<<>>

Obadiahs escort to the palace had been a relatively short one due to the fact that the guards had decided to teleport straight to the castle gates rather than march through the city. As the man was guidied towards the throne room, Obadiah found himself being the center of attention every time they entered a different hall.

Looks like news about the kids has spread...wonder how long it will be until the press gets hold of my actions?

Coming to a stop in front of the big doors Obadiah recognized as the partition to the throne room, his guard escort stopped and turned to him.

"We have arrived." The guard on his left spoke up, giving Obadiah a stern look as he eyed the revolver barely peeking out of his suit. "The princess is waiting for you, please be on your best behavior while in her royal presence."

Both guards turned swiftly and opened the doors, stepping to the side and letting Obadiah step past them. As the man stepped through the doorway, his eyes drifted from the rows of pillars lining the walls to the red carpet that guided his gaze to the throne...and the princess who sat upon it.

It seems nothing has changed since I was last here.

Noticing Obadiah, the sun monarch rose from her throne and gracefully walked down the steps, meeting Obadiah halfway before offering the man a gentle smile.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Mr. Fletcher. Forgive me if my guards disturbed you, but I wanted to meet with you face-to-face after the events last night." princess Celestia spoke, standing barely above Obadiah in height if you counted her horn. "Both Luna's guard and mine had been looking into the kidnapping of the foals from Ponyville, and had been doing so for a few days now without an ounce of luck...but then you accomplish what our trained soldiers could not in one night?"

"So, we're cutting the small talk and going right in?" Obadiah remarked before shaking his head. "I would've expected a bit more tact for the man who saved those kids, after all."

"It's not that I don't recognize your actions, but rather that I have known you for almost a year now. You aren't the type of person to simply risk life and limb to help somepony when they need it, not without expecting a reward in return." Celestia shot back, earning a chuckle from the man before her.

"Usually you'd be correct, princess." Obadiah began, stroking his chin with a thumb as a genuine smile graced his lips. "However, Rarity and her sister took me in when I first arrived in this world, and I would be a fool to not repay the favor somehow."

The princess' gaze softened somewhat, though Celestia knew better than to leave it at that. This had been the creature who had managed to change her plans to reintegrate Changelings into society and managed to alter it enough to where he would come out of it a rich man.

And while Celestia had experience with greedy ponies due to the nobility constantly pestering her throughout the day, dealing with someone with their level of financial passion and was genuinely capable of acting on it made Obadiah someone she had needed to keep an eye on.

"That explains the report I got from Twilight, as the Element of Generosity seemed quite sure you were going to deliver on your promise to her. However, I am more concerned about the how than the why at this point." The sun monarch stated clearly, magicking up a small scroll and unraveling it. "My guard got a report of a break in at Madame Polomare's estate, and less than an hour after said break in you happen to return the missing ponies to us?"

"You won't find anything that links me to that event, princess." Obadiah responded, putting a hand on his hip and flashing two fingers at the princess. "Which leads me back to what you mentioned before. Your correct in assuming I want a reward, and as this time I almost died I want to make it two."

"What could you possibly want from the crown? You've already obtained a monopoly on most bars and clubs due to your casino, and just yesterday a noble asked me to grant you status as nobility due to your wealth!"

Obadiah felt a rush of warmth go through his body at the princess' words, his grin widening as he pointed those two fingers directly at the royal snoot.

"Exactly! In one year I have shot farther than most creatures you could think of...however, these two favors aren't business proposals like the casino was." Obadiah said, retreating his hand back to his side as the princess threw him a confused stare, raising an eyebrow at the suited man.

"If not something material, then what else could you seek?" Celestia asked, a frown setting in as she did not like the smile on Obadiahs face. It was one predators like dragons or griffons wore when slaughtering their prey, and the smile seemed far to comfortable on Obadiahs face to not have the princess on guard.

"They're little things, don't worry." Obadiah started, adjusting his tie as he loosened it enough to where it wasn't hugging his neck anymore. "One: I want the charges for that break in dropped, as while I didn't do the deed the one who did helped me find the kids, and I'd rather that creature not be punished for doing the right thing."

"I wouldn't call breaking and entering the 'right thing' in most cases but since the ends justified the means I can have the window replaced and let Madame Polomare know the situation was resolved...and for the other favor?" Celestia relented, keeping her guard up as she eyed Obadiah warily, who's smile seemed to only get wider than before, reaching all the way to his eyes.

"Don't give me that look, I'm not asking for a blood oath or anything!" Obadiah stated with a laugh before his smile vanished entirely, replaced by a serious gaze as Obadiah leaned back a bit on his heels. "The other favor is this: I want a royal writ of agreement, specifically for allowing me to purchase land near Sire's Hollow."

For a moment, Celestia stared at Obadiah, the frown on her face deepening somewhat before she found the words to speak.

"You...want a permit to buy land nearby a town across the country?" Celestia asked, caughten off guard from the odd request, as it hadn't been close to the realm of possibilities that the princess had expected from Obadiah.

"Yes, I have an idea for a business venture there and would need land to call my on while there." Obadiah clarified, his smile returning once more, though Celestia could tell this one was forced. "Don't fret about building any buildings, as I'll be handling all that from my own funds this time."

Staring into his amber eyes, the princess couldn't sense any malice from his request, even if she felt off about giving him what he asked for.

"Very well, don't make me regret giving your business that jump-start, Obadiah." Celestia warned the man, who shurgged off her statement with a wave of his hand.

"Relax, at the end of the day I'm a simple businessman trying to make his way in a world not his own...or did you forget about the how i got here, let alone you pardoning the perpetrator of said event." Obadiah spat, glaring at the princess for a moment before he caught himslf and took a deep breath. " Forgive my outburst, princess...it seems I haven't completely moved on from that day just yet."

"Obadiah...I understand yout frustration at Starlight Glimmer. After I heard about her misdeeds from Twilight I was angry as well, but you have to trust that Twilight was able to help her change for the better. Perhaps if you talked it out you could both gain something from it." Princess Celestia offered, though she let the subject drop when Obadiah only narrowed his eyes further at her. "On the note of your...normalicy, the lunar guard was shocked to find there were two individuals at the abandoned building you had mentioned to the guard last night. While both ponies are alive and have since confessed to their crimes, they were found encased in blocks of ice."

"Ah, you'd like to know how I did that? Here." Obadiah said, reaching into his suit and pulling out his revolver. The guards nearby the entrance began to move towards him but a raised wing from Celestia stopped them. Turning the revolver to its side, Obadiah opened the cylinder and pulled out a single blue bullet.

"This is what my seller called a freeze round. I had arrived in Equestria with this weapon empty, but I managed to find a pony that could make rounds for it, just in case I had to defend myself." Obadiah explained as Celestia grasped the bullet in her magic and looked it over. "Though back home those types of rounds only killed people, so the fact those ponies are alive is a testament to your citizens ability to make non-lethal solutions to problems."

"Has our technology truly came so far as to replicate self defense spells?" Celestia whispered to herself before returning the round to its owner, who loaded the revolver and returned it to his suit after spinning the cylinder around a bit. "I should be grateful you had the foresight to use a method of defending yourself that wouldn't involve killing, as others in your place might not have had the same idea."

Definitely leaving out that the rounds are experimental then. If making her think I did that on purpose helps her image of me then all the better for it.

"I was there to save kids, not take lives. besides, we'd probably be having a different conversation if I had iced somebody, even if it was a crook." Obadiah said, his hands moving to his pockets as he flashed a smile, though his eyes gave away how done he was with this interrogation he was under. "Now then, I have quite the workload ahead of me this week and I assume you do as well. You can have the permit delivered to my estate and my secretary will make sure it gets to me...unless you have anymore questions?"

Shaking her head, Celestia gave the man a smile and bowed her head to the man before her.

"No, I believe I have what I was looking for. Thank you once more for saving my little ponies." Raising her head, Celestia gave a nod to the guards as they began to open the doors leading out of the throne room. "I'll make sure that the permit gets to you before the end of this week."

Giving the mare one last wave, Obadiah turned on his heel and walked out of the throne room, hearing the doors close behind him as he made his way through the castle.

"Well, I expected more push back on the permit, but I'll take the easy victories where I get them." Obadiah muttered, coming to a stop in front of the first of the murals in the hallway that depicted the six element bearers and their deeds. Staring up at the little Rarity in the glass painting Obadiah couldn't help but smile.

"Obadiah?"

Turning to the source of the voice, Obadiah felt his mood drop somewhat as he eyes fell upon Twilight. She wasn't alone however as she had dragon pet of hers on her back...though he seemed to preoccupied in his comic book to care about the what was going on at the moment.

"That's my name...what do you want?" Obadiah stated, tightening his tie as he stared down at the lavender alicorn, who winced at the edge in his voice before speaking up.

"I heard from Rarity that you had been doing well since you moved up here, and after I overheard the guards talking about you being at the castle I figured you would've been called up by the princess." Twilights brow furrowed as she looked down at her hooves. "Though, I'm not sure why she didn't tell me about you being here. I had asked her to let me know if you swung by the castle."

"Don't worry about it, she was just offering me another favor, got my eyes on some real estate outside of Canterlot." Obadiah said with a cheesy grin, though a sigh shortly followed at the lack of reaction from the alicorn. "Listen, there are some things that need a one on one is all, she isn't leaving you in the dark."

Looking up at Obadiah, Twilight stared at him for a moment in surprise before giving the man a slow yet confused nod.

"I wasn't expecting you of all people to try and make me feel better, but thank you." Twilight commented, a smile finally appearing on her face after a moment of silence as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. "So, you don't have to answer or anything, but I just need to know...you managed to find the ponyville children so quickly last night, especially after only taking Rarity up on her promise an hour prior, something that royal guards or even the girls and I couldn't do without help, so I wanted to know if the rumors about you being connected to the Canterlots underground mafia ring is true?"

For a long time, Obadiah simply kept a level stare at the princess, almost shocked that Twilight had the guts to flat out ask him that.

if she thinks I am part of the mafia then she's going to be poorly dissapointed, though I guess it couldn't hurt to set the record straight and keep her from thinking I'm some sort of felon. Her family has ties to the royal guard after all, and I'd rather have another complication turn up so soon, not with my plans finally being set in motion.

"No, I am not a member of any sort of crime syndicate or gang." Obadiah stated firmly, getting a sigh of relief from the mare before him, though it was short-lived as he kept going. "However, my casino is considered a location of peace between the rival organizations, so I get frequent customers of their type that appreciate my freelance status."

Blinking owlishly at Obadiah, it took the mare a moment to register his sentence before her brain finally kicked back into gear.

"You let those ponies into your casino!?! Why?"

"Because they're good paying customers that don't cause issues while at my establishment." Obadiah fired back, his tone turning sour as Obadiah leaned down to be face to face with the princess. "I'll serve anyone at my casino I please. If you didn't hear by now, my business is a pretty inclusive location. We don't judge creatures for their existence, we just want them to pay the fees to enjoy our services and games...and besides, if the thugs are at my casino playing the slots or betting big on the tables then that means they aren't causing problems elsewhere."

"Still, a lot of those ponies are either wanted for potential crimes or are connected to the ones who are, you can't tell me it's ethical to know that and not turn them in? Most of them are lawbreakers, Obadiah!"

"So your not willing to find these 'lawbreakers' and make the time to reform then, huh? You were pretty adament the 'good in everypony' when you kept me from pressing charges on Starlight for bringing me during that damned time stunt!" Obadiah yelled, forcing the mare to take a step back as he rose back up to full height. "Don't go preaching to me about my damned business when you or the guard can't even be bothered to put in the effort to find these guys. It took kids being KIDNAPPED to make these crime circles a priority for you!"

Obadiah opened his mouth to say more, but stoppoed himself and turned away from Twilight, looking up at the stained glass image of Rarity and feeling his anger slowly fade as he admired the art. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Obadiah calmed himself down enough to be cordial and looked back at Twilight, who was looking at him with those big sad eyes ponies get when they get emotional.

Nope. I will not be guilt tripped by this again.

"I...have places to be, good day." Obadiah curtly stated before brushing past Twilight and dissappearing around the corner, leaving Twilight and Spike alone in the hallway.

"I...Why did I say that to him?" Twilight groaned as she sat on her haunches, prompting Spike to jump off and close his comic book. Coming around from her backside, Spike gave Twilight a hug from the side.

"I thought you said you were going to aologize to him, not question his lifestyle?" Spike asked, looking up at Twilight with a frown. "And as weird as it sounds to admit out loud...why did you keep him from having Starlight judged for ripping him from his home? I know I'd be mad if somepony stole me from you and the others."

Returning his hug, Twilight placed her head atop spikes and shared his frown, her gaze lingering up at the mural depicted when she became an Element bearer.

"I knew if Starlight got jailed or punished for her crimes like that she would likely revert back to her old self...or so I believed. Though, she's been extremely out of it back home for a while now...and I'm pretty sure it's because she hasn't forgiven herself for Obadiah's displacement yet."

"Well, you can't force Obadiah to see her, and it's clear he still hates her guts." Spike commented before shaking his head, feeling Twilights fur rustle against his cheek as he did so. "And it sucks because I think he's a pretty cool guy, there's just too much emotional baggage in ponyville for him to come back."

Saying nothing else, Twilight simply let herself enjoy the moment with Spike. This didn't stop her brian from working overtime though as her thoughts traveled back to Obadiah once more.

He's definitely not a bad person, as he wouldn't have saved Sweetiebelle and the other foals if he was...maybe one day I'll be able to get him to move on from the past, then he can help Starlight move on as well.

<<>>

"I assume the trip to see the goody-two-shoes was as tiring as your making it look? Because believe me the sleep-deprived look is NOT working for you, Obadiah."

Laying back in his office chair, Obadiah shot the changeling queen a half-hearted glare in response as he sipped on a bottle of Applejack Daniels. It had been a while since he had drank, but today had called for it.

"Less of Celestia and more of Twilight. Damned mare always did give me a headache when she opened her mouth." Obadiah put the bottle down after one last sip and pulled out the file from earlier that day and opened it up. The title on the front perked the queens interest as she teleported beside Obadiah and looked over his shoulder at the pages within, her eyes widening as she slowly turned her gaze from Obadiah.

"My, someone has big plans!" Chrysalis purred, attempting to slide a hoof down Obadiahs chest only for it to be slapped away. "You know denying me only makes me want it more, right?"

"Then find a willing guest of my casino or pay for a male dancer, because at this rate you'll starve before I sleep with you." Obadiah responded, letting a smirk dawn on his face as he looked over the files contents. "Besides, I don't have time to do the dirty, I need everything to be ready for when I depart to Sire's Hollow and that means pulling another all-nighter."

Taking one last look at the file, Chrysalis sighs dramatically and gets up, moving back to the chair across the desk and flopping into it.

"You do know if those 'friends' of yours find out what your planning your going to have a worse reputation than me, right? Not that I'm against sticking it to Celestia, but do remember you have a lot of my children under your care." Chrysalis warns, and Obadiah is surprised to see genuine concern in her eyes for a split second before the usual cocky glare returns. "So you better not drag my hive's name through the mud with that plan of yours."

Closing the file, Obadiah returned it to its drawer and turned his gaze back to Chrysalis, giving the queen a soft smile as he folded his hands on his desk.

"Don't worry, Chrysalis. I have no intentions of getting the creatures under my care hurt or in trouble with the law. If all goes well, your kin will never have to worry about being outcasts again." Obadiah assured, making sure he gave the queen a good enough smile to be genuine. There was no use hiding his emotions from an emotivore like a changeling, but the queen would never be able to read his thoughts, and that would have to be enough.

Every creature in this damned world is so content to simply settle with the life fate alloted them. Is it truly so wrong to want more? Back on Earth I had nearly accomplished my dreams of becoming truly wealthy, but since coming here it is clear I've realized outside forces can rip away everything you work for...so if achieving my dreams means to tear down a couple buildings here and ruin a life there then so be it.

Turning in his chair, Obadiah looked up at the glass painting behind him. His grin widening at the sight of the dollar sign encased in its shimmering shards. Obadiah let a hearty laugh escape his lungs, his thoughts on the future of his soon-to-be industry.

Chrysalis, who had been attempting to feed off of the man before her, now found her taste buds soured by a surprising surge of emotion coming from Obadiah. However, unlike a regular mood swing or change of tune found in most ponies, this seemed different. It was as if the emotions had always been there, and the door containing them was blown wide open, causing said emotions to hit the changeling queens taste buds like a high speed carriage.

It taste like black licorice mixed with lime...but the last time I tasted that was-

For a brief moment and possibly the first time in her life, Chrysalis had began to doubt an action she had taken for her hive. To the queen licorice was the taste of generosity, a personal favorite of hers and was always in surplus due to ponies general giving natures. However, black licorice was something she usually tasted on Nobility, as they always seemed to want more than they had. But to be almost filled up by the surge of emotion flowing from Obadiah meant the man clearly had bigger plans than what she had seen in that file, and Chrysalis wondered if he truly had the hives best intentions in mind when it came to his ambitions.

Then came the lime. Chrysalis knew that one due to the infamy her kin had gotten from their raid on Canterlot. It was hate, pure unadultered hate. And for some reason it was mixed right in with Obadiahs greed.

Regardless of what he has planned in that brain of his, as long as he makes sure my hive flourishes then I could care less about what happens to every other creature.

Author's Note

Yeeeeeee! New chapter.

Sorry for the wait, was on a smaller business trip with the army, got back in time to finish this chapter. Did a skim over it for errors, but if I missed something (probably did) I wouldnt mind someone pointing it out, though Ill be looking it over again later to triple check.