mattress.

Heart attack, he was having a heart attack. So much for sleeping today.

Twilight Sparkle stood up in her library, staring up from her book at the sigils and glyphs she'd poured on the wood floor, made of coarse salt. She would probably be stuck cleaning it up later since Spike was out with the Apples, (plus it'd be rude to leave work out waiting when someone goes on an outing!)

Plus... Now that she looked at the massive scrawling of lines on the floor, it was better off with her dealing with it rather than dropping the workload off to her Number One Assistant.

The spell mentioned in the book wasn't anywhere near strong enough or structured enough to even do its intended purpose, though the glyphs, which were likely ancient ponish words, were a constant step despite her trying to eliminate it.
So about an hour of intense work over some curiosity, she'd adapted whatever magical spell that was in the book she had read last night, the one with the entry on Volpe, to something that a unicorn could cast.

"Seriously, with that little structure in the spell, you're more likely to just shoot a beam of magic into the air." She thought to herself, sneezing a little and almost ruining one of the glyphs. Treading carefully she made her way to the center, where she could start casting the darn thing.

A spell that would supposedly cause the Volpe to return. Normally, she wouldn't be so reckless, but it was an old book with a supposedly old and legitimate spell she'd adapted to work! (She wasn't the element of magic for nothing!) And there was a high likelihood that said species didn't exist! So, throwing foresight out the window she was in the clear.

Besides, what was it going to do? Materialize an entire colony, pack, or however a group would be called of them in her library? Doubtful, it didn't ask for an open field.

Maybe it just sent a message out? Like an "All Clear", no more Windigo threat to deal with.

The curiosity in her chest burned even higher, along with the rising chances of something going wrong. Nothing was stopping her from backing out and clearing away the salt, but shoving aside her fears she straightened her back, took a deep breath, and focused magic at the tip of her horn, sparking faintly in violet hues.

She had spent way too much time working to back out now.

He had a desire to reach out for a glass of water.

The downside was, he didn't remember if that was something he should do after one.

The pain was still there, just not as bad, a dull ache deep within. The worst of it seemed over, for now, so he fumbled around as he picked up his phone and turned off the alarm. He doubted he could go back to sleep.

He was getting really thirsty though, and his head felt fuzzy.

Magic sprouted from a brightly glowing ball as luminous tendrils of light and Harmony flowed all around her, focusing on the glyphs she had created from simple, coarse, sea salt.

She couldn't help but let a tiny smile creep up her face, that worked!

Well. Only one part of the spell worked, she still needed to push a little bit more.

The lines and arrays around her glowed with magical energy, bobbing and weaving to connect and interlock as her focus increased...

Deciding it was best to get it over with, Aiden Pearce had made a careful dash to a water bottle and quickly took a sip, not waiting for his heart attack to get a second wind while he had to chance to choke. He was dizzy afterward but he'd suffered worse, he could get this done even in his older age. Or so he believed.

For a moment, he thought he felt a knot tie around something deep inside him. Far beneath skin, flesh, or bone. Like something was grabbing onto his soul.

He chalked it up to a side-effect of the heart attack as he groaned. (Or during.)

Physical focuses of magic were usually unheard of in modern times, only really in powerful artifacts such as the Crystal heart, or the Alicorn Amulet that had caused Ponyville a fair amount of grief for a day. Being used in a spell was even less so, not since the early days of unicorn magic and even less so outside of tracking spells.

Especially not when the lines of salt dust had melded to create perfect strings of faintly glowing violet energy, all interlocked in a cascade of circles, lines, and glyphs.

"Woah... Okay. Now just for the next few steps." She had a list on hoof, so now it was supposed to find a target...

Treatment. He had to find some medicine for this. Nitroglycerin? Did he have any in pills?

No. But he did have some in cold storage.

Sometimes you can't have all the ingredients for a standardized IED, at least the ones he used as grenades. So when he needed a better bang or was out of his usual chemicals he had a small amount of the liquid in a locked icebox. Just a few bottles.

But then it started hurting again, sharp pains in his ribs as he gasped for air, feeling his chest burning and feeling like it was splitting apart he clenched his teeth and crawled. A reckless idea, but it was probably dumb enough to work if he didn't overthink it.

The sigils and symbols glowed brighter, the spell that it was supposed to represent was some sort of tracking spell, designed to lock onto the magic? Energy? Of a species, it was a little complicated to get working, a fair amount of it was simplified and streamlined. It glowed, brighter yet brighter, the light cutting deeper into what few shadows remained in her library until it suddenly focused up into the sky- ceiling, of her home. Twilight's eyes widened. 'I should've done this in a field! She didn't want to stop the spell casting right now so she focused on concentrating her magic, a tiny part of her quietly hoping it didn't burn holes in her roof, lest every other room upstairs come crashing down- THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!

'It's okay, just focus- We can do this!'

The light thinned to tiny streams flowing up through her home, sighing relief.

Grab it.

Unlock it.

Fumble.

Failing to open the lock, he slumped down in agony as he clawed at his chest loosely, it wasn't burning anymore, but instead was a mix of cold and hot, or as he'd aptly call it- Hellfire. if he could speak.

His tongue was dry and his mouth felt like chalk as he coughed and choked, struggling as his vision flashed. White, Void, Chaos, a colorful forest, the shadows of night, white, void, chaos... Determined as he was, the exhaustion had already caught up with him.

The violet streams of light bent and flowed, her eyes were wide again, not in fear, but amazement, she wasn't in control of this part of the spell, it was automated. What was this? What did it mean? Was this the energy of the surviving Volpe? What was she supposed to do?

Think- Think, this is probably being fueled by the magic in the circle, so I have some time. Maybe I'm supposed to tug on one? Like pulling on a rope three times.

She looked around, there were many, but one caught her attention. Another line forming, the process looked like it was drawing out magic from thin air and growing, but something was going wrong with it, getting caught in knots and sparking magic out of it, looking like frayed rope. What if that creature is in danger? What's wrong with that line?

Her hoof reached out subconsciously and she tugged firmly, the line's knots seemed to suddenly smooth out and finish connecting with the circle before the others suddenly vanished. The circle glowed brightly before dispelling in a gentle careening wave of magic, flowing over the ground and far out of Ponyville in every direction.

Nothing came... Did she do something wrong? Was that it? What happened? So many questions...

Well, at least two were answered. She didn't have to clean up, the components were used up entirely and vanished with the magical wave, and her home wasn't in shambles from a collapsed roof. But that line... That line showed her flashes, of a room with glowing plates on walls, explosions, heartache, all through the perspective of somepony else's eyes.

Too. Many. Questions. Not. Enough. Answers. And nothing to ease her worry.

Author's Note

first fanfic, pls gib harsh criticism, tanks. -author

Just joking. In case it wasn't clear, Twilights attempts at cleaning up the complicated spells not designed for any pony to cast it, cut out a few vital things, such as what to target, where to bring it, etc. So, it yanked Aiden's soul that was caught in transit between Earth and wherever you think he should go :P. (he died of old man, not because of the spell.) I haven't written fanfic in ages, and honestly, I might've forgotten just a teensy weensy bit on how the characters are supposed to act, so feel free to correct my writing.

Act I Part III

Aiden woke up tiredly with a groan.

Today marked the third day of his short time in this... Psychedelic knockoff. At first, he might have been just a little startled, confused, frightened. But of course, nobody has time for that.

Especially if you can think about not having time for panicking.

He let the thoughts scatter for a moment as he etched in a mark in the bark of an oak tree using one of his clawed hands. That had taken a while to get used to, and he still wasn't used to it either. The last time he had to pull his personality and life up by the roots was when he first started being called the Fox. And part of him was sour on how exactly he managed to wind up in a forest of all places after a heart attack. His main theory was he was probably stuck in a haywire digital trip until the effects wore off, and time was speeding up because of how "trips" would always be as long as you wanted to be, they worked partially by affecting the dream state. And by knocking you unconscious. But that was sketchy, and iffy at best, too many illogical holes in that. The second answer was he died, and this was heaven. But he certainly didn't feel worthy of anything like this, and his transformation into a bipedal version of his moniker wasn't helping at all. Unless this was hell and was about to make itself look and feel a lot more like what it should look like.

If he died though, he was going to be annoyed that a heart attack had done him in and not the various bullets that had been thrown at him or shrapnel from IEDs thrown at him and by him.

Always the littlest things that do us in, ain't it?

Having to think illogical when handling topics and code that worked on logic wasn't doing it for him, so instead he thought of the next best thing, ditching any pre-existing notions of this world and starting from the ground up. There had to be a method to the madness, he just had to find it.

He was currently living underneath the roots of an oak tree, out in some plains. Body-type? Built lean, gray pelt, white-tipped tail, green eyes. Fox ears, head, paws, claws. Fortunately, the ability to grab objects and opposable thumbs, and all the scientific knowledge he needs to get back on his feet.

Which, were annoyingly not familiar to humans, and almost exactly to that of a real fox. (That had cost him a whole day of learning how to walk again)

The only thing that had brightened up his past three days here was that his jacket had come with him too, fitted for his new form. The gray trenchcoat with an orange highlight on the insight was a mild comfort, no matter how many more questions it raised on how it came to be. He was simply grateful he had something to wear and pockets to hold things with.

One of many in a long list of things was an apple for today. Not the most exciting breakfast, but probably healthier than what he's had in a while. Beats going hungry, but the lack of a gun, or phone, wallet, tools, having none of that at his disposal was a huge issue he was going to correct as soon as possible.

He could speak, and other animals he'd spotted seemed non-sentient, which made him unique and the exception from the rabbits and bears. This raised another question, what kinds can speak back? Were there societies in this world? Likely yes, and as soon as he found a town it was off to stealing all the tools he needed. Yes there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that it was morally wrong, but the reality to that was that he'd done worse before, and he was flat broke with nothing to trade with aside from food he needed, if he ever found a town, and a job might raise some questions that he couldn't answer. A name for example. Yes, he could keep his birth-name Aiden Pearce in this strange place but it was a chance he could stand out.

Old habits die hard, much like him.

Planning. Breakfast was done, now usually comes planning. He'd learned how to walk, and that he was an omnivore so apples were fine for now. He had no plans, except maybe that thought about a town. It wouldn't have been the worst idea he's had. Either he found something worthwhile or he'd set up a new campsite right wherever he was when it was dark, or just keep moving. The night vision was a nice bonus that could keep him moving around in the dark for longer. High reward, low risk. Never that easy, but in this situation, it would be.

It was morning light now, he'd always woke seemingly a few dozen minutes before daylight, so he always watched the sunrise. It was just a coincidence though, and now that light was coming up, he had to find civilization. If there is one. The worst thing that happens is his camp abruptly moving, ~~and him being discovered as something abnormal~~ Unlikely, but...

The Fox calmly took the leaves of a fern and a vine, and calmly worked on producing a hood.

It had been three hours since his trek away from his camp, which he wasn't concerned about in all reality. Everything he actually needed was on him, since he had nothing of value to him in his hideout aside from shelter compared to the various others he'd been in over the years. The motel would be really nice about now, that was one of his more pleasant ones, it was a shame it had been blown right to pieces that night. The warming sunlight told him he might have been walking around for a few hours more though, possibly around mid-day. There still wasn't any evidence of a town, but he could search for a river and follow it downstream instead of wandering in one direction until he hit one. Any fledgling settlement would have started near water first, at least in an age where freshwater would be hard to come by.

He closed his eyes, letting the shadows drape over his eyes and block out the colorfully bright world around him and focus on the sounds. The hum of tinnitus from previous gunfights hadn't followed him here, just peace and the sound of wind rustling through leaves carrying some moisture as he heard the faint sound of running water.

Guess I'm stuck walking.

It'd been some time since he'd seen this much green on a consistent, day-to-day basis. Chicago was fairly drab, but there were trees and patches of grass, but not much to admire or time to enjoy it as a result of his job. London was even worse, with metal screens and holograms, concrete buildings everywhere, several stories high, complicated roads, buzzing drones. Just about every place he went it was metal and dim, so actually being out in the sunlight with nothing but the forest was a change of pace, a surprise for sure for the retired Fixer (1) but a welcome one. Certainly beats having to squint in a dark nightclub with nothing but neon lights to light your way, which Aiden Pearce noticed that he was actually squinting a little bit still, sure this body and its fresh new eyes were long used to the light by now but it was still a subconscious force of habit to squint a little. It's what gave him an intimidating glow whenever his bandana was on during jobs.

Guess that was one little bit to be thankful for here, not being stuck in an old body. God knows he wouldn't have been walking this far out anywhere in his old age, especially not for almost half a day unless he had absolutely no other way to it and no cars to use. He felt like he was back in the prime of his life, twenty, with about the same wisdom and just a slightly less darker outlook on life as a whole compared to back then.

Now that he thought about it, there was a lack of noise now in the forest, aside from the river he'd come to find. The trees had thinned out significantly near it, and it was clear, clean and just faintly blue as it reflected in the mid-day sun. Good thing he'd fashioned a bottle out of wood to store it in. The lid was kept in place by slamming it on and tying it to the bottle with vines.

He took a drink from the streams edge and thought about what to do next. Yes, civilization took priority, but then again he'd need to find a place to set up camp if he didn't find anything at all and it turned out to be a waste of time and nothing more. Nothing more than a complete, utter waste of his valuable time, an absolute, disappointing failure. Sighing, he didn't notice the faint arcs of electricity that sparked from his finger tips that withered away along with his anger and frustration. Stay focused.

Refilling the bottle and sealing it, he got up and started walking, following the river downstream. Keeping his head for the most part clear. Maybe he'd find a town before nightfall if he hurried up, but he'd be exhausted afterwards.

Running through the forest and fields, tearing up grass underfoot and breathing hard, The Fox was a reminder that older did not mean wiser.

Dark. Darker, yet darker.

The shadows cutting deeper.

Night-time had arrived, and the fox came just a few minutes before the twilight faded and blanketed Ponyville in darkness, the moon covered up with clouds as a result of the weather management pegasi. Aiden Pearce, exhausted, rested in a tree top at the towns outskirts observing the town as the ponies seemed to start heading home for the night and what few that had forgotten about the time were already finishing up their idle talks and cheerful discussions for the day, waiting for activity to die down as he fought the need to sleep, blinking, before he entered the town through a bridge crossing, hardly anyone walked the streets, which were almost entirely empty. He stayed out of the way for the most part, skulking and observing in the shadows. Everything seemed familiar, but it felt like he was pulled into something from the old ages with the white, claystone walls and thatch roofing, no humans to speak of, just the technicolor horses that roamed around that he could understand.

Nothing here made sense, and he was growing more confused by the second. Electricity, but no houses that resembled anything modern, with some buildings clashing heavily in style, the purple coloured tower of patterned cloth and simple yet ornate decorations was one that stood out. But what drew his interest was the stocky tree in the middle of nowhere in the town, he was almost about the pass it off it weren't for the fact it had windows, and more interestingly a sign of an open book on it. Library. I can find some answers here. It was closed, probably. So... Maybe a little bit of a break in.

It would seem he'd have a personal job to do soon.

Fixer - A job title for handymen proficient in firearms, hacking, data recovery. Screwed beyond belief? Need to find someone, kill someone? Or just have a job that needs one of these three skills, then you call a Fixer.

Author's Note

The Fox of Chicago, now the Fox of Equestria. Damn, i wish i was better at titles. Ill also be adding descriptions for anything Aiden mentions that's from Watch-Dogs, so that you arent entirely lost on what he's referencing.

Coming up next! The Ponyville Job.

The Ponyville Job

He'd thought about it for an hour as he walked around the town, taking in the sights.

On one hand, he'd be in some hot water with the law for breaking and entering, burglary. On the other, answers.

Another part of his mind that was less quick to jump the gun wondered why he wasn't just going to sleep and going in the morning, and another was quick to rebuke that he was the only bi-ped and non-technicolor pony in a small town. If he knew anything that could apply to this bright world, is that everything has a dark underbelly, and he was not about to be falsely accused of being a delinquent for his appearance, not until he did something here. Which he was about to.

Planning. In terms of planning, everything had to be done the old-fashioned way, no CTos (2) networks, and no hacking with his phone, just his luck that there was an unlocked window. It was long enough that everyone should be asleep, at least according to the clocks he'd spotted around the town. 1 AM. Must have fallen asleep in that tree when I blinked.

Old fashioned way? There's hardly anything to work with aside from the claws he had, a bottle, and the reflexive impulse to reach for a baton right about now. He was seriously about to attempt a break-in with very little at his disposal aside from sheer

Right, no weapons. So, time to plan again. Unicorns, that was something he'd spotted while looking at the town. While he hadn't seen many, no doubt a horn could be used as a weapon alongside the hooves of any horse that lacked wings or horns. He wasn't sure what wings could do in a fight, speed was about the only thing he could think of as being affected by them. As he thought, he quietly snapped a long, narrow branch from the oak tree with both of his arms. Sturdy, slightly bending and better than nothing. But the grip of it left something to be desired, maybe something less painful than the tree bark, which he promptly fixed by sacrificing the vines on his bottle for his newly made baton, wrapping it around, and tying it off.

The wood bottle was discarded after a short drink of its contents since it both didn't carry much and also seemed unnecessary since he found a town. No more camping out in the forest anymore, now instead wandering to the road to the closest city, if there were any in this world. All he'd need to worry about now would be supplies for the trip and fire, not foraging, which he was lucky to not accidentally eat something poisonous because his skills at that were terrible. It wasn't something he'd picked up. But now, he could gain some ground without worrying about wilderness survival, instead gain a foothold in this new world the second he hit the road.

Just as soon as I figure out where I am.

Baton. Check. Book-Storage? The stolen sack has that covered.
Never would Aiden Pearce think he'd ever feel subconscious about how he looked, to say the least, he felt like a stereotypical cartoon robber in the middle of the night. If the robber had the skills of putting several people in the ground, and none of the cartoonish shenanigans. He just wanted some answers, in the form of an unexpected book check-out after hours. Flexing his paw-hands and wincing a little as his unused claws extended, he balanced himself on the ledge of the windowsill and the thick bark of the library oaken exterior, forcing it up quietly with a gentle shnk at the beginning before sliding it up in complete silence. Turning to his left, he spotted an empty perch of sorts. Bird owner? Well, this was unexpected, now he had pets to watch for if they made noise.

Thankfully, there was nobody home. At least, not on the first floor, glancing around he spotted a stair-case, which he was going to stay away from entirely, the first floor already had all the information smeared on the walls he needed, and exploring was an unnecessary risk with little to no extra pay-off if he went through with it. Carefully stepping around on the carved wood floor, he made his way to a bookshelf. Wait. What if I can't read them? An intrusive thought called out, just as he started to pull out one of the thinner works, holding it up to himself and turning it over to find the cover. I ought to count my blessings by now. The book, didn't seem to hold any value, it was just some bedtime story, but the fact he could read the cover was valuable to him, it meant wherever he was at least used, or looked like English.

He moved up on the shelf, checking covers, opening up to the middle of the book to see what it was about. Since the next book seemed to be another short story of some type he completely skipped that part of the library and moved on to the next bookshelf and the next. Passing by some novels of Daring Do, to an interesting book on gardening. Gem identification, a guide to origami with hooves of all things. (The methods of which he struggled to understand how it should be possible.) The way he worked was slow and almost made him worry, if he took too long he'd be discovered by daytime, if he worked too fast one of these infuriatingly perfectly aligned books would clip against the other one just right and send them toppling down and wake up the person living here, and he'd either flee or fight someone. The next series of books were plain covers, solid covers, and drawn pictures. A History Of Equestria, Vol I, A Brief Summary seemed to be exactly what he was looking for and were quickly placed in the bag alongside Gems And You, Wildlife of Equestria, and a random book on geography. Seeing as he'd found the aisle dedicated to the history and otherwise important things, a book titled The Elements of Harmony with an ornate gold inlay of a unicorn on the front and small gems, immediately went into the bag as well. If it wasn't important, it'd be harvested for the gold and gems, if they were real and worth anything.

Unicorns...

Something about that was bothering him, like he'd noticed something about that and just didn't keep it in his memory long enough for it to stick. Moving onto a different part of the library he suddenly pulled out a book titledMagic And You - Intermediate Spells

So that's why, magic, in this new world magic was real and as far as he knew, only accessible by unicorns. Which bumped them up higher on the threat list alongside Enforcers (3) because not only did they have horns to deal with but magic that could do... Whatever, He didn't know yet, at least not until he gets a chance to properly read this book. Maybe bind him in place or something. The book was promptly thrust in with the others.

'So, I've got intel to read later, a weapon, no money, and-

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden THUNK of a heavy tome falling to the floor, Spellwriting 101 was promptly added to his inventory of books to read later, though he felt his ears droop as he realized just what was going to happen after if just one fell.

The shelf rumbled for a second, and it was enough for him to take his bag, dive out of the way and hear the cacophony of noise erupt behind him, waking anyone nearby. 'Books to read, no money, a weapon, and it's time to get moving from a botched job. Pausing to tie up the bag in a knot he dashed over to the window, seeing a violet glow around the corner of the staircase. Unicorn magic. Shrugging, he cracked the window with the force and speed he'd put into the movement, bumping against it as he successfully escaped the library. The window shattered shortly afterward.

"Time to run."

Twilight Sparkle awoke with a start, hearing things fall and crashing, and glass cracking. The one time she'd actually fallen asleep on her own without any help from her Number One Assistant and something had to show up and ruin it, glancing around it looked like said assistant was still blissfully asleep. Twilight hoofed it down the stairs, charging gup some light in her horn to see better, seeing her bookshelves in disorder made her pause, but what made her stop dead in her tracks was the shape in the middle of all it, with a bag, just before it hopped through her window. And then broke it.

Casting a spell, all the books in her vicinity were swiftly put back in place before she did a short-range teleport outside her home in a flash of bright light. Sure, she was angry that someone had broken into her home, but even more so when she realized that whatever it was was bipedal, and not a pony judging by what she could see before it fled. Where was it- Aha! Found you! Galloping after the running form she shouted, feeling the wind rush around her form "Get back here you thief! Return my stuff right now!" Speeding up as she turned the corner of a road, tailing them just twenty feet away, as she started to speed up down a straight road closing distance as quickly as she could, she didn't have the agility of Rainbow Dash or the speed of Applejack, but she had magic.

'Wait, why didn't I just cast a spell from the beginning!?!'

Charging up magical energy into her horn, she felt it be pushed outward and focus on the running thief, wrapping them up in a levitation spell to drag them towards her. A thief, breaking into her home, staying only in the library and probably knocking down everything by grabbing a book. Why break-in at all? She didn't charge for it unless it was overdue.
They struggled and kicked, revealing they had some sort of trench coat on as she brought them closer to the light. She noticed them suddenly pause, take a clawed, furry hand, and swipe at the aura of her spell. Maybe I'm overdoing it...

"You can't break a spell like that. So why not just give up and tell me why-" She could feel her magical grip being suddenly severed, like the fabric that made it up was being unraveled and warped as she brought them closer, her eyes widening as she saw that the aura was physically being cut with claws, and the thief slipped away, running even faster on two legs. "Wha- How'd you do that! Get back here!" Her anger was replaced with curiosity and a desire to learn, at first, maybe she thought a diamond dog had broken in since they were the only fluffy bipeds she could think of with claws, as much of a stretch it would be, but they couldn't cut through magic with claws, nothing in Equestria could! "Tell me!" She cast another levitation spell, but they used it to grab hold of a high ledge, and cut through it faster than last time again, the thief grabbed onto the ledge and hoisted itself up, finding nooks and crannies to skillfully climb its way onto the roof of a building and run off into the distance.

Foalishly she tried to run around, teleport, whatever she could to travel around town on hoof before coming to the conclusion she'd absolutely lost track of her mysterious thief, and whatever they had stolen. She felt downtrodden, losing both the culprit and scientific mystery. Just what exactly enabled them to cut spells on the fly just like that, with a flick of the claws.

And then she realized she had also been robbed and that seeing whatever had been stolen, was probably just a few dots higher on the 'List Of Things To Do After Being Robbed' she'd come up with in her mind. Groaning, she charged up another short-range teleport spell to get home. All the careless spending of her magic was absolutely going to make her feel terrible later.

Act II Part I

Aiden had come to a change in his sleep schedule to account for his newly added infamy, currently known as the thief of Golden Oaks Library, who stole nothing but books from Twilight Sparkle. That was what he had heard around town while doing his best to blend in among the background, his best consisted of hiding in plants, or far away, and seeing how far his ears could pick voices up with clarity. What little he gained from these daytime excursions had been a name for where he was, a few names, what money was called, and the location of a "Ponyville Express", a train station he could use to get around. He'd gained far more by briefly skimming the few books he had stolen, the world was called Equus, and the land he resided in was Equestria. Not so recent events included a history of how the nation was founded, by settling a hatred between the three types of ponies that had caused a snowstorm, created by Windigos feeding off the mutual hatred of everyone. The rulers, were Princess Celestia, and Luna, though one had been banished to the moon. The two sisters were virtually gods, apparently being immortal and having the ability to raise the sun and moon, another thing he learned, was the sun and moon had to be manually raised because some magic caused by a being named Discord had permanently damaged the natural order of a few things. Oh, and something about elements of harmony being used to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord.

Of course, since pegasi could control the weather, he had a feeling what ponies considered the natural order to be far different than what he thought. Moving on with his train of thought.

Up next came the list of problems, the first one, was no bits. Even if he were to flee, he had nothing to pay in, and he would prefer not to steal purely to keep his notoriety down, not because had qualms about having to pickpocket it the old fashioned way, his morals frankly didn't care as long as he did it similarly in his old world, by stealing small amounts from various bank accounts back in Chicago, in this case, ponies in Ponyville. But keeping his damage to the public low at this age would be difficult. Second, no place to stay and no place to go, the geography book only covered a few key locations and formations, not routes and trains. Probably outdated. Three, he wasn't equipped for a fight, especially if it involved magic. Sure, a day around this town showed they weren't all that hostile, but he preferred to be on the side of caution. Besides, it gave him the excuse of trying to learn more about magic, which while he was searching, resulted in him knowing nothing about the fox form he'd been given, everything was purely about unicorns, even the glance on magical theory was keyed around horns and already having a basic grasp on magic, as in having known to at least be able to pull on it since birth. The book on magical theory was somewhat helpful, but it was going to take a long amount of reading for him to make a breakthrough.

And fourth, the pony he stole from was officially on the search for him. It'd taken two days at the most for it to reach his ears, but word was that Twilight Sparkle was up at night searching for the thief, trying to track her books down, likey involving him being reported to the authorities, but there was an unusual note about going "full egghead on them" according to a boastful rainbow-colored pegasus.

At least that was the list of it so far, fortunately having a hide-out was sorted quickly as he had taken a liking to a pine tree on the border of Ever-Free, closest to Ponyville. His home-for-now was a spacious burrow leading to a squared-out room, with an emergency back exit dug as well in case he was discovered. He wasn't entirely used to digging with his hands- paws but it was a lot easier than his first hide-out in this world. In a corner, he had his sack of books, ready to be taken at a moment's notice if he felt the need to escape with them as well, in another, a few pilfered apples and a map nailed to the wall with toothpicks.

He was debating if this was better than, or worse, than most of his usual hide-out scenarios. A lack of running water or light at night time ranked this one lower than his car.

Groan...

Another thing to pile onto the list, getting a breakfast that isn't just apples.

...

As tempting as it was to go and hit the closest general store at night, Aiden knew that if he continued to be such a prolific thief of anything more than the occasional apple and scrap of paper, he'd get noticed, which meant having to deal with the purple unicorn. Something about that pony felt off to him, first impressions gave him the weird feeling of a suppressed serial killer. The look in her eyes when he cut through the magic air around him was a large factor in that.

Taking a shortcut around the border of the town, the fox had finally reached a bright red barn, next to it a great orchard of apple trees. Now normally, he'd take a single apple from one of the crates they had inside at night or the trees, and leave, but this time he was going to be tailing an orange pony wearing a Stetson. The reasoning was that they were a farm, and unless the closest shops had an excessively high demand for fresh apples, someone around here had to deliver them to a bigger spot, a farmers market, anyplace where he could show up and leave undetected. Black on green stands out far too much out in the open, clinging tightly to the walls he was able to be passed off as a shadow as Aiden tipped his ears every which way, getting the sounds of idle chatter in the household. One 'Applebloom' being scolded by a 'Granny' for not washing her hooves before breakfast, something heavy moving around... If he was any less attentive he'd have complained about this being a boring job, and if he had any less patience he'd have just stolen another apple. Didn't matter if it took another ten minutes of waiting, he had to figure it out, if not from here, then somewhere else.

Letting his thoughts drift for even a moment though would remind him that keeping himself busy to ignore his new body wasn't working very well.

His ears perked up at the voice of Applebloom loudly asking if she could help with an apple stand today. Bingo,
Stands meant a free market, pawnshops, thrift stores, swap-meets. It was decidedly easier than dealing with all the hassle of cryptocurrency when in London or doing everything online.

Yes, it was convenient to buy from, but it's always going to be convenient to just buy things right then and there if it isn't something hard to find. He could make an explosive from some household products and department section chemicals in an hour if he needed something more advanced than a grenade. His cheap grenades were nothing to scoff at despite being a bundle of electronics and nails strapped to crudely made explosives in a plastic bag.

When did I start sounding like an old person?

Back to the situation at hand, a market meant being able to barter and steal. Assuming he could rip out any mentions of the Golden Oaks Library in those books, he could sell them as soon as he was finished with them. They'd find their way back to Ponyville, he was certain of it.

He'd have to look convincing and be as out of town as possible. A vagrant with no real reason to stay except trade... But trade what exactly? He was decent at working with his hands for sure, but he had his doubts about what he could offer with zero reputation as an outsider, and possibly a negative reputation should he be discovered.

Maybe he should move, put distance between him and Ponyville in the event of discovery and be closer to the market to hawk his wares and barter with the locals.

Rope? Cordage? That should sell for something, though his bushcraft was sorely lacking he did pick up a few things over the years, jokingly called old man wisdom by some of his partners. Well, he never did get any wiser.
Of course, if he did end up spending his day making rope, he'd be better off making a bag of some type with it rather than hauling things in a sack.

A sack that he didn't have on him, making vending moot. Damn it, How did I forget?

The distant sound of small bells in the distance and the dull thud of a mass of hooves moving told him all he needed to, so he stopped shadowing Applebloom and her assumed sister and ran off to investigate.

With plenty of distance between him and a possible witness Aiden Pearce ran his pockets again. He had his jacket, and a lot of pockets to go with it, but nothing to sell. It meant doing a lot of window shopping.

On the bright side, he'd at least found an alternative route to the market, one that leads in from out of town. So there he sat on a treetop, trying to figure out what he could do.

Tea? There were plenty of wildflowers here, but he couldn't dry it in an instant, let alone not poison someone.

Labor? He was a book thief, and him even considering waltzing into the area was idiotic. He was missing the days when dressing up as forgettable as possible was the peak of public camouflage, both against Fixers, CTos, and anyone you really didn't want to be discovered by.

This fox form is limiting.

He absent-mindedly nommed on a black clustering fruit. It was tart at first but quickly turned into a pleasantly sweet flavor, though it had a stem at the center of it that was typically spat out. It looked somewhat like a blackberry if blackberries grew on trees.

Assuming he didn't get caught seconds after showing up, he might have a bright idea.
Right after he had just another one of these things.

Act II Part II

Three days.

Aiden Pearce had been running on fumes for three days now.

Psychologically, he was used to not eating properly. Hell, when he and his nephew met for the first time in years he was stealing his snacks and dumping stressful information on him instead of pausing to eat something and connect.

That was a dick move, now that I think about it.

Physically though, his body was highly maladjusted for such a lifestyle and very much hurting for something more filling than just apples and strange black tree fruit. More than once he'd wanted to have stolen something from the local bakery, a "Sugarcube Corner", and quickly found himself sprinting away because of the errant twitches of an increasingly clued-in bubblegum pink pony. Most of the other restaurants didn't have anything that would be out in the open or ready to break into with ingredients he could use. Dumpster diving was out of the question, both because he had fruits he could pilfer, and rotting hay in the shape of fries does not sound appetizing. He did, however, eat an entire stick of butter.

He had rushed to finish a more proper hide-away since he discovered what he dubbed the Shopping District and since finer pieces of soil had been digging into his fur (A growing nuisance he had yet to know how to tend to) and his jacket. (A much easier thing to wash)

His new home was painstakingly dug by hand, he was even forced into making a crude stone ax that was used as a shovel, and his claws were dulled from using them as tiny little saws. Branches had been cut, clay dug and watered, stones pilfered from the riverbed, and moss and grass were taken from fields far away to disguise his home.

It looked like a mound of raised earth supporting the trunk of a dead oak, but upon a closer look, one could see the stones suspiciously stacked like a chimney, and a tiny burrow-like entrance behind a door made of branches. Everything was heavily coated with live foliage, a feat he saw fit to revel in considering he never really had a green thumb.

Pride, however, fills neither stomachs nor wallets, as reality lovingly reminded him of this fact with a loud groan and an agonizing pain in the gut. He'd been trying hard to not turn his merchandise destined for sale into food, since that'd leave him with the rudimentary dolls he'd made as the only thing to sell. Ironic, he was avoiding eating so he could have money to buy things to eat later. His hunger-addled mind wasn't the sharpest, no matter how much he focused it took time to operate in its fog. He mulled over his situation again as he chewed on a particularly thin branch, even if there was a bit of irony in selling food for money for more food, that money, bits as it was called in this strange new world, could be used for more important reasons.

Medicine, he wasn't a medical graduate by any means but new body parts meant new and possibly different ways to take care of one's body, he was technically bipedal but had no idea where and what injuries would be fatal, what his body could heal and what would never heal the same way again. Human ankles would sprain and break, and took ages to heal and to learn to walk and run on the mended thing, and the way he saw it he was lucky not to have fought the timber wolves one of his books mentioned. That, and he was almost entirely sure he didn't have an appendix, so his organs were likely different.

How easy is it for me to go deaf? He thought, tentatively touching his left ear.

He thought of another use of money while hopelessly starting a fire, the chewed-up wood devoid of its barely nutritious sap now smoldering. Medicine was an important thing, but what about tools? He was entirely limited to the stone age unless he opened himself to the economy that sat just beyond that wooden door, it was going to be highly unlikely that he could machine a rifle, or even a pistol, out of stones and sticks. Beyond his favored weapons, tools made things easier, cutting wood, refining things, compasses, maps, writing, everything he'd need to get properly started on his feet required some level of interaction and technology he lacked. The glass jars he'd carefully sterilized were proof enough of that.

How have I not dropped from hunger yet? Aiden Pearce calmly stirred two pots, one in his head and the stolen one in front.

Interaction - He hadn't a clue how society out here worked, relations, goods, and evils. His old-world involved lots of killing in the dark underbelly of a modern world, sometimes even finding the victims of those unfortunate enough to just get caught in the crossfire. They didn't always survive. Neither did the victims of human trafficking in the year two thousand twelve.

As far as he knew, he might be the race of a sworn enemy of the ponies. Unlikely, of course, but it's usually safe to assume prey don't feel comfortable around predators. The recording of a mule kicking a coyote to death suddenly brought itself to the front of his mind as he poured the viscous liquids into its crystal storage.

As he let the jars of condensed fruit cool, he came to a realization. He was alone, and entirely on his own. There would be no phone to guide him, no Damien Brenks, and no missing persons. There would be likely no aid for his injuries in a land that catered to ponies, which meant that just like in the old days he'd have to put himself back together in his hideout. A distinctive setback of being a well-known vigilante was that the hospital was more or less off-limits.

He was alone, but free. No Damien Brenks to keep his remaining family hostage, no affiliation or association with his previous dirty jobs or DedSec meant that he had nothing to bite him in the ass later. He was free of every chain except for his morals, the only chain he'd prefer to hang on to.

He took a deep breath and sighed, chewing idly on another branch as a faint green glow went unnoticed. With his time of clear and level-headed thoughts done, for now, he checked the temperature of the jam and found it unsuitable. The fire crackled gently behind him as he wondered if he could roast an apple over it, something as simple as a knob of butter over an apple would probably be good eating in his situation, had he not exhausted his supply of cooking fat already. His jacket, while dusty, was, for the most part, clean and he checked its pockets again, the same as he did every day, hoping that maybe this world would throw him a bone (in this case, his phone and a gun.).

He didn't need his phone, he'd doubted it would work in what looked like the medieval ages, but it was just something that was comforting to have, much like his jacket. The gun would be very useful, even if it didn't come with much ammo to spare.

'No point in stalling for time, Aiden' Aiden Pearce slipped his jacket on with little fuss, dusting it off before taking some leaves and tying them on, giving him a naturalistic look if he'd ever thought of something like it. The leaf fabric was a pitiful attempt at making bags, so he settled on wrapping the sack to his torso and tying the jam jars together like strange six-packs of beer, which had the added benefit of making them not directly touch each other and hopefully less likely to break. That was the idea at least, he had no clue what this did outside of also making them aesthetically pleasing and making the jars easier to take out.

With his merchandise set up, and the last-minute addition of a hastily made vine mat, he finally felt ready to hit the market. Legitimately.

As he made his way down an unseen path in the shrubbery, Aiden Pearce was unable to shake the disturbing thoughts that came to his mind. He felt unusually paranoid, and he assumed that this was hunger catching up to him. Lacking a mirror he hadn't a clue how he was built, but he felt slightly lankier than he should have been in his prime. The sun wasn't beating down on him as much as it did usually, the cloud cover being welcome relief since he had both fur and coat on.

Aiden Pearce had found his way to the very end of the open-air market, having avoided detection so if he were to be recognized, he could hopefully play it off. His plan of attack was to make his way from the bottom to the top of the market, the topmost section being the closest to Ponyville, which would make an obvious route backward for him to take in order to once again avoid being recognized, and more importantly, followed. Old habits were coming in handy today. Possibly not. He was flip-flopping on whether or not this was a good choice, already he was feeling exhaustion creep into his bones from carrying what he felt was possibly the absolute minimum he'd packed with him. "How the hell can I handle building but not a damn trip to the market? Cursing inwardly he shifted the weight around trying to relieve the growing pressure on his back, but it was for nothing. He saw the market come into view and had another glaring realization.

Did taxes exist here? Was someone charging the ponies who used this plot of land? He hoped this spot was free game, he was already here with his equipment and would prefer to run than have to pay up his measly six bits that he'd found on the ground at night. The little golden coins would always glint sharply in the moonlight, making them easy pickings when nobody was looking. First, he let down the mat, realizing that presentation likely meant a lot to the ponies with fancy houses and gaudy buildings, pastry or otherwise. He hoped that it'd be enough to attract a single customer, despite his species difference and being at the far back of the market. Or is it the start of it?
With the mat out, he took his bag off and set it down, opening it up to reveal its contents. Six jars of jam, and six little dolls made from dried cordage which had been shaped into a pony. It was harder than the traditional humanoid form, but with hands and time, there was virtually nothing you couldn't accomplish. How do ponies even make things with hooves?

He was fortunate enough to remember to pack the dolls at the last minute, his forgetfulness was starting to make him concerned. Hopefully, with a half-decent payday and food in his system, it'd be resolved quickly, easily, and without fuss. Especially if the purple unicorn that tried to catch him didn't show up. Aiden Pearce fidgeted with his shortened claws as he thought about how to even deal with customers. If his schedule he made from eavesdropping around the town was correct, he could expect Applebloom to show up, or just about any kid for that example. They were curious, hardly afraid, or incredibly foolish judging by all the times she's been scolded for wandering into the woods. Kids also carried bits!

The dolls were set up in pairs seated next to each other in a neat row of two, similar to the jars. His bag was next to him, which also held inside it a baton, a fanciful word for a flexible tree branch. He'd rather not have a weapon in a market, but he preferred to have it and not need it. His preparation for the worst situations got him out of them quickly. The gray fox hummed a low tune as he waited for customers, the lightly shaded sky was pleasant and meant he wouldn't be getting overheated any time soon so long as it stayed that way. He hadn't packed water and had no idea what things were valued at. Was a 'Bit' like a dollar where it could be broken down into smaller denominations? Or was it like yen? He rubbed his face in frustration. 'Damn it Aiden.'
He waited, the first ten minutes were that of peace. His hearing only picked up distance foot- hoofsteps, and he passed his boredom by trying to hone his hearing better, struggling to discern if he heard two ponies, or four.
Another ten minutes passed, and occasionally he'd hear a word or two of conversation in the distance, the number of ponies in the area slowly rising as more and more started showing up to his part of the market. The rare few that spotted him said nothing and just gawked at his form before quickly scampering off, it left him irritated, but he was damned if he left without some sort of success today.

Thirty minutes passed, and for once he heard steps that were coming towards him. One set of heavier steps compared to a smaller one, trailing off behind the smaller one ten, or fifteen feet away. He didn't dare to look at them directly even if he knew there was one incoming, lest he frighten a buyer and go home without coin in his pockets.

It would also be far worse if he ended up with a ribcage kicked in just for being part of a predator species.

Oh wait.

"Thanks AJ!" He heard in the distance. So, someone was off of chores today, at most five bits profit if by some chance she showed up. His ears tilted as he heard the hoofsteps get lighter and all was quiet once again, until someone else showed up.

A grey pegasus with a blonde mane appeared, a lady probably. Previous realizations were keeping him from making direct eye contact right now in an attempt to not possibly frighten anyone. "' 'Scuse me, how much for one of those dolls you have?" She asked in a bubbly voice. The voice sounded familiar enough, if he was right, then he figured it might be the mailman, mail mare? He wasn't sure if the name was Derpy Hooves or Ditzy Doo, but it was something along those lines. "Just doll?" Aiden Pearce tilted his head to get a better look at the mare, his eyes had been narrowed to the point of appearing closed, but oddly enough he could see relatively fine. He just hoped he was giving an inoffensive and non-aggressive expression to his customer as he was slowly confirming to himself that it was the lazy-eyed mail pony he had spotted flying and trotting around the town. The mail pony nodded with a light smile, so he shrugged and gave a narrow, toothless smile and spoke again. "Three bits."

"Alright then, here's yer money, mister!" The gray pegasus fished some coins out of a bag on her back that Aiden hadn't noticed, spilling them onto the mat haphazardly. They looked to be the standard gold bits he kept seeing around, judging by the color and shine that wanted to blind his unusually sensitive eyes. With a pawed hand he offered the doll gingerly to the pegasus, which was taken without much fuss and was placed in the saddle bag before she trotted off somewhere before he later heard the sound of wings flapping away in the distance.
Suddenly, he wasn't so sure if he wanted to have the little sister of the farm pony show up. The fact that he had overlooked something so obvious made him want to shoot himself to see if maybe having a second death experience would unscramble his brains and reroll his body into something less like his moniker. The fact he had opposable thumbs made it oddly worth the trouble though.

Back to his main thoughts, if Applejack was any bit as protective of the family as he was, -continued to be, then it was likely he could expect a violent outburst or a barely controlled remark followed by an attempted beating. In theory, his skill at hand-to-hand take-downs would come in handy, but without proper nutrition, he wasn't so sure about his ability in taking down a horse that kicked trees for a living. Sure, he could take down enforcers in their heavy ballistic armor, but that was typically with the element of surprise and having plenty of energy to burst in, strike the gun away, then continue with another flurry of strikes with his trust-worthy baton.

And then Applebloom showed up right as he was busy thinking. One of Aiden's ears flicked nervously as he put the three bits into a neat stack to his right, his eyes still close to being shut as he decided the supposed neutral expression was still the safer option. Just in case.
The fox tried to distract himself with finances as the foal started getting closer, if he had six bits previously from last night, and had three today from one doll, he had eleven things to sell, if he sold twelve objects for three bits then he would get thirty-six bits plus the six bits he already had. If he sold the jars for four bits, and the dolls for three, he would still have thirty-six bits- "Howdy, uh. Mister Fox? Ya are a mister, right? You awake there mister?" He felt a hoof bump against his side as the kid he was originally hoping showed up was trying to get his attention in the most incessant way possible.

It almost reminded him of his niece. Those were dark times to think about on an empty stomach.

"Mhm, did you need something?" He said impassively, though not aggressively. "Yeah! So, those are mulberry leaves right? On the jars? Granny Smith was talkin' bout our cousins who farmed 'em once but that's not important, I always wanted to try some, so how much would it be for a jar o' jam? Also, are you a Diamond Dog? One o' my friends Sweetie Belle said Rarity got kidnapped by a bunch o' mean dogs but you don't look like a dog. Are ya mean mister?" Aiden Pearce raised a brow at this information, but gave a friendly smile instead of a shrug.

"I don't think dogs and foxes get along, kid. I'm definitely not a mean Diamond Dog, I'm just a fox selling some things. The jam is three bits a jar, by the way." he added absent mindedly.

"Three bits? Yeah! I got three bits!" Applebloom bounced around about as much one could in place as she fished out three coins from somewhere, placing them on a neat stack next to her before she went to grab a jar. With the coins out, Aiden moved forward slightly as he reached out his arm to move the stack next to the small growing pile of money. "So, do you have any interesting stories Mister Fox, see me an' my-"

"GET AWAY FROM MA SISTER YA FILTHY VARMINT!"

Act II Part III

Author's Note

HEY!

Consider listening to one of the soundtracks for Watch Dogs that i've linked below. Personally I think they might help you get a better feel of things, plus its just cool music.

[Watch Dogs] Crime Detected Act 1 Music (Suspense/Action

Watch Dogs Police Chase Music OST

Don't worry about the titles! They totally aren't spoilers for anything thats happening in this chapter, no sir!

Act II Part III

"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER YA FILTHY VARMINT!"

Aiden flinched and screwed up his face at the sudden volume, the soft features he'd carefully crafted on the spot now swiftly molded into a steely gaze of opened eyes with a deep scowl. Applebloom gasped softly in fright as a result of her sister's shouting, turning around she started hopping up and down to get her sister's attention, seemingly trying to stop the fight before it started. "No! Wait! Applejack he's jus' a store-fox! He ain' gon' hurt-"

"I know what he is! He's probably related to that fox that robbed Twilight some nights back, pawning off stolen goods ain't ya!" Applejack's accusatory tone brought more attention to him, and this time he was in broad daylight in the middle of public eye. Attempting to predict her next course of action Aiden used what he interpreted as showboating to the beginnings of a crowd to take his coins and jams, letting the shiny bits slide into a coat pocket on the inside and the jams in the sack he'd tied to his waist. "He might not be a brute like them Diamond Dogs, but just cause he's crafty doesn't mean he's a good pony! Jus' look at him! Same tail and color!"

Fortunately for him, the crowd was relatively small. He wasn't actively being surrounded, most ponies had kept their distance and what few shopkeepers neighboring him had decided to keep their heads down instead. The group was made up of maybe six or more random shoppers, plus whatever crowd might be forming up behind them wondering what the heck was up with all that commotion. Sunlight glared into Aiden's hardened eyes as he tilted his head down, seeing through his eyebrows. "I ought to lay you out before I send ya to Tw i l i g h t s-"

The whole world slowed as Aiden took a deep breath and focused, the option to end a fight before it started was clearly beyond him right now, he doubted he could reason with someone working with a literal racial bias and likely genuine knowledge on who he was and what he did. As he saw the wind up of Applejack's first strike, a forward buck or kick of some kind, Aiden poised himself to hop out to the right and then follow up with the baton he had stowed in his jacket.
Except, the wooden club he called a baton wasn't there. Cursing inwardly he realized that he hadn't brought it with him and had instead come up with an empty claw before things started speeding up as his focus was lost and all he had succeeded in doing was dodging the initial assault. He was back on his feet hopping away from another kick, this time from the hind legs. All he was able to notice was the crowd had backed off significantly, and Applebloom had apparently vanished along the way. 'Crap, where'd the kid go?'

Next, he tasted metal in his mouth as a simple headbutt caused his head to pound and his heartbeat ring loudly in his ears, coughing as he lifted himself up. Gritting his teeth he cursed his body's weakness as he realized just how much of an impact his deteriorated state had on an unaccustomed body. With just one strike and he was already just another hit away from getting knocked out. Him. The Scourge of CTos and all the other fanciful titles previous employers and fixers had given him along his long-lived life, once able to tank pistol shots and swerve out away from rifle gunfire and ignore the pain, now a mortal capable of being struck down by just a headbutt. Aiden lacked any time to actually be angry about it though as the smug pony attempted a follow-up strike as Applejack started running directly at him, kicking up dust in the process as the distance closed rapidly. Waiting until the last second, he jumped as high as he could, managing to hop up on Applejacks head and veer them off course as he rolled right off of her back relatively unharmed. If he were an idiot, he'd have tried to rodeo the pony, but he wasn't.

He glared at the pony and suddenly found himself in the gloomy and rain-slicked streets of his home state, Chicago, staring down a trio of people in hoodies and sagging pants. His hand swiftly flew to a pistol concealed and always carried on the inside of the left side of his long trench coat and aimed dead center at the heart of a red-shirted viceroy gang member, squeezing the trigger there was a light pop as the man fell to the ground, dead.

Except he had no gun.

The urge to cough won out and Aiden once again tasted liquid iron in his mouth, glancing forward he saw the form of Applejack crumpled on the ground some odd feet away. Staring at his paw, it was in same position as if he were holding his old Spec Ops 1911, and yet he found no gun in hand. All there was, was his pointer finger smoking at the tip with the rapidly sparks of white 'magic'. For a moment he was in awe of the anomaly he'd just committed, shaking his right hand in disbelief.

His vision turned to the farm pony again as she was deathly still for a moment before an audible groan rang out, and she staggered herself back up on her hooves, her Stetson hat having apparently fallen off somewhere during the process of being thrown back forcefully by a magic finger gun. Said stetson was picked up and worn with a scowl and all the clear signs of anger plastered on her face, but she was hesitant to continue her attacks.

Aiden Pearce counted his lucky stars when it turned out he hadn't killed someone. It would look even worse on his already tarnished fresh start. "Back off Applejack. You don't want this." He said sternly.

"Ugh, what in the hay? Sheesh, you're a tougher cookie than you look." Applejacks head shook before continuing in her southern drawl. "But'cha right, I can't beat ya at a distance. But I don' gotta."

There was a sudden pop and flash of light before Aiden Pearce rolled out of the way of whatever was likely coming. His instincts were correct as he avoided some type of spell that was fired his way. That damned purple mare had somehow shown up instantly. Teleportation most likely, didn't need to be a genius to figure it out, just use Occam's razor on a magical pony land. "It's you again!" She cried. "No wait! He was jus' tryin to sell-" Aiden Pearce had to cut the dialogue short as he bolted into a dead sprint. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't impressed at being outsmarted, the trouble was he hated being outsmarted and technically outgunned.

There was a moment where he tried to fish around inside his trench coat lining to see if he could pull off a similar trick with something else, cutting free from a weak telekinetic grab as he was still in the unicorn mare's line of sight. Somehow he and Twilight Sparkle were running into the town, or at least onto the road leading straight into the more populated sections of it. Aiden swerved around the corner of a building, wondering if there was anything else he could do.

When the unicorn popped her head around, he of course tried the finger gun again and with some straining of the mind, the world slowed as a pure white magical bolt was sent her way in a decisive shot. In that split second after, she was able to teleport in front of the projectile, dodging it while muttering in pain. Not needing to try and take down another pony, Aiden continued running through back roads with his back hunched over slightly, his head kept low as his coat tails trailed. It felt just like fleeing from the police on foot, taking as many backroads and hops over fences as one could possibly do until your lungs burned and your legs felt like they'd give out. The police of Chicago were none too dissimilar to Twilight in the sense of finding people and being notoriously difficult to give the slip, often scanning for devices of the suspect in highly localized areas.

He tried to lose Twilight in a small crowd of ponies, but they tended to back off and let both him and the unicorn chaser through without issue. He had to intercept her somehow.

Reflexively he pulled out his phone and attempted to raise traffic pillars, explode a transformer in the ground or blast noise in the opponents earbuds or radio systems. He heard a chime in his mind as the memory of being in Chicago faded as he made eye contact with an all lime green unicorn with a white streak in her mane, then he saw the unicorns horn light up, completely unintended judging by the ponies reaction, as a flare of magic zipped out and hit Twilight Sparkle squarely in the front legs.

Drained even more so by that sudden action, he felt like he was going to pass out soon, and escaped by hopping a fence and weaving through twisted streets, aided by the mare holding up Twilight with apologies, until Aiden finally reached the safety of a hideout.

Finally crawling into his den and slumping on a wall, It was then that exhaustion made itself known and overtook him as everything was slowly shrouded in an inky black, and the world became dark as he slipped into another dreamless sleep.

MemLog_user*null:return_filename: Sometimes You Still Lose

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Open Your World

Aiden stared at the jam jar in silence.

What was he going to do now?

Petty thievery, Battery, Assault. Granted that last part was happening- happened in a dream and he had no idea if that would count against him or not. Still, pissing off a princess was probably a fast route to prison.

He'd thought of the place of medieval, but really that was inaccurate. They had refrigeration, plumbing, electrical lighting, and magical lights too. Even primitive radio. Certain things were modern while others were weirdly behind. He'd seen modern speakers and studio lights alongside things like the gramophone and vinyl records, everything was just completely backwards. Though, it did give him some hope that he could continue his previous exploits of hacking. Anything that needed to be programmed would always have a vulnerability, it didn't matter the advertising or the packaging, if it lit up and connected to anything in any way, it could be hacked.

'Well. So much for selling food.' At least he had some. He tried to chug the jar, but it didn't quite work out. It was too thick and didn't slide around at all. Begrudgingly, he got into it with his snout and started licking at the insides. He was hungry. Under typical circumstances he probably would've thrown up from how sweet the blend was, reminding him that he didn't taste it before selling it, but he couldn't afford to waste it. It probably would've tasted better if he had bread to go with it.

With something that was either going to make his headache infinitely worse or way better, he got to thinking now that his stomach wasn't trying to kill him before his head did. Aiden Pearce was going to get arrested. That much was a fact.

Between breaking and entering, an arguable attempted regicide and a self-defense case likely to be considered assault, there were quite a few reasons for him to be thrown in jail. In hindsight, he had taken his chances for a possibly quiet and serene life and shot them twenty-two times in the stomach, then given it the mobster treatment with concrete shoes.

And he didn't quite care either.

Peace wasn't really for him. There were moments of peace, the quiet. The brief moment where he could enjoy something simple. Baking, only once. A strawberry milkshake that some AI made fun of him for. Time with his family, his niece, his nephew, his sister.

...He'd promised a long time ago to not look back, and now what was he doing? Looking back at everything now that it had no way of reaching him ever again.

Aiden sighed and flexed his paws, feeling the way the muscles rippled and twitched in the new body. It was fresh, uninjured, and unharmed by the stains of time. Then he stared at his jacket, his trench coat that was left in a slumped heap in a corner of the room. Nothing beneficial about it except pockets, memories, and an air of intimidation.

And for the time being, he was going to try bury everything that came with it. He was going to open his world, and reintroduce himself to it with a new look. He focused properly, taking in the dust that would still fall lazily from his ceiling and the way the jam had thoroughly stained his muzzle. The same way it stained the fur that clung to his skin, he thought, the same way it could stain the stolen sack.

His fur wasn't orange, though it was the typical coloration for foxes. He was gray, white highlights on his tail and muzzle. Orange wouldn't take to dying very well, he'd need lots of it. But gray? It could take on as much color as he wanted, all he needed was patience.

Patience, jam, water, and a stolen bit of needle and thread. With a royal purple cowl fashioned from a stolen apple sack and the remnants of his forgotten leaf hood salvaged and repurposed into wraps for his torso, he would reintroduce to the world a new... Person.

With a purple colored expression only vaguely resembling trepidation, Aiden Pearce walked out of his hideout dressed in prettied up peels and scraps, and headed for the only place where a limited amount of bits could anyone anything decent.

Sugarcube Corner.

The Joke Chapter That Blew The Story Up Apparently

...

....

...

What? Buzz off.

I'm serious. Go home, pick a different story, I'm on break.

...

What was that? Sorry can't hear you, you must be breaking up. Y'know most people consider it impolite when you barge in on their lunchbreak. Between dying in someone elses fic, dying in this one to get the story started, and then getting in a coma in the third game, I'm pretty sick of getting tossed around, so go find a different story. I swear, after the first time I showed up everything just got weirder and crazier.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get arrested again too if this author knows how to write a story properly. But again, quit staring and buzz off.

...

Are you seriously still standing around? Let me enjoy my smoothie in peace, you're almost as bad as that damn AI they saddled me with in London.

Great. I think the horse stuff is rubbing off on me.

...

What do you want? You're more persistent than the fixers, and they actually get paid to chase me around. What, you want to know my thoughts on the story?

...

I'm not a fan of being a furry. Now screw off, my breaks almost over.

Act III Part I

He had looped around Ponyville, taking the long winding road that came in from Canterlot if his memory was correct. There really wasn't much to say about the small town, except for it wasn't nearly as small as everyone believed.

Sure, the town had a few very obvious points of interest, Sugar Cube Corner, The Library, and Applejacks farm, but there were also sprinklings of places that he could use as new bases of operations. If only he had money.

There were also places that simply weren't as flashy. An alcohol distillery and shop was hidden at the edge of a residential area full of houses and gardens, probably providing some relief to hardworking Ponyville locals and methods of expanding the culinary repertoire for those who cared in alcohol for cooking. It was a shame, he had thought, that were no drinking games in that place or in any other region he'd went. The only other location was known for its salt-licks, and while salt was something else to add to the rising list of nutritional deficiencies, drinking nothing but salt was not his idea of a good drink.

Ponyville had an extreme lack of games or gambling that he had become very used to in his life. Drinking games, cup games, all that payed well when he was bored. He wasn't much for illicit gambling, but on rare events he could be found at a poker table. If he wanted to game for his money, then really his only chance was at the market area that he was avoiding for obvious and particular reasons.

All of that thinking was really just a distraction from the real reason he came here anyway. To reintroduce himself.

He'd stained his muzzle purple, then washed as much of it out as he could to see how much had actually sunk into his fur. The result was that those berries were very, very staining. Despite the sweetness in the mix he'd made, there was no sugary residue left behind on his fur, in fact his fur felt softer and looked healthier. Whether or not this was because of the fruit or a thorough wash, he didn't know.

He had refrained from maximizing his use of purple. Aiden wasn't much of an artist, in fact, he was already loathing the use of purple already. It was his only color, and green from grass stains would absolutely not match, lest he incur the wrath of an insufferable white pony. The purple had kept to highlighting his hands, his snout and mouth, the tips of his ears and tail, and in lines that looked like they had a purpose, reminiscent of printed circuit boards.

Aiden had also had some last-minute changes to his wardrobe. The rough, purple-dyed cowl was repurposed into a mask, not too unlike a bandana or a neck gaiter. The extra fabric that remained was allowed to cling to his chest and drape downwards like robes that were vaguely reminiscent of a shemagh. He had considered taking his coat and simply flipping his coat inside out, so it would look orange, but that would probably burn his gambit into the ground. No, he'd save it for something else.

Then again, while some of these ponies were bright, a few were less than attentive.

He was now halfway to Sugarcube Corner. His routes were careful, exact, and looked just like a regular old walk. His path avoided the hot-headed rainbow pony and a majority of the town locals, at least up until this final stretch where almost any pony could get a good look at him. The most he ever did was glance their way with closed eyes and kept walking. It seemed to work, after all.

He'd never admit that it might look cute, only that it was an effective tactic at being disarmingly non-threatening.

Sugarcube Corner's candy-coated rooftops were in the distance now, and his stomach was growling. Forty paces. Thirty. Twenty-five, fifteen, the distance was closing by the minute until he met the glass door, and briefly saw his reflection before opening the door, a bell ringing behind him. A little loud, but he figured it was just him getting used to having good hearing again.

His footsteps were silent as he walked up to the counter, completely ignoring the shocked looks of a group of ponies in a booth, orange, rainbow, and purple respectively. They weren't bothering him, they didn't recognize him, and he certainly didn't know them. All he needed was to introduce himself, grab a cupcake, find some quick work and a train ticket out, in no particular order. Starting a brawl was absolutely not in his plans.

A minute passed and he rang a silver bell on the counter, and thought more carefully about the cupcakes. He'd honestly prefer something to drink inst- "HEYA! How ya doing! You must be new! What can I get you? You looking at the cupcakes? They're super yummy and freshly made, I recommend chocolate and strawberry."

Aiden tensed up a little bit in surprise at the bubbly voice but refrained from freaking out, he was quickly and calmly composed, food first and antics later. "...Just the strawberry cupcake. Actually. Two, and something to drink." He asked politely. Pinkie Pie just smiled and reached out somewhere and came back with two pristine cupcakes. Strawberry slices and light pink frosting, it reminded him of strawberry shortcakes. "Oki-doki! Here we are, and something to drink? Well we've got coffee, toffee coffee, Irish coffee, sodas, snow-cones but only sometimes- milkshakes, juice, smoothies, a-"

"Just the milkshake. Strawberry." He said, firmly but still politely. Food first. Antics. Later. If it weren't for his previous experiences with Jordi he might just be saying he was running out of patience with her ramblings, but at least it was easy to get a word in. Strange, but he wasn't complaining.

Pinkie Pie had bounced off somewhere to find scoops for ice cream, and Aiden chose that moment to discretely look around the bakery, take in a few details. It was mostly empty, plenty of booths were available so he could eat in relative privacy, except for one being occupied by three mares. He relaxed his shoulders as he waited for his milkshake, his ears swiveling as he could hear bouncing, blending, and not-so-hushed whispers. He tuned in on the talk with his eyes closed as he waited, having forgotten to even take the cupcakes over to his booth, or even pay for that matter.

"...So, we're not gonna talk about the walking fox that looks a lot like the one that robbed Twilight or...?"

"No Rainbow, we were just gonna keep chattin' about the weather. Of course we're gonna mention him! Twilight that there is another fox, darn near identical to the one that-"

"That you aggravated. Girls, I appreciate that we're all on the same page of our mystery fox, but I really didn't expect you to be the one to throw the first punch. I expected that from Rainbow Dash, not... Well, not really you."

"Yeah! Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"No offense Rainbow, but yer alot more aggressive than anypony else in our group. Ya could rival a griffon with yer attitude. But Twilight, how come we aren't just stopping the fox right here and now? What other foxes do we know?"

"...Believe me, I'd love to just catch them and start asking questions, but he doesn't look at all like the fox I remember breaking into my library, and the one you saw was definitely not a fan of the color purple."

"Ah guess that's true..." was the last thing Aiden heard from Applejack before Pinkie Pie had sprung over to his table with his plate of forgotten cupcakes and a deliciously cold milkshake, set down in a split second right as his eyes opened.

"Here you go, mister! Two cupcakes and a shake, on the house! So... You're kinda new! How's it been? Have I seen you before? Purples not your color, you could try orange! Ooh, maybe dark purple? You seem like you like dark colors. You have kinda broody eyes, like Maud Pie sometimes, do-"

Aiden Pearce politely cut Pinkie Pie off as quickly as he could, clearing his throat for the moment. "That's a very big thank you from me miss, uh. Your name?"

"Pinkamena Diane Pie! Pinkie Pie! Over there we have Twily, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash sitting. Oh! Ooh! You could sit with them? You seem like you could talk to someone, here, let me move you over there!" She shot off excitedly.

Aiden cocked an eyebrow and scooted an inch away. "Now wait a second, Pinkamena I don't think that's- Woah!" He was lifted off his seat in one hoof, his food was in her other hoof, and she just placed him back down in a split second with the group he was supposed to be avoiding.

This was the day he was getting arrested.

"Okie dokie, have fun, bye!!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing off before he could get a word in. So then, that was that. He'd been stranded next to two ponies who would no doubt have the highest chance of recognizing him, and sending him off to jail, or he'd manage to smooth-talk his way into finding proper work. His only issue with this event was that the plan was moving without him, but one way or another he'd be out of here, and he had nothing to lose.

"So... Does she do this often?" He said, sighing a little bit before taking a bite of the cupcake. Too sweet, even with the tartness from the strawberry slices. There was a chance it only tasted too sweet due to his inconsistent supply of food, and he hoped it would turn bearable after a sip of the milkshake. At least he would be lucky enough to escape the headaches sugar gave him when he was older.

Regrettably, he had the same problem with the milkshake.

"Uh, Nah. Pinks doesn't really get- well, okay she does but she doesn't usually get all touchy like that. Usually, it's just a surprise party that we all get crammed into." Rainbow started casually. She looked bored and squirmed a little in her seat. "So what's with the get-up? You look like a broke wizard, I mean come on, no big pointy hat? I thought that was standard wizard stuff! Back me up on this girls."

"I... I think that's a bit rude, Rainbow." Twilight said quietly, briefly glancing over at Aiden. He took another bite of the cupcake without much fuss, as it had begun to taste slightly less sweet, more palatable, more flavorful. To his right sat Twilight Sparkle, and right in front of him was the local speed demon and weather pony, Rainbow Dash, and next to her was Applejack. "But... You do look almost like a druid." Twilight continued.

"I woulda said bandit." Applejack cut in, giving a few indiscrete glances his way. For a brief moment he'd made eye contact with her, and he could've sworn he saw a familiar fire in those eyes, but it was gone just as quick. "...But you don't even look fit enough to throw a punch." Applejack finished in a softer tone.

He'd glanced at himself a little more closely, and the others did too. Beneath the freshly fluffed fur were the outlines of his ribs, and while he was fortunately not entirely emaciated and rawboned, it didn't mean that his haggard and matchstick form was healthy. He took another sip of his milkshake as he played with the fabric, trying to get it to drape down just a little bit more. Weakness was something he couldn't show. It simply wasn't something he did.

Aiden cleared his throat with a short cough. It would seem that he'd be the one carrying the conversation for the moment. "If that's all, then I'm sorry to have interrupted your conversation. I'll just be going if you'll let me move miss...?"

Twilight perked up a bit before speaking, starting to begin a shuffle out of the booth. "Oh, of course! My name is Tw-" "Y'a can call her Twilight Sparkle." Applejack interrupted abruptly. It earned her a stare from everyone else in the booth. From Aiden, all it got was the faintest frown. Twilight on the other hand seemed confused, and just a bit annoyed. "Ah'll explain later. Twi. And you can call me Apple Jack, and to my left here, you can call her Rainbow Dash." The southern pony said, gesturing to them all in order as she mentioned them.

"So, what has ya visiting?" Applejack asked, taking reign of the conversation as she seemed to lean forward slightly, taking a sip of previously unseen juice. Twilight however, decided to stay quiet on an unvoiced request by Applejack, and Rainbow Dash...

Well, Rainbow Dash just kept stuffing cookies in her face. High speed flight required lots of energy, as it would seem.

"I'm looking for something. That's all." With a single sentence, he had set the bait. Now all he waited was for somepony to take it.

"Like what?" Asked Twilight Sparkle. She was quicker on the draw than Apple Jack this time, who seemed to be quietly seething at her suddenly retaking her conversation. "This wouldn't happen to involve anything... Magical? Would it?"

She was nervous, that much was certain. Pausing, he finished off one cupcake, and took another sip of the milkshake. The flavors seemed more balanced this time around. "Don't know." Aiden deflected. "I thought there would be something for me here, but there isn't. Thing's are more different than I had expected."

"Yeah, ah'll bet. So, how long are ya staying here? You got more company?" Interrupted Applejack. In response, Aiden shifted his neck gaiter around and withdrew a series of bits. His last-minute change had allowed for a makeshift hidden wallet, and having a hidden stash was something he particularly enjoyed. He deposited six bits.

He gestured to the golden currency, and asked. "I don't know these lands, and unless six of these is enough to travel, I'm staying until its time to go."

"Fourteen, yer fourteen bits short. At least if you go one way by train." Applejack mused, staring at the coinage in thought. "I'll loan you them if it means you get out of town quicker."

Twilight raised herself from her spot in the booth. "Applejack?! I understand you don't trust him on account of what happened at the market but-" "That ain't it Twi. Listen, I get your kind are used to making deals. If I deal you in on some work, will you take thirty bits as payment and leave? Whatever you're good at, I just want you gone. It's nothin' personal."

The table went quiet as Aiden Pearce stuffed the last cupcake in his mouth, and promptly finished his milkshake in less time than one would think possible for a starved man with a small stomach. Six bits. Thirty-six if the work is done. Thirty-one if he spent five bits for food and didn't ration out his jam jars. Things would go in his favor here. He'd already decided his choice.

With a simulated look, Aiden pretended to mull it over. "We can meet here again tomorrow. I'll do your jobs, and I'll get thirty bits for everything one I do. In exchange, I use that money to leave. Is that all?"

"That's right." Applejack said quietly. The conversation reached a dip as Twilight sat there, processing everything that had been said while Rainbow Dash had only just now tuned back into the conversation, taking a massive gulp of a tall glass of orange juice.

"If that's all, Twilight, may I please leave? You're in the way."

Twilight snapped to attention and shuffled out of the booth. "R-Right! Of course. Erm. If you don't mind, would you please stop by the library before you go? I believe I can help you with learning about the land" She glanced back to see Applejack glaring at her with a look that could cut straight through steel "after tomorrow of course!" She tacked on hastily.

Aiden Pearce gave a relatively disinterested nod, took his dishes with them, left them at the front counter, deposited a single bit as a tip, and left.

Author's Note

So, it's been some time. I had originally anticipated being able to quickly hammer out this chapter alongside the joke one, since I was writing both at the same time to keep the cobwebs away. But instead of being able to finish it, Tarkov wiped, got caught up with life for a while, and holy moly it has been quite some time now. I think I almost completely forgot about where this chapter was going until now. I even had half a mind to completely rewrite it if it weren't for the fact that I was quite happy with the 2,700 word progress I'd made.

Also, the Fae.

Thank you everyone for your comments and criticisms, theres rarely a moment where I can't read them. Hopefully once this chapter is done I can work on updating some other stories, like "Who Knows Where."

NEW CONTRACT BY // APPLEJACK

Aiden stared at the dirt wall of his hideout in thought. He'd already built the place, as shoddy as it was, and he was being offered work. In essence, the way out he was looking for. And it hadn't come with a warrant or jail time.

For now.

He'd get to Canterlot. Find something to do. Materials. Big city pawnshop. Items to scrap, valuables to sell. Maybe get even with Princess Luna for digging in his head with as much tact as a raging bull.

He really did want to get even for her. He had almost stopped having nightmares. He could never stop seeing the body. But for just a split second, in just a single moment- an entire age, an entire lifetime of healing, as little as it was, had been wiped away. Decades of slow growth were almost entirely gone in an instant, like reefs in a boiling ocean.

He wanted to right that wrong. As foreign claws broke into the earth, they imagined flesh and hide underneath them.

Nothing as extreme as murder, if the sisters could even be killed. He held his own in a dream, armed to the teeth, but in the waking world, he had nothing that could match the power of a tentative demi-god. At most all he could do was plant a bomb in a chariot, maybe give them a particularly nasty case of food poisoning if he were so inclined.

But there was nothing in life that was free of consequences. Harming, let alone killing a figurehead had consequences, and killing someone with a family, a family that cared deeply for them? That had consequences. Many.

Just like how he'd turned out. After that damned job.

Aiden growled. Always fighting, someone, somewhere. All he wanted this time was a little peace. Just a little peace. Could he have taken a more direct approach to peace? Yes. He could have. But now? Now it had all been thoroughly shot and butchered. So he'd begin again without a plan, work his way up from nothing. Most of it had him wishing he were human. It just felt like it would have been easier.

But for now, he would get through things step by step. Live like a vagrant. Make up some caches, hidden spots like he had back in Chicago. One way or another he'd find a place out here, and it'd begin with preparation and learning.

And he had to that somewhere other than here.

Which brought him back to staring at that wall. Food finally making its way into his system.

He was short on money still. Train tickets, going by human denomination- could be upwards of twenty dollars. He could hike, but that would involve frequent rest stops and campsites. Supplies he neither had nor had money to pay for, and also the possibility of a trail for others to follow.

Twenty-two bits were cheap. Unfortunately, he was short by at least twelve. Even less if he decided to hurl the day after a bit of drink at Sugarcube Corner. Hard emphasis on sugar. He could barely remember the last time he had something that sweet. He had needed to cut back on the sweets in his age.

Frustrated and nauseated, he rummaged around for his rags. Made of leaves and burlap, it was some mishmash abomination of a poncho, a cloak, and a cowl. Somehow the leaves were still fresh. He'd be wearing this today. The coat was for business.

And he was incredibly lucky that nobody in that group had recognized him. That, or they were biding their time, using a job to snare him. But in any case, it wouldn't work. They'd made one fatal mistake.

They gave him some fucking food.

"So remind me again what you can do?" Applejack started.

"That depends." Was Aiden's reply.

"Shucks, just spare me the riddles and tell me outright what ya can do would ya? Otherwise, we'll be out here pointing at things ya can't. "

Aiden Pearce gave only a mild frown and a mild look to Applejack's way as they walked towards the farm. It was just a few minutes before sunrise would begin, the denizens in Ponyville were either still asleep, relaxing in bed, or just now getting up to prepare themselves for a busy day.

Generally speaking, things were typically calm outside of the occasional monster of the week, and considering the distinctive lack of anything, it would be safe to assume that he was the event of the week.

"No, it really does depend. You offered me work but never told me what. You want me to dig? Farm? Sort? Build? You offered me work yesterday, now I'm here for it."

Applejack's face scrunched up and she sighed, he had made a valid point. "Alright. Well, so far the only work I have for ya to do is on the orchard. So unless you can come up with some skills that'll have you working somewhere else, that's all I've got."

Aiden Pearce shrugged. "It's a start."

"So? Got a list of tricks up your sleeve?"

"I'm a good bodyguard. I can fight, and I can handle a weapon."

"Oh, a bodyguard eh?" Applejack remarked, her tone a little more sarcastic than before "Lookin' a little scrawny for that line of work."

"I was able to knock you down." Aiden stated plainly.

"That was with magic." Applejack sighed and continued as the pair walked along the stone path. "But, ah well, even if ya were good in a scrap, there's not much use for that kind o' hired muscle here. Got anything else ya can do?"

Aiden walked as he thought. There was a short handful of skills he had from his original line of work that might help.

Chemistry. Basic stuff, but with the way this town is set, it might have seemed advanced. And he didn't even learn that much in his high-school courses. Mols. Avogadros number... Nitrogen fertilizer explosives.

Improvised explosives were more of his stronger suite of chemical skills. Outside of that, chemistry was likely a bust.

Next up, numbers.
Computers and hacks lived among functions and mathematics, so he prided himself on arithmetic as well. If she needed an accountant, then he was her guy.

The last thing he wanted to mention was his irrelevant skillset as a hacker. Electronics. He was good with those. And he was good at rigging things together. He'd seen some high end speakers in someone's home at one point. It wasn't entirely useless, but it was a skill that could be offered.

His focused rapid-fire thoughts are interrupted as Applejack abruptly laughs just a few seconds after they were done talking. Yet it felt like so much longer in his head. "Well, Mr. Scrawn-a-lot, it seems no matter how small you seem, you're quite capable of holding your own." Applejack continues on down the path before stopping suddenly.

"Wait, I never did ask, but why did you even accept this job? You seemed mighty quick to accept whatever id offer you."

Aiden gave an unseen grimace. An annoyed expression flashed across his face. "Remember when you ran me out of the market when I was trying to sell jam? That's why."

A slight flicker of realization crosses Applejacks face, before she sighs. "Look, I'm sorry about that, I just didn't trust you... I can be a little wary of strangers, and well... You reminded me of a diamond dog."

Unease filled the air. "It's fine. In the past now."

It really wasn't. But there wasn't a point holding a grudge if it would get in the way of some much needed coin. For now at least.

A few seconds of silence passes before Applejack looks at Aiden. "So do you know anything about the world of fruit trees, gardening, or farming, in general? I don't mind training you, if you don't."

"My sister took up gardening. She grew alot of things before..." Aiden trailed off abruptly midthought. Memories he had once been at peace with came flooding back with vengeance. "Nevermind. I understand how to not kill a plant. Don't expect me to not ask questions though."

Applejack chuckles, a brief and humble smile gracing her features. "Don't worry, I don't mind answering questions, and I promise, I'm very patient."

After that, there's a glint in the eyes. Nothing malicious but that of realization, as a small amount of pity flashes through Applejacks eyes. "Sorry, but I have to ask, something happen to your sister?"

"Let's drop that subject." He replied evenly. Though his tone hadn't changed, never once became hostile or cold, the quickness of his words wasn't unnoticed.

Applejack stares for another few seconds before she breaks the silence with another question. "Hey, I know this might be a little strange, but I have a pretty important question"

Aiden Pearce paused. "What is it?"

"Well, you've already mentioned a sister, but what about any other family? It would seem to me that you're a little too young to be living fully alone, or, maybe I'm wrong and you're not as young as you look" Applejacks tone becomes softer as she finished her last few sentences.

"I thought you'd have noticed I didn't want to talk any more about family." Aiden said evenly. He wasn't trying to be openly hostile, in fact he'd thought he'd said it about as politely as he could. But there was a growl to it. A harsh undertone.

A deep frown spreads across Applejacks face. She looks away from Aiden for a few seconds as she thinks, before she finally speaks back up. "Hey look, I'm sorry, I know you clearly don't want to share those kinds of details, but can you at least tell me how old you are? Maybe that'll help me understand a little more about you"

"Older than you" Aiden replied dryly, continuing to walk along.

Applejack rolls her eyes in response, giving only a light chuckle as a response "So you're what, twenty, twenty-five years old? That's still pretty young to be living like a wandering varmint."

"Im seventy-two." Aiden said with a smirk.

A flash of surprise flashes across Applejacks face as she nearly stumbles over herself in shock "You're SEVENTY-TWO years old? That can't be right!"

Aiden lets out a short chuckle as he notices how shocked Applejack is "Yeah, I'm pretty old. I'll admit though, for my age, I'm lookin' pretty good. Ain't that right?" He gives Applejack a playful grin

A few more seconds pass as Applejack continues to stare at Aiden with a sense of complete disbelief. "Yeah... you're lookin' pretty good... For a pensioner"

Aiden laughs again at the response before becoming even more amused by her disbelief of his age "You don't believe me do you?"

Applejacks eyes narrow into a stare as she stares back at Aiden with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance[. "Well, I mean, I'd like a little proof"

Aiden lets out another quick chuckle before he stops in his tracks and turns to face Applejack. "Alright, how do you want me to prove that I'm actually 72 years old?"

A few seconds of silence goes by as Applejack thinks about it, before finally looking at Aiden with a smug grin "Alright, here's how you can prove it, you gotta tell me a story from when you were younger"

Aiden freezes up. There wasn't much he could say that was pleasant. Chicago wasn't very nice to say the least, and neither was homelike. Shit, he'd have to sanitize everything.

The silence stretches for a few more seconds as Applejack waits for Aiden to give her a story. The silence is eventually broken with Applejacks reply as she speaks again, but her voice is filled with a tone of skepticism. "Well? How about it mister old man? What, can you not remember how many decades you've been around?"

He grumbled in dismay. "Can it. I'm old enough to be your grandad."

Applejack laughs in response. "Well, for a grandad, you sure are a grumpy one, I'll admit that"

Applejack pauses for a few seconds while she continues to stare at Aiden, before she asks one more thing. "Hey I've got another question for you"

Aiden sighs softly as Applejack talks about a new question, but he gives a reluctant nod as he replies back. "What is it?"

"Do you have any kids, or any kind of family at all? You've told me a bit about your younger sister, but I was wondering if you've got any other family left"

The corner of Aiden's mouth curls into a small, sad smile as he continues to walk and listen to Applejack's question. Just melancholy. "No. I don't have any kids, or any other sort of family... My sister was the last family I had, and I lost her a long time ago" Aiden sighs as he looks away for a moment, memories starting to come back to him.

Applejack looks back at Aiden with a faint sense of pity. Her voice is soft as she asks her next question. "Sorry, I mean, I know you obviously don't want to talk about this subject, but if you're alright with answering... What happened to her?"

Aiden doesn't respond for a few seconds, his expression becoming solemn as he looks back at the ground, the memories becoming more vivid. Damn that princess. He lets out a sigh before he eventually turns back to Applejack as he replies with one word.

The simple word carries a harsh tone of grief behind it, as well as underlying hints of rage. As with every time Aiden had mentioned his sister, he immediately goes silent after he finishes his reply, leaving a heavy, uncomfortable silence between him and Applejack.

Applejack stands in silence for a few more moments as she tries to process the answer, as well as the emotions that are coursing through her brain. She was about to speak up again before she stops herself, realizing that the last thing Aiden needs is to have her ask any more questions about the subject. Instead she just sighs "I'm sorry... I..." She stops in her tracks, not certain of what else to say.

The walk forward is awkward and heavy.

"Just tell me what you have for work."

Both of them continue to walk forward on the path for another few seconds. Eventually, Applejack speaks up again in order to break up the silence. "Right, well, aside from the usual work of watering the orchards and maintaining them, there's one other task I need you to complete"

Aiden looks over at Applejack, raising an eyebrow. His tone remains neutral, and his expression is just as blank as before, though there's a faint feeling that something is up, as he asks what she has in mind for him to do. "And what exactly is this extra task?"

Applejack gives another light chuckle as she finally answers his question, her tone remaining as friendly as ever. "It's nothing really, just a small side mission, I guess. Basically, I want you to handle a pest problem in one of my fields"

A small amount of surprise flashes across Aiden's face "You mean... You want me to go through and take care of some of some critters? That's it?"

"Yeah, that's all. They're just a small group of diamond dogs that have been harassing our farm for the past few weeks, they've been coming to our farm and trying to steal anything they can get their hands on. They're a nuisance, and I'd greatly appreciate it if you could go and scare them away for me"

Aiden pauses, the surprise on his face turning into one of confusion. She'd mentioned pests, not an entire group of humanoids. He'd only briefly read of them in the geography book he'd 'borrowed' from Twilight in the dead of night.

He didn't have a library card, so what was a guy to do?

"When you say critter, most people think of something smaller. Like... I dunno, rabbits. Or maybe moles. Or maybe a really small dog." Aiden said as he looked over to her. His tone had gone from mildly confused to something between a mix of concern and annoyance. "You mean you've got a pack of sentient thieves?"

"Yeah, and they're a bunch of trouble. They've been raiding the farm and trying to take anything they can get, I don't know what they do with the stuff they steal, but they're causing quite a mess"

He paused, thinking of what it could be he'd have to deal with. "How many are we talking?"

Applejack pauses for a few seconds, as she tries to think of the exact number of diamond dogs on the farm. "I think there are only about five of them. They usually work in groups of two or three, and I'm pretty sure I've seen all of them come together to try and steal things at least once or twice"

He nodded along. Five was no different than a gang in Chicago. "Alright. When can I expect to start?"

"Immediately, if you're ready. Just head on over to the farm, and you should see them there if they've decided to move up already while I was out. They're most active near dark when we're all packing up for the day."

Aiden nodded, and gave an imperceptible huff as he rubbed his forehead in annoyance. Critters. Calling a diamond dog a critter was like calling a bear a rabbit or a SWAT team a group of cops. There was a severe difference. But at the same time, the work was still the same. And he'd be getting pay.

"I'll get started then. What can I expect out of them?"

"Well, mostly they're harmless, for now. I'd have Rarity handle them but she's busy being frou-frou somewhere. Just be careful and don't let them get the jump on you. If you do run into any trouble, just call out for me and I'll be there to help. Promise" Applejack explained.

Internally, he grimaced. She reminded her of Jordie. Just a bit. Downplay the problem and promise to be there when it all goes sideways. He still couldn't believe he called the cops on themselves at the stadium.

But there wasn't a point in making her feel bad.

"Right. So, just deal with them, and that's it? Anything else I need to do?"

"Just make sure you don't let them get away with any more of our food. If you can do that, then I'd consider it a success."

Aiden nodded and looked towards the direction of the orchards. They had paused a little distance ahead of her home and just before they reached the entrance to the big red barn. "Alright, then. I'll get to work."

"Alright, thanks. Oh, and one more thing: I don't think it's a good idea to start a fight with them right off the bat. Your uh... Close enough, that I'm sure you could convince em to leave." Applejack spoke with an oddly unsure and slightly sleazy tone leaking into her voice. "You'd be a real good peacekeeper."

He paused, and looked at her in disbelief, the implication stitching itself together in his mind. He'd have some fun with it first, make her squirm a little. "And what do you mean by close enough, Applejack?"

"Well, to be honest, you look like you'd fit right in with the group. You got that stature, you got claws, you've got some fur. And, well... I think you could blend right in, if you tried hard enough"

His eye twitched. He'd just gotten here. He was trying to start over. He was even trying to have a decent conversation, and then she goes and says that he's close enough. Was this how it felt to be discriminated? He wasn't sure if that was the right word for it. But still...

He wasn't a goddamn diamond dog.

"So, what, you're implying that I look like a dog?" Aiden questioned, his voice taking on a slightly more annoyed tone as he started to feel a little irritated.

"What? No! Of course not! I'm just sayin' you look similar enough that I bet you could fit right in. You know, uh, talk canine to canine." Applejack stammered, her tone quickly becoming more awkward and uncomfortable as she tried to backtrack on her words.

"Talk canine to canine." Aiden repeated, deadpan. His voice had now become much more agitated.

"I... uh... I mean, uh..." Applejack stammered as she continued to backpedal on her words.

Aiden sighed. "I'm not a dog, Applejack."

"Right. You're not a dog." She said, still trying to recover from her blunder.

Aiden turned and started walking towards the orchard, grumbling under his breath as he went. He didn't look back, but he could feel Applejacks eyes on his back as she watched him walk away.

Applejack sighed, and shook her head. She knew she had messed up. But she had to admit, she didn't expect Aiden to take it so personally. Maybe he really was sensitive about his looks after all. She shrugged, and began to make her way towards her house, hoping to find a way to make it up to Aiden. Maybe she'd offer him a nice drink at Sugarcubes, or maybe she could invite him over for a nice home cooked dinner. She had no idea what kind of food he ate though, but she'd try her best to find something that would be to his liking.

Aiden on the other hand no knowledge of this, and had no interest in learning. He'd gotten his job, his task, and he'd do it without complaint. He didn't take it personally at all, but really- a dog? He was a fox for crying out loud. It was as obvious as the day he looked into the river.

He'd let her sweat. It was good for her, considering what he was going to go through.

It didn't take him long to find the Diamond dogs, the traces of their digging were obvious. And the few straggler bits of trash that had been left behind were all too familiar to him. He didn't like it. Not one bit. He'd been living like that for the past few days. Eating scraps and digging in trash.

But here, he could have his fun.

He was a patient man, and he could afford to wait. They had to come back, the holes in the ground were proof enough. He had at least a couple of hours before the night fell. So he'd sit and wait. Wait for the sun to fall, and the moon to rise. He'd wait for the diamond dogs to come out of hiding, and then he'd strike.

The wait lasted until the moon was high in the sky. The farm was dark, and the wind blew through the trees, rustling their leaves. The sound of crickets filled the air, and the soft hum of insects was heard all around. The only light came from the moon, and the stars twinkled brightly above him. He was perched on the edge of the barn, his claws gripping onto the wooden boards. His eyes were fixed on the ground below, searching for any movement.

There was one perk about having claws, and that it made gripping some surfaces easier. It had made his fingers hurt like hell though.

The Diamond dogs arrived, and Aiden could hear their footsteps as they approached the barn. They were quiet, and their movements were precise. It was clear that they knew what they were doing, likely from striking other places just like this.
Aiden watched as they moved towards the barn door. They were carrying bags, and they were clearly looking to loot the place. They were silent, and they moved quickly. They were clearly professionals, and they had the skills to back it up.

He was going to have some fun with it.

He leapt off the roof of the barn, landing on the ground with a roll. He moved quickly, staying low to the ground. He could see the Diamond dogs in front of him, and he knew he had to act fast. Scare them off or talk, the choice had to be made fast.

He chose scare.

He let out a low growl, and the Diamond dogs froze. They turned to face him, and their eyes widened. They were clearly surprised, almost confused. But they were also afraid. They were scared, and they were unsure of what to do.

"Alright, you mutts. I don't know who you are, or what you're doing here, but I can tell you this: you're not welcome. You can leave now, or I can make you leave."

The Diamond dogs looked at each other, and then back at Aiden. They were thinking, trying to decide what to do. But they were scared, and they were unsure. He made the choice for them when he brandished his self-made baton. Granted it was wood, and it lacked the menace of his old telescoping police baton but the sight of a club was intimidating nonetheless.

He didn't waste energy by taunting them or waving it around. He just stared them down as the seconds ticked by, and it wasn't until one of the Diamond dogs finally spoke up that he realized how long he'd been standing there.

"We're not here to cause trouble. We're just looking for some food." Said the Diamond dog. It's voice was low and gravelly.

Aiden's expression didn't change. "Yeah, and you're gonna keep looking, because you're not gonna find it here. Now get lost, or I'll make you get lost."

The Diamond dogs looked at each other again, and then back at Aiden. They were thinking, trying to decide what to do. But they were scared, and they were unsure.

"Hey, look, we're sorry, alright? We'll just leave, and you'll never see us again." Said one of the Diamond dogs. It's voice was high pitched and nasally.

"Yeah, that's right. Just turn around and walk away, and you'll never have to see me again. You'll be out of my hair, and I'll be out of yours." Aiden said, his voice cold.

The Diamond dogs looked at each other one last time, and then nodded. They turned and began to walk away, and Aiden watched them go. He waited until they were out of sight before he relaxed, and let out a sigh of relief.

Nobody had their teeth bashed in today. That was good. He didn't want to make a habit of hurting people, but sometimes it couldn't be helped. Today, he had avoided violence, and that was something to be proud of.

The night wore on, and Aiden spent it perched on the barn's roof, watching for any signs of movement. He saw none, and eventually, the sun began to rise. Few moments later, there was a loud noise of a rooster crowing. He didn't remember quite where he saw a henhouse, but it wasn't important. He yawned and hopped off the roof, landing on the ground with a soft thud. He was tired, and he was ready to go to bed.

He'd have to tell Applejack about what had happened.

He made his way back to the farmhouse, and he knocked on the door. It took a few moments, but the door finally opened, and he was greeted by the sight of Applejack. She looked tired, and she was clearly not happy to see him. "Can I help you?"

Aiden shrugged. "I'm here to report."

"Report?" Applejack asked. "Report what?"

Aiden shrugged again. "That I've done my job. The Diamond Dogs are gone."

Applejack's eyes widened. "You mean they left? Just like that?"

Aiden nodded. "Yep. I scared them off. They won't be bothering you again."

Applejack smiled. "Well, that's good to hear. Thanks, Aiden."

Aiden shrugged again. "No problem."

Applejack's smile faded. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to insult you."

Aiden shrugged again. "It's no big deal. I've been called worse things."

Applejack's smile returned. "Still, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'm not offended."

Applejack's smile faded again. "So, um, Aiden, what do you plan on doing now?"

"Aside from collecting the bits I'm owed?" Aiden asked. He had a plan, but nothing he'd say to her. But there was at least one thing to look forward to. "Getting something to eat."

"I can cook something up for ya, if ya want. Got some good oats." Applejack offered.

Aiden shook his head. "I can manage."

Applejack nodded with a hint of dejection. "Alright. Well, come on in, and we can settle your pay."

She opened the door wider, and Aiden stepped inside. It was a small room, with a kitchen table and chairs, a stove, and a sink. The walls were painted a pale yellow, and the floor was hardwood. There was a door at the back of the room, and a set of stairs leading up to the second floor.

Applejack pointed to the stairs. "My room's up there. I'll be right back."

Aiden nodded, and Applejack walked upstairs.

A few minutes later, she came back down, carrying a small leather pouch. She handed it to Aiden, and he opened it up. It was full of gold coins. Bits. "Here's your pay. I hope it's enough."

Aiden nodded. "It's more than enough. Thanks."

Applejack nodded. "You're welcome. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to work."

Aiden nodded again, and Applejack walked out the door. He waited until she was gone, and then he walked out the door as well. He closed the door behind him, and then he walked back to his dugout. He didn't have a home, or a bed, or even a place to sleep.

But he had a job, and he had a little money in his pocket. And that was enough for now.

Now he had bits, and he tried to measure the pouches weight. If he could hazard a guess, it certainly felt something more than the thirty bits he was owed.

Which meant he could have a little more to bring with him along. He had enough for the train ticket to Canterlot, and he would have to stop to count this out in private if he wanted to add anything else to his meager budget. He knew the basics of the currency system, and what was expensive and what wasn't, but he wasn't aware of the value of every single item in Equestria.

That was going to change. Soon enough, he would have to learn how to make a living in this world. He would have to learn how to survive. But for now, he was just going to focus on getting to Canterlot. Small towns didn't have much for him, but Canterlot was populated. A city painted in gaudiest gold. But everything had an underbelly. Everything.

The city was the best place to start a new life, and the best place to disappear. He had done it before, and he was going to do it again. He was going to be fine. But more importantly, he had a princess to pay a visit to for interfering with his mind. He'd get even with her for dragging up a bad dream of his niece. She had no business doing that to him. She'd learn her lesson.

It didn't matter if he didn't have a single modern weapon on him. He'd find a way to get even. He'd spend a thousand bits to get the right ponies to machine the parts and put together a gun himself if he so had to.

He was going to get even. And then he was going to disappear.

The night had passed by without event, and as Aiden had gotten his pay from Applejack, he had left to count his new earnings. He wasn't sure how many bits it was, but he knew it was more than he needed for a train ride. And a lot more.

It had been seventy-five bits. Enough for a ticket and a single meal and a restaurant if he so pleased. He could sleep outdoors. City hideouts were nothing new to him.

And with that, he had set off for the train station. There was a single train that left for Canterlot every two days, and he had just made it in time for the next one. He didn't care where he sat. It didn't matter. What mattered was getting to Canterlot. It was the first step in his plan.

The train ride was uneventful. He'd taken the night train to save bits, and he had spent the entire time thinking of all the ways he could have done things differently. He could have been more careful, he could have been more cautious, he could have been more prepared. But he hadn't been. He'd been careless, and now he was paying the price. Couldn't really show his face in Ponyville with the mare he stole from looking for him, so he'd be skipping that town for a long while.

He'd scuttled his Ponyville hideout somewhat. Ditching books that he wouldn't need and keeping what few he would. The geography book was a keeper until he could find an atlas. And the reference guide on the elements of harmony and a few others had been thrown through the window of Twilight Sparkle's home with a note attached to the front of the book.

He didn't want to steal the books, he was only borrowing them.

And besides, the two needed the exercise. He ran like hell when he saw them coming. They'd nearly caught him in a net.

So now here he was, taking the midnight train going anywhere. He'd ditched the leaf outfit the second he could and go back to his classic darker style. No more playing the part of some mysterious fox druid.

He was Aiden Pearce. And he was going to make Princess Luna pay.

Author's Note

You may have noticed the previous chapter is missing. I'm gonna like. Rewrite that bit. Or not. Maybe I'll shatter it and sprinkle it across the story, dunno. Rest assured though if you did read through that fever induced delirium of a read, it'll come up again at one point.

Anyways personal headcanon that Aidens kind of a dweeb inside. If you've seen his billboard hacks, you probably know what I mean

MemLog_1_*null:return

So, that could have definitely gone a lot better. I must have had a lapse in focus once I saw the book on the Elements Of Harmony, if it weren't for that I would've gone off scot-free with the supply of books from the library. Looking back on it, a lot of things could have gone worse, a bird could've been woken up, or a pet. Or been met with deadly force while fleeing, and if it weren't for some dumb luck on my side that this new body of mine could cut magical energy, I would've definitely been caught by that unicorn. So, right now if I ever have to fight one again I'll have to deal with them similar to an enforcer, blunt force to the head, more accurately to the horn, not dumb enough to take one head-on so I'll have to get the drop on one first. At least they don't have the annoying bullet-proof armor, but magic might as well be its equivalent.

Magic... Magic is something that eludes me, and I honestly don't want to call it that personally, it's an illogical force to me. But, if a friendly encounter with the locals is ever on the table again, I suppose ill have to refer to it as such if I want to get any more answers, and as much as I dislike the name it's what best describes it.

If he could cut it, then it meant it was a physical substance- or that he could tap into it somehow, so getting those books on magic was going to be far more helpful than simply gaining intel on what was possibly a spell to watch out for, if he could find the logic, find the reasoning and how it worked, then maybe he could use magic in his favor and level the playing field. And the book on the elements was something he was looking forward to investigating.

Alright Equestria, what do you have in store for me?

Enforcer (2) - A gunman commonly dressed in what appears to be military-grade armor on them, which covers the whole body, gloves, boots, a helmet, and a face mask. Typically heavily armed as well. During gunfights, Aiden Pearce's Profiler indicates them with a red shield icon.

Author's Note

Time for the fox to learn some magic!