Author's Note

As many of my contest entries go, I had to rush with this one because of the fact I'm swamped with commission work. But since I love the genre and trope, I wanted to at-least write something for the sake of the spirit of it!

Naturally this came out a little rushed - but treat it as a more fast-paced, kinda comic-book like fic! I hope it's enjoyable enough!

Prologue - SolarCorp

Managing Director Twilight Sparkle anxiously looked at her own hands. Sitting in her office outfit, the blouse and pencil skirt was a curious contrast indeed; against the metallic seams of her military-grade cybernetics. For the sake of professionalism the woman opted to install augmentations that blended as much as possible into something resembling an organic body, but even then the silver lines along her limbs and face were an unmistakable mark.

The large white alicorn that stood - facing her with her back - was not so subtle. Though her face consisted of an organic equine muzzle, the rest of her body consisted of chrome-like body parts; as if she was soaked in liquid silver. CEO Princess Celestia of SolarCorp would never settle for neither anything less, nor anything less efficient.

The tall woman looked at the video that played on her tablet. It was coming to its end, and crucial information had been displayed. Information that she had taken into account. With a mere twenty seconds left of runtime, she kept watching it until the end.

The video, taken straight from the eyes of the agent they sent in to act as a mole, was a few hours-old recording of the final moments of his life; as a towering figure clad in black shaped her hand into what appeared to be a glistening, slick-black claw...and sinking it right into the chest cavity; before twisting it. Instantly, his insides - both organic and mechanical - were severed, torn, and blended; leaving not a chance for life to linger in the spy. Thus, the video ended right at that moment.

"So..." The alicorn sighed as she put away the tablet. She lit a black-and-gold cigarette with the tip of her finger, and put it to her lips. She heard Twilight's words, and watched the video. Now, she needed time to regroup her thoughts. A slow drag of the cigarette came from Celestia. She gazed at the city below her. The myriads of lights and motion. The city was built from the top down.

Historically the city was built on the side of the massive mountain. But expansion was inevitable. The best places, the best buildings, stayed in the original city. The slums, industries, and the unwanted expansions were conveniently built below.

It was an inevitable recipe of violence, crime, and grief. The city was never quiet. Either on the top level of the core city you'd hear the debauchery of the rich and privileged, or below you'd hear nothing but constant gunfire and suffering. The city never slept. None would give you a wink of it.

Yet, in this cycle of violence - the samsara of crime, death, and futility...

There was a stable status quo. When so many fires raged against one another that in the end, no flame became too big.

CANTER-107; far from a perfect city. But the imperfection was its own system.

And Managing Director Twilight Sparkle brought proof of an implication that this could come to an end.

"HIVE LTD. is coming to our city, isn't it...?" Celestia squinted her eyes at the city. Her left eye shifted - zooming in by dozens of times into the city streets so far below. She saw gangsters exchange shots with one another. Bullets flying over and yonder. Yet, both sides had wounded - and relented. Leaving the streets empty.

De jure, these streets belonged to whatever gang could impose their will the fastest and hardest. But de facto, their ability to constantly weaken one another meant that at any point, SolarCorp could deploy its task forces. For it was indeed the most influential corporation of Equestria.

"Yes, ma'am..." Twilight sighed softly. "Our investigation has concluded as such. We've confirmed that recent bulk purchases within the black market have led to shell companies. Of the 257 detected, I have been able to trace 209 to CEO Chrysalis. What's more..." She sighed. "The data recovered by the mole is incomplete, but it has given us enough information. In less than twenty four hours, Chrysalis may unleash a cyberattack that will cripple our network."

"Not good." Celestia cursed - crushing the cigarette before she was able to smoke through half of it. "Damn. She's been waiting for us to soften up with recent events..." She sighed. "Or, maybe she's been pulling those strings all along. You've noticed how much less stable the city's become, yes?"

"...Yes ma'am." Twilight admitted - remembering that her beloved house was torched in an arson attack; and she was only able to escape with her drone dragon assistant, 3 terabytes of books, and just a handful of clothes, sans her best dresses and undergarments. The bachelorette cursed the fact. Her peers already dubbed her an overworked nerd. Now she didn't even have the means to woo anyone once she got to travel between second and fourth bases.

Still - this, and the fact that the streets have become louder than normal...concerned her.

"..." Celestia's eye kept studying the streets. She enjoyed this activity. Perhaps it was sick voyeurism? Or a megalomaniac desire to have the entire city under her sight?

Whatever she saw from this angle, she used as inspiration.

"...Managing Director Twilight Sparkle." Celestia smiled softly. "You're my most trusted, most faithful employee." She said, turning around to look at the unicorn. "I would like to give you an assignment that may as well determine the future of SolarCorp. Of our state. Of our future."

"Yes ma'am! What must I do?" The unicorn swiftly stood to attention, like a soldier. Perhaps in a corporate environment it was not the most appropriate gesture; but Celestia wasn't stupid. Corporate life was no different from being in an army or being a politician. There was just a layer of ass-kissing and neutrality one had to wade through.

"As you know, this city has five primary gangs." She turned her head to the window. "The Steelhearts, the Niji-Bōsōzoku - NBs for short - the Joy Junkies, the Fuyant, and the Beastmasters." She reminded her. Twilight nodded - she was familiar enough with them all as she compiled much research on their operations.

"Yes ma'am?" Twilight smiled. "Shall I order some of our squads to take over their operations and take their resources? The NBs have a great matter of vehicles we may use, and if we had the Beastmaster's drone army, then--"

Celestia chuckled softly. "Oh dear - I suppose my sister has been a bit of a bad influence on you. Serves me right for letting her deal with our less "formal" activities..." She shook her head, and took a breath after her laughter. "No, my faithful employee. I need you to get them together, and launch an assassination on Chrysalis."

"Get them together!?...W-What!?"

"The five gangs possess boons that we'll need." Celestia explained. "Strength, speed, cybernetics, espionage, and hacking. Our company knows many trades - but these gangs bank on specialists. Their leaders will do nicely. Get them together - one way or another. You can imprison them and coerce them, bribe them - if they want you to sleep with them, then by all means take some STD blockers before you go. But I need those five, and you. Otherwise, we won't have the resources to take on this..." She sighed, looking at the put-away tablet. "...This thing."

"...I understand, ma'am." Twilight Sparkle gently bowed her head.

"Then please, go with haste. We have less than a day." She sighed, looking at the sun as it rose. She wondered - in ancient religions there was a belief that the sun and moon were both raised. If she could pretend to raise the sun, could she too have had the status of a goddess? It was a silly, passing thought.

Twilight Sparkle bowed her head once more - and walked out.

She cursed. How was she going to get the city’s most violent, most psychotic, and most powerful to play ball on the same team…?