Title:           Warhorse
Author:          Metals
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/JHz1Vr1s
First Edit:      Saturday 30th of June 2012 10:04:38 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Saturday 30th of June 2012 10:04:38 PM CDT

There was a single shot that rang out that night, and then it was quieter in Ponyville than it had ever been before.
 
~
 
The mafia had become a part of Equestria with a rapidity that shocked even Celestia. As other ponies went about their daily lives, dark forces were at work; gunmaking had proliferated as the stolen blueprints from the darkest storages of Canterlot’s secret libraries had leaked, and death had gone from a rare horror to a daily fact of life. Syndicates had sunk their teeth into all corners of Equestria, extorting bits from the good citizens of Ponyville and costing the guard untold money as defense spending grew. Ponies started freelancing, protecting each other. Doctors became more important than ever, but the fact that they were easy targets made the lucrative business that much more dangerous. Towns created their own watch forces, as pony came to mistrust pony.
 
And sometimes pony would even kill pony.
 
~
 
The treehouse had been cordoned off by the time Twilight Sparkle arrived. Her saddlebag jangled as she stooped under the cordon, and headed towards the house. Stepping inside, Twilight’s analytical side immediately took over.
 
‘Signs of struggle; the air smells like sweat and fear. Coffee table is overturned, Angel is missing, and…’ Twilight stepped over to the door, where she found a single lock of Fluttershy’s pink mane, along with some extensions. There was a tiny strip of yellow at the base of the pink mane tuft, and Twilight struggled to suppress her revulsion.  ‘…and I don’t think we’re getting Fluttershy back.’
 
“Hiya!” Twilight whirled around, her horn aglow with a knockback spell as she came face-to-face with a vibrantly fluorescent pink pony that she knew all too well. Or rather, she hoped she did.
 
“Pinkie! What are you doing here?! And please, keep it down. You know that I’d be targeted if it became known I was on the force.” Pinkie rolled her eyes and then pointed to her head.
 
“Well duh! But hey, you’ll be fine; I figured you were a cop yesterday, and you’ll never guess what I found out last night when I was snooping! C’mon, I have a big announcement to make for the town, and it’s gonna be great!” Twilight was left, open-mouthed as the mare happily skipped away at a speed which was much too high for an earth pony.
 
‘Pinkie, I have a bad feeling about this.’ Twilight took one last look around the house, and with the assurance of the guard that they had it under control, she left for the square.
 
~
 
Ponyville had gone dark; proverbially speaking that is. Shops now had iron bars over the windows, and the many ponies had left town. Nomadic ponies now roamed the Everfree Forest rather than risk living in towns or cities; at least there they knew the threats they faced.
 
Twilight trotted briskly into town square, her eyes flicking about everywhere for the tell-tale flash of a muzzle or scope.
 
‘Muzzle; there’s a word I never thought I’d be afraid of.’ Twilight snapped out of her reverie as Mayor Mare took the stage. She looks bedraggled and worn, her mane showing splotches of pink from here the hastily applied dye hadn’t taken; then again, appearances didn’t count for much these days. Applejack nodded quietly to her from beside the stage; she’d taken a job as a bodyguard as of late, something the town had far too much use for. The only other people there were Rainbow Dash and Zecora, both of whom were eyeing each other nervously. Cheerilee lingered towards the back of the crowd next to Spike. Sweetie Bell was there too, and Twilight’s heart swelled at the sight of the young courageous filly with her saddlebag on; the mafia generally refused to kill fillies out of principal, and Sweetie had quietly confided in Twilight that she was now the acting doctor for the town; ever since Scootaloo moved away she had needed something to keep herself occupied, and Applebloom…
 
Applebloom was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even Rainbowshine didn’t expect her to come bounding into the line of fire, and she repented her mafia ways. But the noose still claimed her in the end.
“Ponies of Ponyville! These are trying times to be sure.” Mayor proclaimed from behind the wall of magical glass, designed to protect against all a manner of projectiles. Her voice boomed through the speaker system of the town, and even those staying indoors came to the windows to hear better. “However, our new detective believes that she may have a break in the case! Miss Pinkamena Diane Pie has the floor.” Mayor nervously backed out of the glass cubicle, taking shelter behind a nearby podium.
 
“Hey everybody, I have great news!” Pinkie said, bouncing happily. “Well, not really great. In fact, it’s kind of terrible! But that’s okay, because this one time I was with the Cakes and they told me we were all out of icing and I was all like-“ -Pinkie gapes her jaw wide enough to swallow a chariot- “-But then it was okay, because I fiiiiiiixed it!” Pinkie continues to bounce, and Twilight watches nervously as she bounds higher and higher.
 
“Uhhhh, Pinkie, you should really-“
 
Pinkie continued on, now bounding head and shoulders above the glass. “So anyway, I found out what some ponies have been doing around town, and I have some news about a mare that we all know and love! Ra-“
Three things happened in very quick succession.
 
Pinkie never stood a chance as the bullet entered at the top of her skull, her bouncing flight pattern abruptly halted as the other side of her skull broke open like a party balloon full of strawberry ice cream. Hitting the glass, she slid down, her detective’s hat broken open and limply flapping as the last few heartbeats of blood pump their way out and onto the floor of the stage.
 
Whipping around, Twilight pulled the gun she’d been gifted the previous night from her saddlebag, and seeing the flash of cold metal in a nearby window, took her shot as the ponies around her screamed. The second shot tore off, and a muffled shriek was heard from where the bullet hit, the venetian blinds spattered with the deep bluish-red of arterial blood.
 
Applejack sprang onstage, covering the mayor with her body and moving her back into city hall as a sob escapes from Sweetie Belle at everything that has just unfolded. But it goes deeper than that, as Twilight looks in horror to where she has just fired her shot, her brain putting the pieces together but refusing to believe that the shot was fired from the second floor of Rarity’s Boutique.
 
~
 
Dusk was falling, and Twilight surveyed the scene in the boutique, her stomach churning.
Rarity had been apparently been hired as a sniper for the mafia, and had even taken the care to affix gems to the sights of her gun; that extra sparkle had been what gave her away, and her body lay still in the rapidly congealing blood on the floor.
 
Twilight felt a hoof on her back and didn’t even turn to look; even if it had been a killer, maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. She brought her head over slowly to see Applejack looking at her with worry in her eyes.
 
“Look Twi. You did the- you did what was for the best. And heck, I would’ve done the same thing, it happened in an instant.” Twilight shrugged off her friend’s hoof, and walked over to where her friend lay.
Rarity was as stunningly beautiful as ever, a true gem of a pony. Her soft curls cascaded over her face, covering the gash in her neck where the bullet had grazed her. The vein had been cut cleanly, and the brain of her generous friend had gone dark in seconds. Maybe she was gone the moment she started playing for the other side.
 
“Where’s Sweetie Belle.” Twilight’s tone was robotic, her eyes never lifting from the body of the generous mare.
 
“She’s with the guard now, she’s treatin’ herself for shock along with the medical staff. Twilight, things are different. You know as well as I do that if we didn’t do this she was goin’ to face the rope anyway.”
 
“This is different AJ.” Twilight cast a baleful look at her rancher companion. Times had been hard to Applejack; she was scarred from different attacks and attempts on her life, and with only Mac left to work the farm she seemed in a state of constant worry. “Every single pony in Ponyville  is a friend of mine. But you and I knew Rarity better than most other ponies ever would or did.”
Applejack nervously fidgeted with her hat. “Well Twi, maybe we didn’t know her as well as we thought we did.” She lets out a quiet sigh, and straightens her hat again. “Look. I want you to come over to Sweet Apple Acres; since everyone thinks I’m keepin’ and eye on Mayor, and Sweetie is out of commission, you’re gonna need someone to watch your back. After today, you’re gonna have a lot of people gunning for you, cop or not.”
 
Twilight straightened up, turning to look at her friend with tired eyes. “Is that supposed to make me feel better Applejack?”
 
“No.” Applejack shrugged. “It’s just the truth.”
 
~
 
At Sweet Apple Acres, things were quiet. Granny dozed in the living room, a very old and likely not-working gun held fast to her body. Applejack smiled and planted a soft kiss on Grannie’s nose before silently nodding at Twilight and escorting her up the stairs, where she ran smack into the body of rather large and imposing pony. She was just gearing up for a knockback spell when she realized that it was only Big Macintosh, coated in a thick layer of dirt and his coat slick with sweat.
Mac had changed too; by day he worked the fields alone, AJ off acting as bodyguard and pulling in enough bits to supplement the farm. And by night, he acted as a vigilante. Twilight knew this; the file back in the office she had on him said as much, and the list of mafia he had killed was impressive. He had sharp instincts, a good head on his shoulders…
 
…Not to mention that he was built like a brick stable. Twilight felt her cheeks flush, and she had to work to keep her voice from going up in pitch.
 
“Erm, hi Big Mac. Applejack said that I could stay here for the night, I hope that isn’t a problem.” Twilight nervously clicked her hooves together, unsure of why she felt so flustered; was it just some basic attraction? Was it because she knew he was a killer?
Like her?
 
“Nope.” Mac swung his head over to Applejack and gave her a curt nod before walking his way into the bathroom. Twilight and Applejack headed down the hallway towards Applejack’s room, and Twilight noted with a small knot in her throat that Applebloom’s room was completely unchanged. Her diary and a few crayons were scattered on the bed, which had never been remade. The pillow still bore the slight impression of the small filly’s head. Applejack didn’t even turn to look. Maybe she couldn’t.
 
The door to the room swung wide, the door banging against the wall as AJ quickly swept the room.  Seemingly satisfied that it was all clear, Applejack flopped down onto a rather luxurious looking rug on the floor. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder if it had been a gift from Rarity.
 
“Alright Twi, I’ll take the rug here, you take the bed.” Applejack turned to look over at the unicorn, and held out a hoof to stop her before she got onto the bed. “Err, might want to hold off for a minute there partner; looks like a bit of Mac brushed off on ya.”
 
Twilight felt her face getting red, she didn’t figure that Applejack would have picked up on that. “Well, yes. I mean, no! H-he uh…” Twilight struggled to find her words, which is odd because she NEVER struggled to find her words. “I can just, a-appreciate the service he provides for the community.”
 
Applejack chuckled, and then went into a full out braying laugh. Twilight giggled nervously before joining in, both of them laughing just as much out of relief, out of fear, out of exhaustion and joy as it is out of Twilight’s moment of embarrassment. Both of them lay gasping for breath, Applejack redfaced and looking for where her hat fell off to.
 
“Shoot Twi, I’m sorry. That was-pffffthmrk!” Stifling a snort, Applejack Swept her hat up off the floor with her tail and hung it on the bedpost. “Whew! That was just unexpected. I was talking about all the dirt on your face from where you smacked into my lump of a brother. Or should I use the term ‘hunk’ instead?”
 
Twilight grabs a pillow with her magic and gently hefts it at the orange mare, a direct hit to the face.
 
“Oh please, it was just flustering me, I ran right into him! I felt bad!” Applejack nods smugly, and Twilight considers throwing another pillow at her when suddenly the house goes a little quieter.
Applejack tosses a quick look at the ceiling, where a copper pipe has ceased its previous rattling. “Big Mac seems to have finished up his shower, you should go hop in. Unless you wanna keep that dirt as a memento or somethin’.”
 
Twilight sticks her tongue out, and Applejack gives her a cheeky grin in return as Twilight proceeds out of the room and down the hall. The house is dark, and for a minute Twilight feels a pang of nervousness, of something being wrong. Shaking it off, she walks her way down to the bathroom just in time to see Mac open the door. He strides out slowly, his eyes taking her in with a certain coolness that was always there for the aloof stallion, but somehow feels a little more distant. His mane is still wet, and seeing him without his heavy plow harness is at once kind of shocking and somehow perfect. Both of them stand, stock still, taking each other in for a while before Twilight finds herself able to break the silence.
 
“Mac, I just want you to know that I know what you do for the town.” Twilight takes a breath, “And I wanted to thank you. You take care of what sometimes we just can’t do.”
 
“Eeyup.”
 
Twilight lowers her voice to a whisper. “Are… Are you going after a target tonight?”
 
Big Mac tilts his head, seemingly mulling it over. “Nope.” Twilight starts to speak, but Mac suddenly opens up again. “Tonight I feel that I should be staying.”
 
Twilight’s heart is thudding a little faster. “Thanks Mac. I feel safer with you here.” She didn’t mean to actually say it, and now the silence in the hallway feels oppressive. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all, and I should have just taken my shower, because what if he had an actual hunch tonight and now he’s just staying home for me but that’s silly because he wouldn’t be staying home for me and thinking that is preposterous because I’m a friend of his and not even of his, just of his sister, but of course I’m still his friend but-‘ Twilight feels her thoughts cut out as she’s suddenly drawn into a hug by one of Mac’s massive forelegs.
 
His damp mane smells like apples and cheap horse shampoo, and Twilight buries her face in his massive neck as he cranes over her. One of his hooves rubs at the crook of her shoulders, and Twilight heaves a heavy sigh into his coat. It feels like a long time; it feels like a rest, like she’s asleep and time is passing in infinite increments, a dimension of unending comfort where true friendship lies. Mac’s heart beats slowly, his pulse thudding through the thick veins in his neck as heavy and loud as a percussion drum to the ear Twilight has pressed to him.
 
And just like that it ends, Mac tightening the hung for a split second before letting her go and moving down towards his room. Just as he opens the door, he turns back.
 
“Twilight?” His drawl is heavy and deep, a low note played on a loose-stringed cello. Twilight looks over to him, his wet coat fluffed out where her face had pressed against him. “Glad I could help.”
He vanishes into the darkness of his room, and Twilight enters the bathroom with one last look back over her shoulder before closing the door.
 
~
 
Twilight was glad to have her time to shower; it always helped her sort out her thoughts. She recapped the day, trying to keep her emotions separate from her analysis. Working a lather into her mane she thought about the crowd that day and how the gunfire had been exchanged…
 
Pinkie. Pinkie had been the one to welcome her to Ponyville the most, the pony always ready with a smile and a laugh when there didn’t seem to be many around anymore. It had been wearing on her too; Pinkie had been hitting the sweets harder, and she’d often get jittery just before going in to work on cases. But she was amazing; her Pinkie Senses saved her life more times than once, and the lives of her friends too. She was saccharine sweet and bubbly to every victim she helped, and could pin a face to a job like it was nothing. Pinkie had been a good friend to the end. To everyone. And that’s what made accepting it so hard.
Rarity had switched sides and lost her life. Fluttershy had disappeared. That left Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow. Twilight felt that she could trust Rainbow; her element was loyalty after all. But Rarity turning had shaken her to her very core, and Twilight wasn’t sure which file she should send her inquest for to Celestia.
 
Couldn’t she trust Rainbow? Or was her hunch wrong? Twilight stepped out of the shower, shaking the water from her tail with a light swing. She had a letter to send.
 
~
 
Twilight teleported her request form the short distance over to the library, where Spike would be waiting to send it to Celestia. Gently toweling off her mane, she opened the bathroom door.
 
Something was off.
 
Gently, she stepped her way into the hall, her hooffalls softened by the dampness of her coat. Striding forward to AJ’s room, she hoped her friend was still awake. Twilight didn’t know what it was, but there was something different… Peering cautiously into the inky blackness, she realized that she could no longer see the gently starlight window from Big Mac’s room. Someone had closed the door. Twilight turned to run and get AJ, but a quick jerk at her neck led to a quick change of plans.
Such a shame you’ll have to die,
Rather like your Pinkie Pie.
 
Zecora pulled the cord tighter around Twilight’s neck as she strains against it, the rope digging into and cutting her flesh. Her eyes roll wildly as her brain screams for oxygen. Lashing out with her back legs, she caught Zecora in her chest, the rope slackening as Twilight gasped like a fish. Immediately she felt the rope retighten, and Twilight struggled her way towards the door. The soft rug beneath her provided her no purchase, and she ran out the treadmill-like cloth with as much speed as she could muster. Scrabbling wordlessly with her front hooves at the wire, she had one last moment of fleeting consciousness.
‘You’re magic, duh.’
 
Her horn exploded with purple light, and Zecora found herself knocked back against the wall. Twilight hurled herself forward, exploding into the room and awakening AJ from her sleep. Wordlessly the cowpony stuffs Twilight under the bed, and reaches for her chain flail. Whipping it around like a lasso, she shoots it out into the dark of the hall, the heavy iron ball smacking into the doorframe of Applebloom’s room. A striped hoof reaches out and yanks hard on the chain, pulling AJ out into the hall. The sounds of Big Mac pounding on his bedroom door can be heard, the chair Zecora set in front of it holding fast as the doorknob rattles furiously. A few feet away, Zecora is trying to choke Applejack from behind while avoiding her deadly hooves, her legs shooting out like pistons and whistling past her attacker. Suddenly Applejack bucks her hips upward and kicks with all her force, and Zecora’s chest caves inward with an audible crunch. The force of the kick rips her away and sends her flying into the chair wedged against Mac’s door, the wood splintering apart with ferocious intensity.
 
Mac finally gets his door open, the crumpled body of the zebra mare forcibly shoved into a wall as Big Mac runs out into the hall. Spotting his sister, he trots over and hugs her close, and then pulls back.
 
“I was- I was worried, I didn’t want to lose another, I couldn’t. Where’s Twilight?” Mac quickly looked around the hallway. “Is she okay?”
 
Twilight stepped out into the hall, surveying the damage done.  “I’m fine Mac.”
Mac stood up, seeming even larger than usual. “Good. Now, both of you in my room, you’re sleeping in my bed tonight.”
 
Twilight’s heart leapt, but Applejack scowled at her brother. “Big Mac, we ain’t little foals anymore, and besides, all three of us fittin’ in your bed’ll be way too snug! And another thing, I don-woah!”
Big Mac tosses AJ onto his bare back with a single hoof, and then proceeds to do the same with Twilight. Twilight tries not to plush as she limply hangs over Mac’s back end, her nose bumping against his cutie mark and making him start. Applejack is busy pounding on his sides with her steely legs, her accent thickening as she gets increasingly angry.
 
“T-Tarnation! By ‘ecky-thump Big Mac if’n you don’t put me down right now, yer gonna be in fer a world of hurtin’!”
 
“Eeyup.” Big Mac shook her loose onto his bed, Twilight falling on top of her. Pushing the two of them over with a hoof, Big Mac climbs into bed and rolls over. “G’night.”
 
“Hpmh!” Applejack rolls over and faces away from him, leaving Twilight on her back between the two siblings. As the two fell asleep, Twilight lay awake, her heart still pounding from the attempt on her life. But maybe it could all be over soon.  Looking at her best friend she allowed herself a small smile at the bravery and courageousness of the orange mare. Turning her head, she looks at the imposing mass of Big Macintosh, the sensible killer. Finally her exhaustion overtook her, and Twilight passed gently into sleep, her face buried in Mac’s freshly washed mane.
 
~
 
The smell of breakfast wafted through the kitchen, Granny’s old gun dangerously close to the open flame of the stove as she cooked a pot of apple oatmeal. Twilight was pouring coffee for everyone seated at the table as Applejack grudgingly allowed Mac to apply some gauze to the gash on her neck where the rope had left a welt. Granny set out the food, collapsing into a well cushioned rocking chair in front of her meal and promptly falling asleep. For a moment there’s no sound but the clinking of silverware and the sound of Applejack slurping her coffee.
 
“So. Applejack, I feel like I should thank you last night.” Twilight stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
Applejack snorted. “Shoot Twi, don’t think nothing of it. That’s my job here, remember? Just tell the office to, uh, reimburse me for my services. And maybe some damages.” Big Mac shot her a sidelong glance, and she shrugged in return. “Hey, gotta keep the farm open somehow. Maybe this’ll all be over soon with ponies like Twi on the force.”
 
Big Mac opened his mouth to speak, and then turned to look at Twilight instead. She smiled at him and he closed his moth, nodding in assent. The rest of breakfast passed mostly uneventfully, with Granny almost plowing Big Mac’s leg off with a concealed weapon when the timer for the biscuits went off.  After that, Twilight said her goodbyes and departed from Sweet Apple Acres,  the scent of apples and cheap Horse Shampoo still thick on her coat.
 
~
 
At the police station, things were shaping up to be a fine day. They had processed two suspected mafia members for possession of poison joke and powdered sugar with intent to sell, (the bastards having already gotten Featherweight to take over as their flighty small-time dealer) and Hawk Eye had bought a cake for everyone to celebrate Stiff Sawyer’s birthday down in the morgue.  Twilight wound her way through the usual hustle and bustle, saying hello to Deputy Berry and inquiring as to Rainbow’s whereabouts.
 
“Oh, erm, the blue one?” Berry hiccupped, a flask very poorly concealed in her saddlebag. “She was out in the town, had a throwdown she was planning where she *hic*- oh, ‘scuze me. She was planning to call out Rainbowshine on her bullshit and either bring her in with help from a jailor or use that gun of hers.”
Twilight allowed herself a smirk. Rainbow had been all talk with that gun since the beginning, and her propensity to tell everyone around that she’s the Sheriff tended to give her more need for vests than for her weapon. She was lucky that no one had aimed for the head before- Twilight’s smirk faded, and with a quick nod she moved past Berry and went to her desk.
 
The investigations unit was fairly empty, a call having gone out a few hours before to locate a missing foal; no ransom had been received at last mention.  Her desk looked the same as usual, meticulously organized with a clipboard full of possible suspects, confirmed town-workers and third-parties who’s loyalties and motives remained suspect. In her drawer was a bowl full of dried dandelions, and she popped one in her mouth as she sunk into her chair and started changing her list around. As she crossed Zecora’s name off of her papers, she recalled that her body was still in a crumpled heap in Applejack’s hallway, and immediately set to work on a royal guards summons and payment of damages form.
 
Or rather, she was about to when she noticed the two new parcels in her in-tray. Cautiously, she tapped each one with a hoof, checking for any hint of poison agents slipping around the corners. Twilight wasn’t about to forget the poor Pegasus who had been mailed a parcel of concentrated poison joke and had her feathers turn to banana peels. Zecora hadn’t been able to figure out how to change her back; in hindsight, that was probably for outside reasons. Making a mental note to pass that information along to the alchemists, Twilight opened the first parcel and was pleased to see that the smith had seen fit to deliver her another gun. Quickly placing it in her saddlebag and discarding the envelope, Twilight turned and deftly opened the second parcel. The sending address read as “The Royal Politic-Bureau Civilian File Collection,” where information gleaned by political strong-pony and Dear Leader Princess Celestia was stored. As Twilight pulled the brown wrapping paper off the manila folder she allowed herself a grim smile; she just hoped that she was wrong.
 
~
 
Twilight rubs her tired eyes with a hoof, placing the file in her out-tray with the soft slap of paper on wood. Slouching back in her chair, she nibbled the last of her dried dandelions and reached back in her drawer for something with a bit more… energy. She looked around the station, and quietly withdrew a small parcel of nonpareils that had a peculiar white dusting on them. Twilight reasoned that the powdered sugar content was low anyway, and she was one of the best cops on the force, and besides, they were a gift-
 
‘Pinkie’s gift.’ Popping two into her mouth, she held them under her tongue as the sugar dissolved and the chocolate melted. A soft surge of theobromides and caffeine hit her system, and she lolled her head back at the sweet taste of sugar. Ever since they started rationing it in an attempt to keep control of it away from the mafia, everyone had been hurting for something a little more sweet. Pinkie felt it most keenly of all, and she was always being audited by the task force trying to catch her stealing illicit sugar from the lockers. It was one of the few faults of the off-kilter detective, and one of the last remnants of her old life that she could hold on to as she found less time for parties. And now it was one of the last records of her Twilight would have, and the chocolate taste lingered in her mouth, more bittersweet than ever.
 
Closing the bag of candy and tossing it in the drawer, Twilight stood up and threw on her saddlebag. She had a meeting before the day was out.
 
~
 
It was getting dark as Twilight walked into the schoolhouse. Cheerilee sat behind her desk, a stack of graded papers to her left, and she shook her mane out of her face and smiled at the young officer.
 
“Twilight! I haven’t seen you since you came by to help tutor the unicorns in magic! How have you been?” Cheerilee smiled at Twilight, shifting slightly in her chair.
 
“Yes, it’s been quite a while.” For a minute there is silence between the two ponies, and then Twilight begins again. “I think we both know why I’m here Cheerilee.”
 
Cheerilee’s eyes darted to her desk, and she made a sudden reach beneath it. Twilight’s horn lit up the room, and Cheerilee’s desk suddenly shot away from her, crushing the pretty teacher between it and the wall with a hard crunch. Cheerilee’s mouth dropped open, her broken body slumping forward onto the desk with an anguished squeal. Twilight leveled her gun against Cheerilee’s neck, and bent down to face her. Tears welled in Twilight’s eyes, tears of anger, tears of confusion, tears of hate that dripped down her face.
 
“Why did you do it. What happened to Fluttershy.” Twilight’s voice hissed out like venom, the hurt in Twilight’s heart seeping into her mind like poison.
 
“R-rarity asked her to join.” Cheerilee coughed, a fine spray of blood and saliva hitting her desk. “She declined. We couldn’t let her live if she knew.”
 
Twilight’s blood was pounding in her ears. Could she do it, could she kill again? She killed one of her best friends before; reactionary as it was, it was her by her hoof that Rarity’s death had occurred. And the things Cheerilee was telling her assured her that it would be right. That she could take this mare’s life right here, right now, and there would be no recourse, no questions; she would be right. Blood was now oozing out of Cheerilee’s mouth at a steady rate, and her green eyes shown up at her with a mix of emotions.
 
“…please.” Cheerilee sounded choked. “…please. I’m so sorry.”
 
Twilight screamed in frustration, and with a quick flick of her head the desk soared away from the two mare’s smashing through rows of tiny desks. Panting heavily, Twilight put the mare on her back, her gun hastily put back in her saddlebag.
 
“Come on.” Twilight sighed. “Let’s get you to the doctor so-“ Cheerilee made a small gurgling noise, her eyes cloudy with panic.
 
“No! Don’t you understand?” She spat out a gob of blood, her teeth stained copper-red. “I was their janitor. We killed the doctor just the night before!”
 
~
 
Sweetie had laid everything out. Her medic kit was a pretty handy disguise she had to admit; luckily she had been alone when she finally received her calling. A simple blood droplet cutie mark was so very easy to conceal in her pale fur; all she had to do was take a bit of Rarity’s dye for herself. She cocked her head for a minute and thought of her sister. Things had certainly cooled between the two of them as they had drifted apart; Rarity’s departure from the town had been the first wedge between the two of them, and the fjord had only deepened with the passage of time.
 
‘Perhaps her death was brought upon herself.’ Sweetie mused, carefully setting out her syringes and saw. For a second her heart wrenched, and her face contorted into a mask of hateful sadness. Then it passed, as it always did. And she would be soothing it soon, the monster that had come into her soul, the hate that the change in Equestria had wreaked upon her. It was a recent phenomenon according to the news; fillies and colts, caught in the cross-fire of the mafia war, stretching just a bit too thin.
 
And snapping like a taut foreleg under the pressure.
 
Sweetie sighed happily as she eyed her handiwork. It was beautiful. Everything had been cleaned meticulously from the previous night’s work; Twist’s death had gone unnoticed as of yet, but that’s only because they still hadn’t found the body. A shiver ran through her body as she thought of the night that lie ahead for her; killing a real adult pony. She’d killed Twist easily enough, and that young foal refugee was already weakened from her travels; this was where she’d get a real taste. Sweetie waited in the alcove with baited breath, biding her time until the mark arrived.
 
~
 
It was much later. Sweetie paced the floor, shuffling her hooves with something like indignation at being stood up for her appointment. She was getting ready to grab her bag and simply depart when there was the soft jingling of metal in the lock of the library door. She quietly slid closer to the door, a syringe full of caustic dye aimed just at the eye level of an adult pony.  There was a shadowy movement at the door, and Sweetie depressed the plunger with a quick squeeze. The rewarding sound of hissing, melting matter hit her ears, but there was none of the tell-tale screaming, none of the pain.
Because she hadn’t hit at eye level. Big Mac shook off his soaked plow-harness, the wood staining and smoking as it clattered to the floor. Sweetie gasped, using what little magic she could muster to slide her kit away and under Twilight’s workbench.
 
“B-Big Mac! I came over here looking for Twilight, I was worried someone might have been trying to hurt her and I wanted to be ready to help!” Sweetie’s voice cracked multiple times, and Big Mac simply swung his head back and forth. “You don’t believe that, do you.” Sweetie sighed.
 
“Nope.” Big Mac plodded closer, his face hidden as he dug around in a small bag he had brought with him.
 
“I guess you’ll be taking me to jail then for trespassing then.” Sweetie said, edging back toward a loose syringe that had clattered away from her kit. Suddenly there was a soft thunk on the floor, and Sweetie couldn’t help but jump. Her lip curled up as she recognized the bony leg of the runaway foal, a contemptuous sneer that only lasted a second before her face became placid again.
 
“Nope.” Sweetie’s jaw dropped, and her face morphed into a mask of righteous anger as she realized what he meant. She hissed from between her teeth as she hurled the syringe at the hulking stallion before her, the dye within holding powerful sedative properties; and a few neurotoxic ones too. Mac dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks, shaking the floor as his legs splayed out like long pasta noodles. Triumphant, Sweetie grabbed her saw and rushed towards Mac, not noticing that the syringe had instead buried itself in the far wall, and that her victim was tense as a coiled spring. The last thing that Sweetie ever noticed was a hoof sailing toward her face.
 
~
 
Sweetie’s body was discovered the next day, only identifiable by her mane. Her heinous cutie mark had been uncovered, and rigor had set in quickly, her body stiff like a stale marshmallow. Cheerilee hadn’t made it either; Twilightdumped off her body in front of the police station before heading for home, her head empty and buzzing thickly at the same time. Walking to the library, she saw Big Mac leaving the hollow tree, his saddlebag lopsided and stained a deep crimson red. She put two and two together the next day. She had a feeling Mac had done the same with her.
 
Neither one of them said anything at all.
 
Things returned to normal in Ponyville, or as normal as they ever could. There were always pieces missing. The fashionable boutique that once stood so radiantly and proudly became dilapidated, and eventually gave way to a tacky lamp and lighting shop. Sugarcube Corner reopened as the Cakes saw fit to return, comfortable that Ponyville was safe to raise their kids in again; but never again was there such laughter and brightness as there was in Pinkie’s Time as an employee. Fluttershy’s tree was reclaimed by nature, vines growing thick within it and animals turning it into a teeming community of life—that was perhaps the most fitting gesture Equestria could have made. Twilight returned to her library, her accounts of the mafia wars in Equestria winning multiple literary awards, and her role in policing Ponyville garnering her a commendation by Celestia; a commendation Twilight accepted with many reservations. Applejack left the bodyguard business and got back to the apple bucking that she loved. Mac continued to plow, and never again harmed or killed. His role remained unknown to all but a select few; his name had been removed in Twilight’s book, his telling of his role in vigilante justice both unnervingly frank and deeply eloquent.
 
Years went by, and the mafia’s role in Equestria ebbed and flowed like the tides, some towns winning out like Ponyville, and some like Los Pegasus becoming havens for crime and vice. Life had changed, but it would certainly go on. Harmony had, for the most part, returned; but it was forever poorer a few elements.