As the sun hovered in the sky, a council of officers gathered in the royal throne room. In doing so, we all stood to the side of the throne while Celestia assumed her rightful place. She appeared quite strict in her demeanor, understandably so. Meanwhile, Solemn Oath stood before her. She remained at the position of attention, not saying a single word to her purpose. Crackdown sat a pile of folders, each containing a thorough report pertaining to last night's engagement at the bar. While he went through the files, she waited quietly for their argument and verdict.

I knew my position wasn't exactly favorable in the eyes of the other officers, but they still couldn't argue the many reports that came in defense of me. In spite of that, it was better if I let the others do the talking, lest I get called out for being the participant of yet another conflict with my fellow officers.

Crackdown closed the last folder and set it down as he announced to the court, or rather the gathering of officers. "Sixteen, sixteen different accounts from witnesses all claim that you initiated a conflict with Captain Nondis. I can't even defend you because I saw the animosity between the two of you first-hoof. And in the instance I witnessed, you were the aggressor in the debate."

The mare waited while another officer stepped to her defense. "I know that the two aren't always eye-to-eye on things, but it was probably a drunken misunderstanding. I can't see how the captain is faultless in any of this. She was probably provoked."

Crackdown doubled on his findings. "Every account thus far has her registered as not only the provocateur, but the aggressor and the the unruly one."

"Aren't some of those accounts from those who might have taken up the Arimaspi Mountain Deployment?" A third officer questioned.

The second officer pleaded with the princess directly. "Your highness, I don't think it is wise to be so stern to Solemn Oath, just look at her usually stellar record."

"Her record is only supported by her longevity in the guard." Shining argued. "If Captain Nondis was caught with another violation, you would be eager to have him demoted to the bottom of the enlisted ranks."

"So says the one he's bested in combat." A fourth officer called out.

Celestia looked over to the accused officer. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

She quickly jumped at the opportunity to plead her case. "Your highness, I was shameful in my drunken stupor. To say that my actions were less than objectionable would be a grievous mistruth. I will admit that my actions have harmed your flawless court on this day. I am willing to accept my consequence."

Crackdown continued to interrogate the mare. "So you are willing to admit that you actively threw a bottle of bourbon at the captain?"

"It was a decision impaired by my alcoholic consumption. I should've had less."

"But you threw a whole bottle of bourbon at the captain?"

"To her defense, it was only the beverage." I finally spoke out, at least offering to tone down the implied language presented in the report. "No bottle was harmed in the dousing of my head."

Celestia clarified the situation for herself. "So she threw the contents of a bottle at you. Is that the correct sequence?"

"Yes, your highness." I replied. "She was drinking with her friends."

Crackdown then questioned me directly. "But she did approach the bar to, and I quote, order a glass of whiskey with dishwater?"

"Yes sir." I replied.

"And what did the bartender serve to her?" He asked.

"A clean glass of whiskey."

"In one of these reports, it was said that she grabbed a dirtied rag from one of the maids and wrung the fluids from it into the beverage before sliding it over for you to consume?"

"And what did you do with the beverage?" Crackdown asked.

"I poured it over the counter and cleaned the mess I made." I answered.

One of the other officers scoffed at my rebuttal. "Oh, and I take it you're an absolutely innocent victim who did absolutely everything right?"

Celestia pointed out one of the reports she had read on her own time. "In accordance to this report, the captain could be found saying 'I'm on my buzz, let's try to have a good time.' Was this in any way aggressive towards you?"

Solemn Oath sprung to her own defense. "No. But he did begin to call me a myriad of names."

"After you proceeded to splash the bourbon on him, as well as after you went on a tirade of how he didn't deserve 'a good time'. Are these the things you've said?"

Solemn couldn't lie, she quietly admitted her fault. "Yes, I did."

Celestia then questioned me directly. "Captain, what was the exact moment that prompted you to take action against Solemn Oath?"

I shook my head, still getting a bit upset over what I had to recall. "It was a comment directed towards a young enlisted, mainly in regards to his deceased sibling."

Celestia was very much displeased. She slowly turned to Solemn. "I take it that part might be a bit untrue."

Crackdown immediately pulled out one of the reports. "Private First Class Humbreeze Highwind, his sister perished in the prior Arimaspi Mountain Deployment led by Prince Shining Armor."

Not even the other officers dared to defend her after that. Shining very briefly let his anger flare. Celestia held a hoof out him. "The situation is not about what she said to anyone else. This is strictly on the matter of the confrontation that took place last night." She lowered her hoof and turned to the mare defending herself. "As upsetting as that is to hear, I am willing to offer you a judgement based solely on that."

Crackdown concluded with one final question. "Solemn Oath, are you aware that unicorns are often cognitive while partaking in alcoholic consumption?"

"...Yes." She painfully confessed, realizing that she could no longer use her state of sobriety as a defense.

"So you were completely aware of the actions you've performed?" Celestia questioned for the last time.

"I was also angry, your highness."

"Why?" Shining asked.

She broke from being at attention, sharply attacking Shining Armor. "Because he shouldn't have been placed in a position he wasn't qualified for. There are many lower officers and high-ranked enlisted who could've served the role. But he got assigned there on the technicality that he was a suitor at the time!"

While many officers held the same belief, they were mum on the matter while the princess was present. Celestia closed her eyes in thought. "Solemn Oath, as I have told you time and time again, Captain Nondis' qualifications have gone beyond the process of his being a suitor. I gave him the position based solely on his performance. He has performed to standard in many instances. While he may be an immature piece of work with a lot of decorum to learn, his effectiveness is unmatched in this kingdom. We have differences, but I have long come to accept that the kingdom─and it's citizens─is what comes first."

The mare begrudgingly fell silent. "Your highness, I am sorry."

"I am not." Celestia replied, opening her eyes to the one standing before her. "I am, instead, disappointed. Your actions are most unbecoming for an officer of this court. As such, your next evaluation for a promotion shall take place in approximately thirty-six months. Your emphasis in that time will be to gain the fellowship of your fellow enlisted."

Solemn clenched her eyes shut as she bowed her head, knowing well what the princess had meant in her words.

And just in case it wasn't made clear to anyone else... "Solemn Oath, you are hereby demoted to the rank of Sargeant Major. If you wish to appeal your demotion, I will be expecting a ten-thousand word argument, along with a file denoting the completion of a task with a high level classification, you will have that at my desk come later on. If there are no further objections, dismissed."

Celestia dismissed us on those words, leaving Solemn Oath to stand in place and have her silver armor stripped from her body. She was immediately sent to the barracks to wear the standard issue gilded gold armor. I was ultimately split on what I watched. Yeah, she was a total bitch to me and I kinda reveled in the fact that she got what she deserved. But another part of me ached, twenty years of climbing out of the crab bucket, only to get thrown back in, it's gotta hurt.

Celestia yanked on my shirt as she tilted her head at me. "I'm not done with you. You know you were to not use your magic in public."

"I'm sorry, I had to put a stop to it because she was blasting me. It's not like when I was going against Prince Shining Armor. I was prepared then, I wasn't expecting a fight last night."

Celestia sighed dejectedly. "You know she's going to hold that against you out of spite."

"Yeah." I admitted. "I also know that you left it open for her to get her rank back."

"I figured you could use the extra help on your journey to Corrotto. Maybe she'll prove to be of some use, and her staying busy in that line of work will keep her under surveillance."

"It could, but that's only if she's willing to work with me."

Celestia smirked. "Now I'll actually get to see where she really stands. If she's willing to put aside her pride, she just might start to play nice."

"And if she doesn't?" I asked.

"Then she's got thirty-six months to shed her Ice-Queen reputation."

Sometime later, I managed to go through some security footage, which Celestia managed to pawn off to some of the others as essential work, all while somehow omitting the information about the cameras and sensors. Wouldn't you know it, some others had their complaints about my being stashed away in my room. And that was fine by me, as long as Celestia backed my methods. It's not like I have a damn camera set up in her bathroom or bedroom.

I feel she would either find that problematic or provocative.

Went through at least twelve hours of footage to see if anything had been amiss. So far nothing that stood out with the exception that I might have found a few spots the younger guards and maids would use as a secret rendezvous, and boy did I catch enough footage to make a small amateur porn flick.

What I also caught was the footage of Solemn Oath taking that long walk of shame through the barracks after having her officer uniform confiscated. She appeared despondent, just going through the motions. All the pride she once had in standing up to me, that was long gone. Instead, there was a mare in her late thirties standing in the enlisted armory, getting refitted for her golden armor. Once that was finished, she put on her armor and quietly walked out of the room. Along her walk, she found a small corner in the castle garden that would be hidden by normal means. And there was where she started breaking down.

I can only imagine. You try so hard to climb the ranks, only to have some new guy leapfrog you in less than a week. Then you antagonize said guy, he gets you demoted. I know under most circumstances, it takes two years to get a promotion, it takes even longer to gain the trust of your subordinates. But she's obviously gained the trust of quite a few to get where she was, or she was probably just working the ladder. Most of her friends from the bar were non-commanding officers, so it'd make sense that she'd get the officer's position if all three of them vouched for her promotion. Yeah, they have to be real friends to pull something like that.

I wonder how she managed to gain the whole ice-queen rep.

About six hours of having footage digested, I had gotten real tired of looking at my phone. I decided it was time for me to check in on the quartet of friends, just to see if they were being supportive in any way. They had to be, I mean they dragged her out the bar without so much of a mumbling word.

It didn't take me long to track them down. I managed to get over to the Halls of History, a stained window museum in the shape of a lengthy hallway leading to the castle's chapel. The four stood in front of window depicting the defeat of Nightmare Moon by the hooves of Princess Celestia. The other three seemed to be quite invested in their friend, while Solemn weighed the heaviness of her heart.

"It's okay, Solemn." Gleaming Brass assured the downtrodden mare. "We'll vouch for you when the time comes."

"Yeah. You took on the system and got this far ahead of the curve! Keep fighting!" Cobalt Blue pleaded.

"You're a great guard, and a great leader. You don't always have to appeal to the masses, just do your job and make sure the others perform to standard. You'll be back in no time." Dress Right proudly stated.

As I was quietly approaching, pretending as if I was about to pass right by them. The three glanced over to see me approaching. All three fell silent, watching me as I walked past. As I passed, I found the stares of three protective mares ensuring that I'd continue on without a single word spoken.

Unfortunately, I wasn't one to listen to their logic. "Evening, ladies."

The group of four saluted me, they refused to speak in return.

I addressed the other three to start off. "Ladies, I want to commend you on your cooperation from last night. Even though you didn't have to, you helped your friends stay out of trouble. That's a damn good trait to have as a member of the guard, you look out for your own. And on my end, I apologize for any of the violence that may have been portrayed to you. I did not want to have a physical encounter, so I tried my best to avert it. It wasn't successful, and I could've showed a little more restraint. That was my mistake."

They didn't buy what I was trying to sell them. They were still rallied around their friend. So I offered some direct words to Solemn instead.

"As for you, it's been kinda rough. I'm not going to pretend what was said and done didn't upset me to a significant degree, because it did. But I can't ignore that you're upset with that happened today."

Solemn jumped at the opportunity to defend herself. "I'm not some weak mare who cries whenever something doesn't go my way! So with all due respect, just leave it alone!"

I closed my eyes and went for a more direct approach. "Okay. I'll concede that. But I don't want you to have to wait three years for the chance of a promotion you might not ever get. So... I may have a compromise in store."

The other three built a wall between me and Solemn, coming to her defense. "Sir, Sargeant Major Solemn Oath has expressed her desire to be left alone. She is unable to perform the function you are requesting of her for the time being." Cobalt Blue expressed lividly.

"Please sir, reconsider the timing." Gleaming Brass suggested.

"Failure to comply will result in our sending in an unjustified harassment report. It would be wise to end this conversation immediately." Dress Right said firmly.

As figured, all three were rolling pretty hard for Solemn, probably with the expectation that I'd mock her demotion. It's a fair assessment, as many who didn't like her had adamantly sought to make a joke at her expense. God knows she's probably been dealing with it from the upper brass all day.

"I'll take my leave, but not without a final word in." I said in the midst of an about face. "Sargeant Major Solemn Oath, Celestia made it apparently clear that you can get your rank back whenever you so choose. Got a lot of writing to do, and a bit of work. I'm only here to relay that info to you. It's up to you whether or not you'll take this opportunity to renew your reputation, or if you would rather grind the ranks for another three years. Either is fine, no pressure."

I started walking away, slowly to start off in seeing if she would say anything at all. But instead of her speaking, it was Cobalt who called out to me. "Wait!" I turned around to see the mare trotting over to me. "You said she could get her rank back. How soon are you talking?"

"A month." I replied.

"That's impossible. You're asking her to find some top-secret assignment and complete a ten-thousand word apology in the matter of a month? That's unreasonable." She argued.

"It's funny that I find it believable that your friend can do it, while you cannot." I said with confidence. "If she's a guard true to her loyalty, she'll find a way."

"You're bluffing!" Dress Right loudly projected, pointing a hoof at me.

I just shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe, maybe I'm just inept and don't know what I'm talking about. Maybe I have steel wool in my ears or some shit, possibly took the princess' ruling out of context. But hey, I'd rather take a chance out of a wild hare's ass than live in the monotony of the motions." I glanced over to Solemn before walking off. "It's something to consider."

Solemn appeared upset with my offer, galloping from behind the line of her friends and darted over to confront me before I left. I couldn't help but to roll my eyes. "Your magic, where did it come from and what's it for?"

I walked past her saying only three words. "Classified. Top secret."

The Next Day...

After a long and arduous session of sitting through more cams, I decided to take a lunch break. On my way out, I saw that the guards were running a few drill just outside of the checkpoint. Seeing as many of them were dressed up in mail armor instead of the usual gold hinted me on the idea that they were just newly graduated. Memories of my time of being called rook and newbie, regardless of how that was only a good six months ago, played through my brain. I was already looking at the shenanigans we were going to run into, a few pranks on some of the other guards, stuff you'd usually see on videos about the military barracks after boot camp. Funnily enough, those were much simpler times... relatively speaking.

My jog down memory lane was briefly interrupted by my phone vibrating. I pulled it out to see that Rarity had left me a voice message. She seemed to have trouble texting, so she sends me voice messages as a way to mitigate that. "Darling, I know you're a bit busy with your work and all, but I was wondering if you would be willing to have a moment with me later on. I know we didn't finish our last fitting session and I wanted to show you the new wares you've commissioned. Get with me soon. Mwah, toodles!"

I shot her a message filled with demon emojis, also telling her I was on my way down. It didn't take her very long to respond.

"You are such a devil, dear. But no funny stuff today, I'm afraid. Sweetie's staying upstairs this afternoon and I have my mother coming by to visit later on. Perhaps I could ticket you with a more desirable circumstance. Perhaps you could meet with me in your apartment within say... thirty minutes?" She came back a few seconds later with another message. "Your apartment in your world, I mean. I'm sure I would love to be able to scream one out... that is, if you could make me."

I sent her a voice reply back to show my enthusiasm. "Say less. I'll be there in five." On that note, I turned right on around and started marching the opposite direction of where I was originally headed. If my lunch break was going to be spent on some much-needed stress relief, I'm not saying no.

But along the way, I had a certain mare posted against the wall, waiting for me to walk by. I didn't stop as she started marching up to my side. "Brief me."

Somewhere in my mind, I was internally saying 'The nerve you have just walking up to me like you're entitled for shit.' But I remembered that Celestia had this set up as a way for us to cooperate. Still, her attitude wasn't much to show for an adjustment. "Why?" I asked.

"You said I'd get my position back if I write the essay and work an assignment. You're working a classified assignment. Brief me."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't have a briefing to give you." I stated with a firm tone.

"And why not!?"

"Because I came to you yesterday, didn't take the offer then. You let your friends do all the talking, and they almost talked me out of relaying that information to you. So I guess your friends do have a point, and it's that I should disassociate myself from you for the time being, until you can coordinate your thoughts and come up with your own solution."

The mare trotted a little faster, running in front of me and moving backwards as she faced me. "Well my solution is for you to fix what you've broken. I worked hard for my position, twenty years of blood, sweat, and tears. I'll be damned if you take it away and dangle it in my face like some cheap prostitute."

"Hey, you said it, not me." I quietly joked to myself.

"So you're going to brief me on this assignment, so that I can play my part, we can resolve this, and I can get my position back." She said before she backed herself into a door.

I politely moved her out of the way. "You're too clumsy to use." She quickly wormed her way behind me before the door could close to the portal room.

MOTION DETECTED: PORTAL ROOM

"What in Equestria was that?" The annoying mare questioned.

"Classified, top secret." I replied before activating the portal to Mel's apartment.

PORTAL 2

The mare looked around, trying to understand what was going on. "So is the room talking now? Is this part of your world's technology?"

"Classified, top secret." I said before slipping through the portal.

While I walked into the apartment, I could still smell the odor that was left from the unwanted birthday gift Umbra sent my way. What used to be a place filled with my best friend's ramblings and laughter was reduced to an eerily quiet apartment unit.

"So you're just going to ignore me!?"

"Ah!" I jumped in hearing the voice behind me, using my magic to quickly summon a Glock 45. I turned around and pointed my weapon at the source, almost about to find Solemn's head in the cross hairs. "Jesus fucking Christ! I could've ended you there. The fuck you doing here!?"

She didn't seem to care that she had just voluntarily committed to a breach. "Well I'm getting intel. Guess you'll have to brief me now."

I removed the clip and unchambered the round that was lying in wait. While the bullet landed on the carpet, I quickly reloaded it into the supply clip to not waste ammo. "You do realize I could've killed you in cold blood because you crossed over, right? Like it hasn't occurred to you that no one else aside from me would hear it? You'd simply disappear from Equestria and I can say that you got hit by a car and died as a result? Animal care would have to come pick you up, tote you right on out of here, and your family would never get the body back. You realize that could've been it for you?"

"Well I'm not dead. So guess you'll have to brief me now that I'm here." She said before getting distracted by the decor and lights. "This place is different, it's tall."

"Of course it's different, you're in the human world."

The mare's eyes widened as she continued to look around. "No. Way. I'm in the land of humans?"

"Yes. Welcome. Now get out." I urged, trying to push her back through the portal. She spun out of my grasp and started running towards the master bathroom. She immediately noticed the bed and bathroom.

"This bed is way bigger than Celestia's! Do you have a permit for this!?"

I angrily reached out to her. "This isn't my apartment!"

"So you have a portal set up in someone else's living quarters?" She questioned as if I was in the wrong. "A direct route to the bedroom, no less." She glanced around the place and noticed some feminine articles of clothing sitting in a hamper, namely a previously worn skirt and some panties. "A female's room? You're absolutely pathetic and perverted."

"My best friend lives here."

"And does she know about your coming through her portal and watching her sleep at night?" She joked.

"She requested the portal to be moved here since my run-in with an assassin who nearly took my life. She was my medic. Now get the fuck out before you get hit by a car traveling at twelve-hundred feet per second."

She thoroughly disregarded my warning, running into the hallway. As soon as she opened the door, the smell had begun to register to her senses. "Ugh! What died in here!?"

I then used my magic and pressed her against a wall, reaching up to my eye level. "You are in violation of a breach law in place to protect Equestrians from harm and danger. What the hell is the malfunction in your goddamn brain that you can't seem to process the simple order of 'Go back to your world?' Do I have to say it in Spanish?"

She glanced around, seeing the disturbed living room and some crime scene tape. "So this is the top secret thing you're trying to do, huh? Disposing life in your best friend's apartment?"

"It wasn't a business until about five minutes ago." I said, holding the gun up to her chin. "I pull this trigger, it will take approximately .5 seconds before your brain ceases to function. Your career, your life, your thoughts, all of that will end. I am giving you a FINAL. Warning. Go back. Do not explore, do not get distracted, do not speak of anything here or what we've discussed. Failure to comply will result in your immediate termination. Have. I. Made. Myself. Clear?"

Her horn started to softly glow, indicating that she was about to use her magic. I responded by loading the gun and chambering the round I relieved from earlier.

"Magic cast requires one second or more to manifest for temporary damage. This is an instant, permanent sleeping spell with a side of your brains painting the wall. Try me."

We stared at each other before she inevitably disabled her magic and conceded. "Fine. Your world, your rules."

As soon as we crossed over, I had her stay in the room for a brief discussion. She seemed unwilling to listen outside of the fact that she was forced to do so.

"Your actions today was absolutely unacceptable, and I know you just got reprimanded. The fact that you not only breached the portal, but also refused to initially comply with my orders has already gotten you on the shit list. I can't even tell Celestia that I would be willing to work with you because you don't seem to follow simple fucking orders. I give you an order, you follow it, bottom fucking line. You disobeyed me off the rip, and I actively tested you to see if you would catch the hint. The manner of your approach is so blatant, you couldn't even pass as an informant. You still act on your own selfish agenda, disobeying a command. You disregarded your own safety by trying to resort to violence as a negotiating point when you're already outclassed. You know what you are right now, you're dead."

She appeared angry, but as my explanation went along, her expressions softened to remorse.

"You're not even dead-dead. No, you're a trophy for some asshole to plug his dick into while you bleed out, and then he sends your head to your mother as a warning. Don't worry about the rest of you, they'll still be using that as leverage while they stuff you in any way they see fit, wherever they can fit in. That's why I have to see a fucking therapist now! You have no fucking idea on what you're doing or how your actions hurt others who depend on you. THAT is why Celestia demoted you so harshly."

She muttered in a low voice. "Sorry." She said, halfway meaning it.

"No. You're only sorry cause it cost you your rank." I replied as I made my way back over to the portal. "You have fun trying to play nice for the next three years for the off chance you'd retire as a goddamn officer. I really fucking hope you appreciate your own decisions. I hope the sex was great, cause you really fucked yourself. You fucked with the wrong one, now you bear that shit to term like a goddamn teen mom who got ran-up on by the whole football team. And guess what, no one ain't gonna be there for you because you refuse to learn some fucking responsibility or even a modicum of restraint. Every one of your so-called friends will be in your corner, up until you bitch enough and they see you as a negative influence, in turn leaving you alone. You'll forever be clamping on 'what could've been' while they move on to what's to come. People call you ice queen, no one calls you approachable, you keep to a script instead of actively trying to be a better person, and you think you'll get your position back in three years!? Hell no! You're wasting your time! The safest bet for you now is to accept where you are and retire. I'm at least fifteen years younger than you and I can tell you need to fucking grow up! FUCKING PATHETIC!"

That moment, I could glimpse past her and see a few heads poking in from the door, all paying witness to how I chewed out the demoted guard. Solemn seemed shrunken, her ears folded back, her head hung low, and her tail coiled around her body. She didn't look at me directly like she did on Sunday, she instead averted her eyes from my presence. Meanwhile, I was huffing over the rant I had just finished. I pulled out my phone to look at the time, seeing I was already beyond thirty minutes distracted. I gritted my teeth and clicked my tongue at the mare.

"A waste of my goddamn time." I disappeared through the portal, leaving behind Solemn Oath.

When I crossed back over, the smell of the long-removed corpse had made me even more infuriated. I stormed through the apartment, walked out the door, and sprinted off my anger to get over to my apartment. When I arrived, I opened the door and started looking around to see if anything had changed since I was last here. Once I verified nothing had been done, I carried on to my bedroom to find Rarity sitting patiently on my bed. As soon as I came in the room, she knew there was something off about me. I didn't even try to bother her with it, only going over to my phone and placing it on airplane mode. I sat down in my computer chair and opened a tab to search for methods of stress relief.

Rarity quietly tapped me on the shoulder. "Darling, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing." I replied flatly, not trying to involve her in the situation.

She walked over to my side, looking up to me. "Oh come on now, you know I don't like you moping around."

I just shook my head, running my hands through my hair. "It's... it's just stuff on the job."

Rarity turned me away from my monitor, mainly towards her so she could put her forehead on mine. "Dear, the job is always hard. I don't expect there to be an easy day for you. But I don't want you to let that get you down. Now tell me what's been getting to you."

I took a deep breath and started to explain my situation. "It's a subordinate. She doesn't know her limits."

"She?" Rarity questioned curiously, tilting her head.

"Oh no, we hate each other's guts. That's for certain." I replied.

Rarity seemed surprised that the cause for my attitude was because of a mare being unpleasant towards me. "Oh. Why?"

"She's mad about her getting demoted." I briefly explained.

"Why did she get demoted?" She inquired.

"She started an altercation with me at a bar on Sunday night."

Rarity groaned with displeasure. "Well that's on her then, should've known not to take it too far with you. It's completely her own fault."

"Yeah, I know. But the catch is that Celestia is willing to give her back the rank she lost if she worked with me on the assignment."

Rarity appeared skeptical of my response. "You mean your Canterrot assignment?"

"Yeah."

Rarity groaned with uncertainty. "Do you think she'll last?"

"She'll last an hour, or for however long they'll keep her alive." I answered to my best estimation.

"That's rough."

I sighed as I stood up from the chair. "She doesn't listen. She just kept telling me to brief her while I was trying to tell her to hold off. Everything that came out of her mouth was pretty much the same shit. Rank this, rank that, I want my rank back. Just nonstop for a good twenty minutes and some change. She even followed me through the goddamn portal, all to get me to brief her. Any potential for blackmail, she was looking for it just so she could get briefed. That's why I wasn't here in the time I wanted to be."

"So you say that she followed you through, to here in this world?" Rarity asked, appearing flabbergasted.

"I mean just rummaging through Mel's apartment like she was gonna find the big scoop on me. I had to literally hold a gun to her head to get her to leave. I shouldn't have to threaten her life to make her leave some place she had no business being." I then plopped myself on my bed, taking the moment to finally relax.

Rarity approached me from the side. "You sound like you had a rough going."

"This was just a little over half an hour ago."

"Look at me." Rarity demanded, using her magic to tilt my head over to her. "You're angry, frustrated, and stressed. Tell me what you want right now."

"I just want to not be an asshole. I'm just tired of running rampant and getting shit thrown in my face. That's what I really want."

Rarity kissed me on my forehead, nuzzling me with a smile. "Do you want lunch? I could make you a quick little something from what you have here."

"My kitchen's kinda tall for you." I informed her.

Rarity snickered as she planted her nose against mine. "It doesn't have to be if you turn me into a human, you know."

"I don't know, Rarity." I said as I started to sit up. "You ponies can be a bit clumsy when you transform."

The seamstress didn't seem to take any offense to my remark, but she did actively refute my statement. "Remember, darling. You gave me a whole day to practice."

"Yeah, but I didn't give you hints and tips on how to work the stuff in the kitchen."

"Well, turn me into a human and I'll get started." She answered, completely undeterred.

"You're going to be naked." I warned her.

"That's pretty much the going rate, darling. Ponies don't usually wear clothes, so it shouldn't be a bother. Now I can understand the caution if there were others present, like your brothers and friends. But since it's only you, I don't mind being a distraction."

"You being a human might trigger a few things in me." I warned as I raised my hand.

"I guess you'll be having to deal with all of that pent-up aggression with poor little-old, vulnerable me." She replied as she casually extended her hooves to me. With a brief flutter of her hooves, she hummed at me to cast the spell.

I closed my eyes and summoned my magic to transform her from a pony into a human. Once again, I was greeted with her fair skin and supple features. She rose from the floor and stood up on her own, amazingly. Everything was almost perfect in the way she stood up to reveal her features, all but her extending a balled-up hand to me. I kindly walked to her and unfurled her hand and wrist. In doing so, I began to feel just how easily my fingers sank into the palm of her hands, how soft her fingers were to my touch. Her hands were moist and slender, very tantalizing. Her eyes were shimmering while they locked on me. She placed her opened hand to my cheek, feeling the cold that filled them. "You know, you're right. You are a distraction."

She turned herself around, backing into me with a devilish smirk. She looked back at me, knowingly throwing her hips back into mine. She took her free hand and pulled against the back of my inner thigh. "Well you can follow this distraction to the kitchen and tell me what I need to use and how. Maybe you could use the down time between tasks to teach me a thing or two on more... sensitive subjects."

My hand trailed downward, sliding onto her stomach and further down to stop short of reaching between her thighs. "Like how you standing naked in my room isn't already a dangerous proposition?"

Rarity bit her lip, collapsing against me just slightly enough to avoid my fingers from reaching inward. It was as if she took the knowledge from our previous interactions and countered my approach. "So..." Her hand started to glow, popping off my belt and unzipping the pants she designed for me. The hand she used to grab me had wandered upward, sneaking under my boxers to give them the space to slowly fall from my hips. The cold touch she had sent shivers up my abdomen as she finally reached the prize she sought. "Stuff like this is dangerous?"

I planted my hand at the center of her back, bending her over while I guided myself inside of her. She let out an airy but silent gasp. Looking down, I watched with primal enjoyment in seeing myself sink within her body. "Yeah. I think I know what I want."

"Well you better get it then." She playfully mewled.

My lunch break was a little longer than I would've normally took. But I chalked it to being an emergency development. Of course the only emergency was that I was too busy teaching Rarity about how to stay standing while I was giving my impromptu lesson on the subject of human procreation. She seemed a bit uncertain of the curriculum, but in time she became quite pleased with the results of today's lesson. It was the first time I actually took a lead in showing her what I'd like instead of her being the guide.

My human interest was already long established out of instinct, but drastically reawakened by the contact we shared. It was a good way to teach her how to use her fingers in such sensitive ways. The grasp of her hand wasn't strong enough to assert any form of dominance over me, but her fingers were sublime in other ways. The virgin softness of her palms served to the purpose of many release. The difference in our temperatures was more than obvious, it was a perfect dichotomy of my raging warmth in conflict with her mellow, cool touch. The sounds of her lips parting with my own, the taste of her tongue against mine, the feel of her tiny frame being lifted by my rough hands had imprinted many wonderful memories, memories I figure will go unforgotten.

I realized also that I have a particular switch. The sight of her posterior grinding against me was a welcome one, but the idea that she had in using her thighs to keep my hunger sated for as long as possible was a welcoming enterprise. It was always the sensation of being just close enough to get my fill of her, to feel the damp warmth of her sunken place, but far enough to where she couldn't satiate her own desire entirely. It was so enticing that I had to take it slow, pacing myself for a better chance of climbing past my original index, a point I never knew could be reached.

I had to be careful of this, treat it as a reward for a long day of hard work.

When I got back to the castle, I was completely refreshed and energized. It was almost as if the argument from earlier hadn't even took place. The only thing my mind was on was the idea of what I would do later this evening. But even then, my mind began to wander over to the cool touch of her hands. It was a feeling that no video would be able to replicate, not even my imagination was spared from being spoiled by that moment.

My day was pretty much me looking through my phone at security footage. Again, nothing of interest took place. So I finally reached the dinner hour and had my conversation with the other royals about my day. I even had to go into detail about the situation that occurred earlier with Solemn, but I decided to be merciful on the matter and not pursue any punishment for her crossing over, citing that my lecture may have been enough for the time being. I did warn them that if she were to come for me again, I would actively pursue a report of demerit.

At last, the hour was approaching for my usual leave from the castle to the train station. Instead of following up on the schedule, I took a moment to think about myself and the situation I was in. I had my phone already on Kalimba's message thread. I had initially thought about calling her, but I felt that it would've been easier to text the message instead. Why waste time doing that when I could just relay the message to her and have her not prepare for a venture tonight. So I went ahead and messaged her that she would not have to come to Canterlot tonight.

I would not be visiting Corrotto until Friday.

It wasn't just my being mentally drained, it was more of me needing to evaluate my circumstances a little better and come up with a series of plans to counter any scenarios that Umbra would send my way. If his rules were any indication of what I would be facing, I had to be more prepared for danger. If anything, I had to be a little more cautious. The security cams and sensors were just the tip of the iceberg. Now I had to put together a contingency plan if something were to happen, like another portal breach.

I started planning out potential locations where my parents could go to vacation for a week. Places like Cancun, Kingston, even locations like Miami and Los Angeles were running through my mind. Flying there would be the best bet in terms of speed, but a cruise seemed to be a little easier to keep them preoccupied, and it keeps them from canceling their vacation at a moment's notice. As long as I moved quickly, I could get them boarded safely and ship them out without any further conflicts. Since I had no approximation of an address for my brothers, they're in the clear.

My phone had started going off. I looked down to see it was Kalimba giving me a call. I promptly answered her. "Hello?"

"Yes, I am contacting you to let you know dat I am here in Canterlot."

I immediately jumped up. "What!? What do you mean you're already here!?"

"I thought dat you had a schedule to keep. So I tried to come a little bit earlier den usual."

I gave an exasperated sigh, jumping from my seat and grabbing a weapon and my keys. "That's nice and all, but I didn't tell you to come up here. Usually I tell you if I'm gonna need you to get on the train. How long have you been here?"

"I was here for at least an hour. I am over in de old shack."

I groaned loudly as I set my room's alarm for stay, hoping to get a much louder alarm should anyone find their way inside. "Kalimba, I know you mean well, but I'm not coming over there tonight."

"Ah, you silly boy, why do you not tell me? If it was earlier, den here I would not be! What is wrong dat you would hide, is it a deep fear dat you have inside?"

"It's nothing about that. I just need the time to recuperate from my day, it's been long, I had to cuss somebody out, and I didn't want to have to carry that into tonight."

"To me, it sounds like you are on de run. Do not tell me dat you are like dis till de rising of de sun."

I tried to expand on my thoughts a little to help her understand where I was coming from. "Kalimba, look. My family and friends is in this now. I gotta be twice as careful than I usually am because I know they've breached the portal once before, and that was to hit up my best friend. I can't let that happen again. I had to already swap their locations to keep them from being victims of something else they'd try to throw together. And it's not like I can just write a damn letter to these people and tell them that their son or daughter died for this, these are human lives I'm solely responsible for. If anything happens to them, I will never be able to return to Equestria. Period."

"And why is dat?" She asked.

"Because a body disappearing under my watch? That's a whole manslaughter charge, I will be locked away for years in my world. And it's not like I can just cover up the fact that these people disappeared from their lives. I'm already playing a huge fucking risk by doing what I've done already. Any more than that, I can't do it." I had to take a moment to stand against the wall, taking in the idea of possibly burying my friends if all goes wrong. "Kalimba, I know you haven't had friends in your life, nor have you had a family keep you and love you for a good amount of time. But I want you to know what's at risk for me. Imagine if we had known each other for years and you'd suddenly have to bury me. How would that make you feel?"

Kalimba came up with what could've been the worst answer. "I knew Prod for years. Dat did not change de fact dat I took his life."

I then changed my approach. "Okay, look at it like this. If you had the chance to protect your mother and keep her alive, would you have made the same decisions as I am making today?"

"I know dat you look out for your friends. Dey are nice ponies. But I also know dey cannot stay longer den dey need to. You must understand, if you do not move now, he moves regardless of you."

I frustratingly paced in circles. "Kalimba, he can't know everything about me, not off of one kiss. He can guess what I'm doing next, but he can't possibly guess what the fuck I did last night. He's not acting like it. If anything, my friends would already be in it deep if he could read my mind right now. That's why I arranged everything the way I did so that I could have virtually no association with them. I don't know where they are and what they're doing, or even what they look like. I don't want to know for the eventual case this fucker pulls a fast one on me and tries to get me again. You heard his rules, he's gonna change shit up if he feels I'm comfortable with where I am. I don't want that. I want him to know that I'm very uncomfortable."

Kalimba paused for a moment and answered me. "So you are showing your discomfort by not attending tonight?"

"I have to play it slow now. The chips are all-in. I can't play my bluff like I want to, not with his deck. I've got to be careful. If I walk in like nothing's wrong, he's gonna play off of that. I need to show how genuinely afraid I am. I get time to work off of that. So whatever move he makes next, it has to involve my friends." I further explained. "At the very least, I know he will actively seek you out. That's why I had you move to someplace else and not tell me where."

Another pause occurred between us, at least until Kalimba spoke again. "Den I must leave here and see you. De last train has already left by now. I cannot leave until dawn. I will need a place to sleep tonight."

Already thinking off the top of my head, I knew I couldn't go back to the same hotel we went to last night. I had to leave no discernible patterns. "...We'll come up with a place. I've got the money for it. You get out of there, and make sure you aren't followed."

"Dat is easier said than done, I shall inform you on what my status has become." She replied.

"Bun-N-Barrel. Meet me inside the bar. From there, we'll work on our potential pursuers."

***Point Of Perspective:Equus Nondis***

Before I met up with her, I decided to take a venture and check out some mid-grade hotels. Once I found a good spot that was open with a well-lit foyer, I walked in to make my reservation. They told me that they had a room available on the fifth floor, I took that and told them that I would be ready to come by in thirty minutes, but I also made a quick request to check the room. When I got in, I took the chance to send Kalimba a message, telling her how to leave the bar and what alley to take to what street. She would leave at the next opportunity her phone buzzed.

I got to the outside of the bar, sent the text, and set up my position as a fake homeless pony. I kept my head low, my eyes pointed towards the door she walked out of, and watched carefully as a pair of stallions watched from the outside doorstep. She continued on as if she was completely oblivious to what was taking place. Her followers took the bait and waited until she reached the alleyway I was in. That was when they left their positions and shadowed her from a considerable distance. when she walked past me, I checked on if she would turn to the right or left. The left was where we needed to go, the right was a distraction. She moved to the right, prompting the two stallions to hang back and wait for a bit before advancing.

They peaked their heads from around the corner, seeing Kalimba move to yet another alleyway, this one being a dead end. When they noticed which alley she went into, they almost sprang at the opportunity to close her escape. That was when I made my move, tracking the both of them until they finally confronted her. She turned around, feigning her surprise as the two stallions walked up to her with giggles. "Well well, look what we have here."

"Poor lady doesn't seem to know where she's headed."

Kalimba played the role of victim, backing herself away from the two. "I am sorry, I am only looking for my way home."

The stallions didn't stop their approach. "You say you wanna go home? But the night's too young."

The other reached his foreleg around her shoulder. "You know, we don't like to see such a pretty young lady such as yourself out in this dry air. You look thirsty."

I noticed that one of them, being a unicorn, used their magic to pull out a bottle of water, assuredly laced with a sleeping agent. "I know a night out can be taxing, but sometimes your best course of action is to stay hydrated."

Kalimba quietly watched me approach them from behind. She then replied. "I suppose I could use a drink."

The stallion continued to hold the bottle in his possession, unscrewing the cap and introducing the liquid to her lips. "Drink up, I know you're pretty tired."

She took a mouthful and quickly pulled one of the guys into a forceful kiss. I was caught off guard by her impromptu tactic, as was he. He unwittingly swallowed to stop himself from suffocating. The other guy didn't appreciate her quick-witted maneuver, offering to strike her in the back of the head with a hoof. But instead of landing the blow, he found himself stopped by my magic. He immediately turned around and saw me running at him with a hoof cocked back and launched into the side of his head. One blow was all it took to bring him to a bumbling mess. Kalimba spat the remnants of the drink from her mouth and wiped her lips clean.

The other guy was still coughing for a bit, I guess some went down the wrong pipe. Kalimba nodded back at me and walked onward. I started to follow her until I heard a sound. I turned back to see the stallion grasping at his throat, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, his body convulsing as he reached out for me to help him. I then realized it wasn't just some water going down his windpipe. In seconds, he was left violently twitching as his ears ran red on the inside. After a little more than ten seconds, he stopped. Unmoved, unresponsive, unaccounted for.

I ran back to tag down Kalimba, she appeared to be in a much better state than the other guy. She proudly spat out more of the contents that was inside of her mouth. "De one I kissed, what of him?"

"Dead. You knew?" I asked.

"I am familiar with de method." She replied.

"Are you okay, do I need to take you to a doctor?" I asked her cautiously.

She shook her head. "Cyanide is not fatal if you take in small dosages infrequently. A sip would leave you alive, but you would be very sick. I took enough in my mouth only to deal him a death sentence."

"Gotta wash your mouth out." I noted.

"Prod always complained dat I was a spitter instead of a swallow." She joked at her own expense.

"For good reason." I noted.

She walked beside me, her flank rubbing against mine. "Swallowing is only reserved for special clients."

My eyebrows jumped as she used her magic to push me along. "And what special clients are we talking about?"

She smirked as she dragged me along. "Silly boys who help save my life. It's a start."

We quickly got back to the hotel. When we got in the room, the first place she went to was the bathroom to rinse her mouth out. I pulled out my phone to check the time, only a few minutes before midnight. I noticed that I had a message from Alex, telling me that he had found me some night vision goggles at a flea market out in Round Rock. Before I could answer him, Kalimba had politely levitated my phone from my possession, pushed me onto the bed, and made me coddle her closely.

She didn't seem to have any reason for desiring this, no stress or worry. But she was asking all the same for me to pet her head again. And yet again, a wash of calm came over her. She was quiet, docile, and relatively small. Kalimba snickered, the first time I actually heard her laugh. "You laughing, that's a new trick."

Kalimba peeked back at me. "Dere is a lot of tricks you do not know. I am more surprised with your being a suitor dat you were shown very little."

"You know, being a suitor doesn't necessarily mean that I'm some sort of sex god." I answered with a dismissive scoff. "Hell, you know it's illegal for them to have sex outside of marriage. So what's my being good at it gonna do for them?

"Hmm... Dis is apparently de same one who has illegally mated with de young princess." She replied. "And to know dat your tongue has even known de taste of Celestia herself. Any word of dat little detail gets out, and mares will be tripping you to sit on your face like a commode."

"That treatment ain't available to everybody." I muttered.

"Den who would you offer it to?" She asked.

"A gentleman never kiss and tell." I replied with a smirk.

Kalimba's horn started glowing again, she quickly turned herself around and faced me. Remembering what happened earlier, I instinctively backed away. She was initially surprised at my reaction, but smiled in realizing why I did it. "I washed my mouth out from earlier, remember?"

I looked off to the side. "Okay... I should─"

She interrupted me, placing a hoof on my muzzle. "You should not worry too much about dis. I am not in any desire to attach myself to you."

I looked back to her. "So, what do you call this? Me and you being here, what we're doing right now, like what is this?"

She inched herself closer. "It is simply my wanting to finish off what we started."

"When did we start this?" I asked.

The zebracorn tapped me on my muzzle. "Ah, you silly boy. I am finishing what I wanted to have and what you did not get to have. I have been taught to never leave an engagement unresolved."

I looked to her with disbelief. "You know, after being a sex slave for however many years, I would think that you would grow to hate it, especially with all you've done."

Kalimba looked off again, frowning as she spoke. "I got tired of being treated like a rat. Dey would toy with me like I was a lab subject. Never a question of how did I feel, just 'do dis and make me feel good'. Play my role, and no one gets hurt. If I was good, I was lucky to get tossed away for de night. If I failed..."

"They would hurt you." I concluded.

She shook her head. "...Dey would also take it out on somepony else."

I quietly separated myself from her. "What all did they do?"

"Many bad things, I don't want to get into it." She didn't like the idea of breaking off from me, throwing her head into my chest. "Some days I just want to feel closeness." Kalimba said as she wrapped her forelegs around me. "Being in dat world, it's always cold and distant. But I still remember de days when my mudda was alive, how warm my fuddah was when he held me. It was as I told you, how he did it when I was younger."

"But didn't your father sell you off?" I reminded her.

"Yes. And I still know dat he is to blame for my strife. Even now, I cannot bring myself to try and seek what has happened to him. I only assume dat he is dead." She breathed heavily into my chest, taking in my scent. "But it's a different feeling from hating all stallions for what you feel has been so many, what all they have done to you. Many mares I have shared an experience with are like dat, who have had broken homes, fuddahs who touch dem in de darkness of de night, some even raping dem. Others had bruddahs, cousins, uncles, teachers, even doctors who laid hooves on deir bodies. And yet, for all de evil he is responsible for, my fuddah never once had his hoof wander in lust over me."

"You accept that?" I questioned her.

"I know it is a low bar. But I cannot deny de comfort of knowing I was sooner sold off, den being a victim of my own fuddah."

"I can't help but to think, it doesn't make sense to me." I replied.

"If you had a fuddah who loved you, held you, and comforted you, come back later to betray all dat he has given to you by seeing you as a tool for his own desire, den what love is dere in dat?"

"He sold you for drugs." I reiterated. "I can't see how that's any better."

"It isn't, not in any way. But I still feel dat he would never had gone down dat path if my muddah had never passed away." She confessed. "He was depressed, he missed my muddah, and I cannot say dat he did not try at first. He just fell into a dark place. And I just happened to fall with him."

I couldn't help but to inwardly shake my head. "Kalimba, a father selling you for drugs isn't love. Love is finding a way to overcome those impulses."

"You do not know how an addiction can change a pony, how dey can have a different personality."

"I do." I replied, muttering quietly. "...I was heavy into drugs after a fight with my best friend." She pulled away, looking to me with genuine shock. "I smoked, none of the hard stuff, but I could easily get back into it. I did a bit of shrooms, some ecstasy, acid, anti-depressants for curtailing thoughts of suicide, yeah... I might even had masturbated more than necessary to distract myself. And with the way I was acting, I could've fallen to way worse. Hell, at one point, I actually took some of that shit all at once while trying to preemptively celebrate my birthday. The result, I drove my car off a bridge and damn near killed myself. If fate didn't pull some miracle out for me, I would've just simply died instead of being summoned to this world. So yeah, I know how it changes you."

She then questioned me. "Were you really addicted to all of that?"

"I was addicted to being a part of the crowd, trying to pose as this awesome dude who was down for it all. I was bullied for being too quiet coming up, I was the awkward guy who stood with his back to the wall at the party, I had dreams of being one of the sexual powerhouses my brothers were. I was addicted to not being myself, trying to be someone else. And I was willing to try anything."

She placed a hoof on my chin, questioning me. "So who do you think you are now?"

"It's not what I think, it's what I know. And I know I'm still finding myself."

"You know, I believe you are trying your best to be de best you." She hugged me once more, this time with the slight hint of a smile on his lips. "And dat is why I like your warmth. It is only too bad dat I cannot enjoy it for long. You have a much better prize waiting for you."

"I'm still amazed you can still find warmth in this world." I responded.

"With all you have given me, how can I not?" She said, inching closer before turning her head away. "If you could, just for tonight, become something you are not?"

"What's that?"

She tightened her hug, rubbing her head against my chest. I could feel her breath heat my abdomen. "My warmth."

It was a side of her I wasn't exactly used to seeing. While I was permissive for the most part, the distant and often reserved zebracorn had become clingy, needy, and very emphatic about our junction. She was assertive, not unlike what she would normally show in her attitude, but more so in her level of affection. It seemed that she was quietly keeping this side of her personality to herself. Even her nuzzling me was unusually close. It wasn't until she climbed on top of me was when she started to do a little more speaking.

That night, I think we had deepened our friendship, but with the added benefit of knowing each other in depth.

We both woke up in enough time to try and catch the first train. As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw the sight of Kaimba tiredly fluttering her eyes to me. Her hoof was almost fixed to my chest while she yawned. She glanced over to the clock and noticed the time. She hummed only once and got up from the bed, making her way to the bathroom. Meanwhile I had looked down and saw the disturbed sheets, wondering about the mess we made all over them.

Last night was an as much of an adventure into the zebracorn's sexuality as it was her identity. The night was essentially hers, I didn't refuse to give her the illusion of being cared for. Of course, she also understood that the both of us had to hold our development to that point. But it still didn't stop her from taking advantage of every avenue of affection she milked me for. It was a pleasant mix of tender care and carnal bliss. But as all fleeting experiences, they end at the first light of the next day. And as such, she moved to the showers in anticipation of cleaning herself off.

She wasn't one to hold a shower, I've noticed. Even with the luxury of hot water, she didn't waste time in getting ready for the world to see her. She came out with a towel on her head, as quiet and reserved as usual. When I passed, she gave me a single passing glance before going to the nightstand. I jumped in the shower, did what I had to do to get clean, walked out to Kalimba wearing all of her jewelry. I dried myself off and threw the towel over to the night stand. While I walked over to a mirror to see if any part of my appearance was lacking, I saw her out of my peripherals picking up the towel I had tossed aside. She took a quick sniff and looked to it, and then up to me staring back at her.

She tossed the towel behind her as if she was completely innocent of what she did, but I laughed it off anyway.

Our entire walk to the train station was pretty quiet. I think it was the first time she and I legitimately had an after-morning walk. Of course when I mean legitimately, I mean there was no awkward situation to breed some level of discomfort with what we did. There was no my being piss-drunk and having no recollection like the first time, no having to get forced into giving a show on the second. It was just us, completely consensual and to the point. We knew our boundaries and respected them, no strings, just a good time.

I don't think she was very used to the whole idea of seeing her escort the morning after. Hell, I think the only one she's seen the morning after is Prod, and that was before and after he abused her. It even showed in the way she walked, she was clueless on how to initiate a conversation, how to look me in the eye, she didn't even tell me good morning yet. When we got to the train station, she silently stood by, watching me place an order for her ticket. But to our misfortune, the trains were out this morning.

The manager quoted that there was a scheduled maintenance of the truss bridge leading out of the city. They had to make sure that everything was up to code while the new one was under construction. Since it was the one that we nearly took a tumble off of during the second Canterlot changeling invasion, they'll be using steel instead of wood. Though they made sure that the inspection took place every two weeks, I still wasn't a fan of riding that train. In short, there's a maintenance delay with about two hours of down time. All trains coming and going were postponed, that or redirected to Ponyville.

So Kalimba was stranded for a bit. And since my current appearance didn't really allow for me to pull a human favor, I elected to wait things out. I hid off somewhere, sending Shining a text to let him know that I was still away on my late night assignment. He notified me that he would speak with the other officers and have my tardy appearance on castle grounds excused. Once that was finished, I took the zebracorn with me and opted to find some breakfast.

We arrived at a local eatery over on the west end. We jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of low traffic and seated ourselves. Kalimba was nervous over her appearance, namely for her absence of a cutie mark. But I assured her that we wouldn't run into any trouble. Of course, I should've known better than to treat her to a nice breakfast on this end of town, especially where there were a number of comfortably well-off members of society living. The moment we got our food, some teenage mares thought it was a good idea to walk up to our table and announce to the restaurant staff that we were stealing food.

Then when a manager showed up to the table, one of the mares pointed to Kalimba, accusing her of being violent and threatening to sue if she didn't have her meal paid for by the zebra. I calmly informed the manager that I was treating her to a meal. So of course the mares tried to plant the idea that it's somehow my fault that they were assaulted. The other patrons of the establishment said nothing in our defense, so I simply made mention to the manager that I could have the establishment shut down and reviewed for discriminatory practices, citing code and regulations involving the matter.

Long story short, the manager asked the teenage mares to leave the establishment while we continued with our meal.

I left the money on the table, and the two of us left. Even throughout all of that, Kalimba didn't say anything to me or to anyone. Looking at the nearby street clock, we summarized there was still another hour and fifteen minutes before we could head back to the station. I took Kalimba to a nearby boutique, the very same one Rarity opened up recently. We walked in to a mare named Sassy Saddles offering a clearance sale on the princess dress, a line that was modeled by Twilight herself. I declined the offer and pointed to Kalimba.

She tapped her hoof against her chin until an idea came to her mind. She introduced a loose-fitting tropical dress to contrast against Kalimba's shade of gray. It looked nice on her, but the zebracorn had a more subtle taste. She opted for a dark maroon cloak to hide her barren flanks. While I would've liked for her to be in that dress, I had to admit her choice was the more economically friendly one.

We walked a little while, finding ourselves into the Citadel District. From there, she strangely navigated the streets rather well. I suggested one place, she dragged me along for another. She stopped at a nearby playground, one that was filed with young foals running over to their caretakers and parents. Looking at her, I saw the sad nostalgia written all over her face. She stopped watching the young foals and wandered off to another street. I followed after her to see a residential street filled with a number of lofts, many of them bearing family crests. She stopped at one unit, looking at the wooden plaque hanging above the door.

"Figures." That was the first word she said to me today. "De dead cannot claim a home for his own when dere is no other to claim it."

"Home sweet home?" I questioned.

"Bittersweet." She replied, walking off again. "My fuddah and mudda stayed dere, as did I."

As we walked, I glanced around to see the places that had many decorative plaques and numbers wrought next to the doors. The many townhouse units appeared to be especially well-crafted Gothic architecture. "You guys were living the life."

"It was all because of my fuddah. His family was wealthy, but disowned him for choosing my mudda. He still had some wealth when he finally broke from them. He stood for us, and my mudda and I watched from behind him. He used to be so tall. But dat all changed."

"With the death of your mom." I concluded.

"That's pretty much it. De last time I saw dis place was when I was walking with my fuddah. We were... walking to de transaction point."

"Where you were sold?" I questioned.

"My fuddah's face was so bright when he saw de stuff dey gave him. Didn't even care dat his daughter was being dragged away, screaming his name. It didn't take long to find myself in Corrotto. And dat's the end of my happy little life."

"I wouldn't call it the end." I rebutted. "You're still working to make your mother's dream for you come true."

She looked over to me. "Do you not know how to not make me feel things I don't want? I do not wish to feel sadness over what I cannot have."

"You know, I thought this was supposed to be a business partnership." I brought about.

The mare hummed, brushing herself against me. "It is. Dat is why I asked for what happened last night, to know what I am missing out on. But I am fine with being associates."

"Yeah." I replied quietly. I wanted to offer my friendship to her, but remembered how it was being in that same predicament years ago. "...I guess we can keep in touch if you need a favor."

Kalimba froze in place, her eyes widening to a significant degree. When I looked forward to see what she was staring at, all I could feel was the world getting a lot pricklier and greener than usual. After being thrown into a nearby bush, Kalimba jumped in after me and peeked through the branches. I looked up to see a contorted scowl on her face, a look of a murderer planning her next kill.

"Yo, what the hell─"

"Quiet." She ordered, still looking at the street ahead.

I did as she requested and peeked through the bushes to see a unicorn stallion, an older guy with a silver mane and a coat the shade of a subtle cornflower blue. As he walked, he appeared to be looking around frantically. I could only guess that he was probably looking for a store while holding a sizable sack of what appeared to be rubies. It didn't take him too long to find what he was looking for, darting off to the direction of a store with a large diamond ring billboard hanging above the door. He galloped inside, figuratively leaving behind a cloud of dust.

While he disappeared into the store, Kalimba poked her head from within the bushes and scowled. "Another way fate chooses to punish me."

"Who is that guy?" I asked, my own mane full of leaves.

"It is none of your concern." She replied, stepping out of the bushes.

I shadowed her movements, trying to speak with her. "Okay, I wanna say that you might be blowing this out of proportion and I might be wrong for saying it."

"Den don't say anything." She warned, getting closer to the window of the store. She pretended to window shop, hiding behind the mannequins on display. Being that I had no identifiable presence, I was afforded the risk of looking at the window like an unsuspecting window shopper. Looking on the mannequins, I could see an assortment of jewelry, many of which were quite expensive looking. I, who still appeared as unsuspecting, walked into the store and proceeded to browse the selection while keeping an ear tilted towards the front counter.

"What do you mean you've sold out!?" The blue unicorn cried out in grief. "I thought the next shipment was supposed to come in this morning!"

The lady at the counter answered with a soft-spoken voice. "I'm so sorry sir, our shipments on certain items have been postponed due to the incoming freight for the Grand Galloping Gala this Saturday. If you want the requested item in the catalog, I can check with our overseer of inventory in the back."

"Please do!" He answered fanatically.

As he sat at the counter, he seemed to be completely unraveling at the seams. Biting his hoof, glancing around, trotting in place, all of it seemed like he was trying to get something in like his life was depending on it. The mare came back and addressed the panicked stallion. "So we do have one of the items still on display, but it's not the color you requested."

"What color is it?" He asked.

"It's sapphire blue."

"Blue!?" He shrieked, sweat beading off his brow. "Well, blue is closer to green than red, I suppose."

The mare tried to comfort the stallion. "I understand that you're stressed at the home, sir. But we can't afford to have one of our best customers running himself sick. We do appreciate your business, and we will continue to send some brochures over your way on our exclusive club membership sales. So the next time it comes in, just bring in your brochure, and we'll mark it down for half-off."

The stallion groaned as he asked. "So when will that shipment be in?"

"Unfortunately, it will be in by next Wednesday."

"A WEEK!?" He shrieked even louder, almost on the verge of fainting.

"The Grand Galloping Gala is the marquee event here in the city, it'll be filled with the most exclusive of ponies in high society. I'm sorry sir, but our catalog is changing temporarily for that demographic. Perhaps I could interest you in some Gala sales."

The stallion appeared defeated, slinking his head forward. "No thanks, I'll just take the bracelet."

The mare walked from behind the counter, over to one of the mannequins and opened the display case. She grabbed one of the jewels on display and walked back to the counter. "We'll have this shined for you in the next fifteen minutes, sir. Going price of the floor model is forty percent off."

"That's fine." He replied, sunken to a murmur.

The mare walked past me and questioned me. "How may I help you today, sir?"

I walked over to the counter and saw the price tag for some of the items there. Looking down at the sticker price, I was already on the verge of running out of the store. "Oh, I'm just browsing for a future investment."

Her tone completely changed for me, seeing how I wasn't going to immediately purchase something. Her tone went from customer friendly to passive-aggressively condescending. "Well then, I take it you're looking for a more economically feasible price range."

"Sure." I replied.

She lead me over to a corner of the store, each of the jewels looking somewhat flawed in their brilliance. "So I also take it you're looking for a ring?"

"Not exactly, just something small and reasonable." I replied.

Her tone got even more acidic. "I understand sir, everypony goes through hard times." She then guided me to one small section of the store with a series of jewelry without a gem to be seen. Looking at the prices, I was already seeing more of a welcoming sight, but not for the product they had on display. All it was were some friendship bracelets. "This one represents companionship, for that not-so-special somepony in your circle." She took a glance at my appearance and clicked her tongue. "Or perhaps we should look into the unrequited category. Maybe something for self?"

I walked off and made my way back to the main counter, next to the sulking stallion. I then pointed to a bracelet in the display case, one without a price tag. It had a beautiful curling pattern of white gold and a mix of both yellow and orange diamonds. "That one, I'm looking to invest into my future wife, so I'm already setting my sights on that one."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Sir, this is for exclusive membership holders, not window shoppers. And it's on sale for a very limited amount of time. Plus, I don't think you'd be able to afford it. Now if you could please browse elsewhere, you're making my other customers depressed."

I shrugged my shoulders and walked out the store without question. I stepped out to see Kalimba hiding in another bush, she appeared vehemently angry with what I did. She waved me over and urged me to hide. "What are you doing?"

"Just getting a good look at the guy. Yellow eyes, counter clockwise swirl pattern on his horn, his mane isn't as silver as it looks, there's a bit of pepper in it. Seems awfully determined to get a certain bracelet in a certain color. He's bought one off of the front display, but he's not too thrilled about it. Seems particularly wealthy with his membership at this place."

She glanced over to me, not immediately wanting to say anything about the information I presented. Her eyes remained locked on the front entrance. It only took a minute before the stallion walked out with a bag and a depressing frown on his face. Kalimba's eyes remained locked on him. "And dere he goes, living like nothing ever happened."

I had my initial suspicions, but I didn't think on it too much. I instead observed the time, we were another fifteen minutes before the maintenance delay would expire. "Well, I guess that's all we need to see for now. Let's get back to the station. By the time we get back, we'll be getting you on the first train smoking."

Kalimba didn't appear to be interested in my logic, more transfixed on the stallion she saw. "I am more curious now. Do not wait for me." She then stepped out of the bushes and shadowed the stallion from a considerable distance.

I quickly followed her. "Hey, Kalimba. Wait a minute."

Our trail stopped at a rather expensive looking estate, all of it looking quite gothic in it's appearance. Walls of ivy and white stone brick surrounded the property. In front of it was an elderly mare with an azure colored coat and a crossed expression, standing beside her was a young cream-colored blonde-maned filly who was dressed to the nines. As he approached, he appeared squeamish and undesired to speak. Kalimba and I hid across the street. I poked myself on out, looking as if I was going to see what properties were for sale. In the meantime, my ears were tilted to the stallion in question.

The blue unicorn approached the two figures and whimpered. "Hey there, sweetheart."

The elderly mare called him out for his timing. "Gracious, Somber Spiral! You keep us up any longer and little Galleria will be graduating from high school."

The tiny filly pranced in place as she waited for the stallion to place the bags down. When he looked at her, he couldn't help but to glance away. He weakly muttered to her. "Gala, I know how much you wanted the green jade bracelet, and I promised you I would get it."

The little filly reached for the bag repeatedly, up until he placed the bag to the ground. She dove inside, rummaging through the bag until she came to a mahogany-colored case. She opened the case and was immediately displeased with what she saw. "Blue!? You got me blue!?"

The elderly mare shouted at the stallion. "Oh for Faust sake! How could you fail to follow a simple request YET AGAIN! My granddaughter wanted a green bracelet, the last time you gave her a red one, now you give her a blue!"

He bent down to the young filly, placing a hoof on her cheek in apology. "I'm sorry, sweetie. They didn't have anymore greens. All I could find you was the blue one. The other ponies got them all already. Just think of it as a collection. You can have a red one, a blue one, and later on a green one with all your dresses. Maybe even a yellow one to go with your pretty sun dress for your school's Filly Formal."

"But I wanted the green one!" The young filly began to cry.

"Come now." He offered to comfort the young one. "You know how much daddy loves you, if he could buy the whole world for you, he will. Just give it a week, and I'll get you your green one."

"BUT THE FILLY FORMAL IS ON FRIDAY!!!" She cried even more.

The elderly mare picked up the young foal and scowled at the stallion, raining scorn on him. "I am ashamed to have even raised you. You're always a mistake, one after another! Everything about you has been always coming up short! It took you a second wife before your life finally got back on track! You're as useless as ever!" After the scathing bashing of her own son, she continued to comfort her granddaughter. "There there, dear. Let grandma give you a new dress to go with your little bracelet."

"But I wanted the green dress, grandmama." The filly sniffled.

"And the green dress is what you'll get." She said, sweetly booping the young filly on the nose. "Now after that, we can go for some ice cream and your favorite toy shop."

The stallion looked over to the house and bit his hoof in a panic. "Mother please, this week's budget─"

"This is your daughter, is she not? You promised the world to her, now act like a father for once and let the girl get what she wants!"

The duo walked into a carriage drawn by a bulky, yet well dressed teenage colt. The cart then pulled off, leaving a saddened stallion behind. He started to sulk in another direction, namely back into the town square. I finished my feigned house hunting adventure, walking back to Kalimba with the information I gathered. "Okay, he's pretty stressed out by his family. Seems to be a financially stressed guy with a glutton for a daughter and a grandmother who's completely permissive of spoiling the girl. He's probably on his way to downtown, maybe in it for a hard drink."

"Or maybe habits are harder to afford now dat he has some real responsibility. Either way, it's all his own fault." She growled, walking off to shadow the stallion once more.

I held a hoof to her chest. "Hey now, I think we're done here. Train's at the station and you need to get home. It's time to let go of this. You see he's got what was coming to him, he's not happy. Just leave it be."

Kalimba looked at the hoof on her chest and quickly flicked it away. "You do not know how much I am hating de fact dat he is still alive!"

"Lady..." I began, trying to break it down as best as I could. "Your dad's not gonna suffer any more than he already is. I bet he's a damn drink away from pulling the trigger, he's obviously depressed about his life. And it's pretty obvious to me that he's trying to make up for what he did wrong by overcompensating. He knows what he did was wrong, and he's still trying to find within himself where and how he can make that up. But the truth is that he never will, because he can't."

"Dat is exactly why he doesn't need to exist." She replied, pushing past me to shadow the stallion even further.

While I was chasing after Kalimba, she was actively pursuing the stallion as if she was hunting her prey. I could tell somewhere in her mind she had made up with herself over if she would kill him. In fact, I was pretty certain that she was content with the idea of his being dead that she resigned herself. But since she discovered that her father was in good health, she's been vengeful.

It's scary to think that one could hate their own father like this. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised.

"Kalimba, listen to me." I urged, stepping in front of her. "You said it yourself last night, you couldn't bear to look for your father for an update, and you're sitting here hunting him down like a thief at market. I know you hate this man, and I completely agree with the idea that he should be dead and gone for the shit he pulled. But you also said it, if he wasn't on the drugs back then, you would be here, living life on the fringe of high society. He would be spoiling you instead of that kid, you would be just as bratty, and you'd be even happier knowing how much your father loves you. But none of those things happened. He's not dead either, that's also unfair to you. But you can't intercede fate. What's happening with him is his karma, let him experience that."

She walked through me as if I was a ghost. "You don't understand."

I caught up to her, trying to stop her from walking any further. "Then help me understand. I want to help you, as your friend. So I've gotta stop you before you do something you might regret."

Kalimba stopped dead in her tracks, clenching her eyes shut as her jaw trembled. She mumbled in an unsteady voice. "Nondis... my fuddah gave me love. Den he gave me away. Do you not know how confused I am? Do you not know how I feel in seeing him? I am angry. I cannot excuse de fact dat he lives on a straight line while my youth ended de day another stallion put his hooves on me. I screamed for him dat entire night while dat stallion was on top of me. De emotions I feel in seeing him walk after I assumed de worst for him, I held on to dat to cope with my life." She took a deep breath, trying not to let the tears roll on her cheeks. "I only want to know why. Dat is all I ever asked myself, all I ever wanted to say to him in my mind. I felt like my not having an answer was for de best. But now dat I see him, I want to know it. Dat is why..." Her voice finally broke, she strained as best as she could to keep her tears back, shuddering and gritting through her pain. "Dat is why it hurts so fucking much."

I looked over to where the stallion had walked over to, seeing that he had walked into a florist building. He appeared mum on his entry. I glanced back to Kalimba, who was already wiping her eyes, trying to fight her sadness. I sighed and walked her over to a nearby hedge and whispered to her.

"Listen to me. I can't promise you'll get the answer you want to hear or the one that will make you feel within your right to take his life. And I don't know if I can convince you to walk away from this. But I am warning you that you could end this now. You can simply claim him as dead to you while he lives this unfulfilled vein of existence, you could ask him the ultimate question yourself, or you could bypass all of that and be happy with putting a bullet to his brain like you did with Prod. However, each decision comes with the consequence of other things being given to you the way you may not expect them to, or even the way you'd wish for them to be. The decision is yours."

She wiped her freshly brimmed tears, trying in vain to hold more from coming. But before she decided, the stallion approached from the florist with a sizeable bouquet of sunflowers and daisies. He looked back to his saddlebags and nodded to himself. The stallion walked off once more as we remained hidden. Kalimba remained silent as he passed by us, watching the sadness on his face. She didn't holler out for him while she had the chance, she didn't jump out in front of him in a violent manner, she just waited for him to pass.

When he was a considerable distance off, she rose from within the bushes and whispered. "Nondis... I wish to follow my fuddah one last time. Den I will make a decision."

"Are you sure?" I asked. "You may not like what you hear."

She cleared her throat, sniffled, and firmed her resolve. "Yes. I am certain."

Once more, we trailed the stallion through town. Along the way, we started to notice that the towers and taller buildings gradually tapered off. The buildings around grew quieter, shorter, more subtle in their appearance. We had gradually gone uphill, reaching the city cemetery. The stallion walked through it's gates, as did we some moments after. He continued along his walk, passing many a plots of the resting dead before coming to a beautiful snowflake obsidian headstone. His journey had come to an end, he sat himself down, pulled out a rag, a spray bottle, and levitated the dying flowers from the decorative urn at the top of the stone. With care, he cleaned and polished the stone he sat before. After his work, he leaned down and kissed the stone upon the name.

The flowers were laid in the urn, anointing the black and white stone with a splash of bright colors. He began to speak with the deceased. "Good morning, my dear." Silence ensued. He leaned back against the stone and smiled to the heavens. "How long has it been for us, eleven years now?" Again, silence. "I know. You're not talking to me because of what happened. And you have every right to ignore me. Almost makes me wonder why I'm even doing this when you've been gone for eleven years. But of course, I can't bring myself to stop."

Kalimba and I watched in silence, our ears turned to him speaking with the grave stone.

"So... how's little Kalimba doing up there with you?" More silence. "I can understand why she'd be angry with me. I can understand why the both of you would hate me. I do. I just wish I wasn't so weak to become like that. I don't even remember how I fell into it. I just felt like I needed you here with me again. I just started wandering, hoping I could see your smiling face again. But then again, I told you that story a thousand times over."

He pulled out a single flower, a singular orange rose. He kissed it and laid it at the center of the plaque.

"I am so sorry. SO sorry, my dearest filly." He placed his head against the stone, closing his eyes. "What I would do to turn back time. If I could make things right with you, I would. I would buy the sun and moon to have you both back at my side, at least to make things right. I know I was a terrible father the first time, I walked into weakness thinking I could find a cheap shot at being a family in my mind. Some days I wonder if it killed me, could I stay in that moment. But that's life, I guess. We all have to learn to look at our past and face it."

He rose from the grave and looked skyward. "One day, we'll meet again. And I will face my retribution, for both of your sake. Same time next week. I love you both."

I looked over, seeing Kalimba had completely left me behind. While the stallion started to walk off, she approached the grave site. She picked up the solitary rose and stared at it for a moment. While she did, she stared at the name on the tombstone. Her eyes quickly watered as she buckled over, hugging the representation of her mother. I walked from behind, patting a hoof to her back while she struggled with the pain she was feeling. She took the lonesome orange rose and trotted to the path her father walked.

He glanced back to see the zebra mare approaching from behind and moved aside. But instead of walking past him like he expected her to, she turned around and stood in his way. She cast the rose at his hooves and growled at him. He appeared confused. "Ma'am, I'm sorry to be in your way, but this rose was for my deceased daughter. Could you please put it back?"

A mix of emotions had boiled within her, she didn't even take the time to process any of them, just only asking the one question. "Why?"

The stallion blindly replied. "Because it's for my daughter." He picked up the rose and started walking slowly to the grave. "Some ponies nowadays, where's the respect?"

He got back and placed the rose at the center of the stone, where he had first laid it. He bowed his head out of reverence, meanwhile she called the name of who the flower was designated to. "Kalimba Mavembe, de name of de filly who you've sold. Tell me why you sold her."

The stallion looked back to her. "Who are you?" She started to slowly approach him, almost seeming as if she was about to pummel him into the grave her mother slept in. He stepped back, tripping over the decorative headstone. As he lied on the ground, he raised his hooves to defend himself from an oncoming blow. "Please! Leave me alone! I've done nothing to you!"

"LOOK AT ME!" She screamed to the top of her lungs, her voice echoing through the cemetery. He whimpered from behind his forelegs, quietly watching as she stood over him. She levitated the orange rose and placed it against her head, As the flower sat on her head, her tears proceeded to flow freely. "Why... why did you send me away?"

Right at that moment, he moved as if he had seen a ghost. He froze completely, incapable of breathing, reacting, even thinking. She punched him in his stomach to get him to breathe. As he coughed, he denied her with disbelief. "N-no. No, you're dead. Y-yo-you can't be alive."

"You know I thought de same thing when I saw you." She replied angrily. "And den I started to think, how did you get to be so happy while I had to live through hell!? You gave me love, and then gave me away. You gave me a home, and you gave dat away! You helped to give me life, AND YOU TOOK DAT AWAY FROM ME! WHY!? WHYYYYYY!?"

The stallion rose to his hooves, offering to hug his long-lost daughter, but she rejected his advances, stepping back to hug her mother's grave. He reached out for her, uncertain of what to say to her. He looked back and saw me standing in the distance. I just stood quietly, watching as the two raised questions to one another. Kalimba unceremoniously wept over her mother's grave, after not being able to see it for years. The stallion bowed his head and hollered to the young mare. "I'm sorry! Kalimba, I am so sorry! Please, please find a way to forgive me!"

She shook her head, still weeping.

"Whatever you want! It's yours. My wealth, my givings, everything I own. Name it, please! Don't leave my life again!" He bargained, walking closer to the grave stone.

The two looked to the headstone, noticing it was still intact. But upon further inspection, the name plate at the bottom had cracked down the center. Kalimba quickly moved from the damaged stone, only to see a larger crack in the dirt form where she rose from. Without warning, she felt the ground beneath her give way. Her father reached in for her, also crumbling into the grave.

"HEY!" I quickly ran over to the grave that caved in. Looking down, I couldn't see much of anything. I instead used my horn as a light. "Hey! You guys good?"

Kalimba coughed as she fanned away the dust and dirt from her eyes. Her father did the same, but not without shining a light back at me to show me he was okay. "Ugh, I'm gonna feel that later. Yes, I don't think we've broken anything! This damn mountain's a crumbling mess!"

"Kalimba, you good?" I asked to her.

She looked up to me, feeling her horn. "Nothing missing or broken." She started to stand on her hooves before yelping out in pain. "Sprained, yes! Broken, no!"

"Quick, we need to find a splint for Kalimba's leg!" Somber Spiral hollered back up to me.

The mare angrily climbed to all fours, straining through the pain. "Oh no. You do not get to sell me off, den come back to care for me ten years too late."

"Sheesh, as bull headed as your mother, I see. I miss that about Mbira." He replied to his daughter.

"Shut up!" She hollered. "Nondis, get me out of here!"

"Nondis!?" The other stallion called out, much to my chagrin. "Ain't that the captain's name?"

"Kali. Name thing. You're fucking that up for me." I stated with frustration.

"Captain Nondis? You know my daughter!?" He replied.

"Name guys, name. Sniper. Shot."

"Well Sniper Shot your ass down here and get us out!" Kalimba angrily replied.

"Where the hell are we?" Somber Spiral questioned, using his magic to illuminate the hole a little better. In looking around, his jaw fell and he started to become increasingly silent. Kalimba was busy trying to find something to use to get themselves out. I started to try and levitate Somber out before he called back out to me. "Hey, I think you may want to come and look at this."

"What's so special about down there that requires me to not find a way out for you guys, all while putting myself in the same situation?"

"Some of these coffins are open." He replied.

Thinking on my toes, I summoned a long rope and tied it to a nearby grave stone, apologizing in the process, and rappelled down the hole. Once I landed, I summoned a weapon with a flashlight attachment. I pointed my flashlight around and saw a series of caskets opened. I covered my nose and looked into them, seeing signs of their use, but no bodies taking the space.

Kalimba quietly observed as the two of us searched the open caskets. Some were filled with the decaying remains of their inhabitants, others were completely emptied outside of some shreds of rotting flesh. My constitutions had already been challenged by many things, but Somber's was not acquainted with our current practice. He'd vomit before he got the chance to apologize to the rotting inhabitants. Kalimba lit her own horn, looking for anything else that might be out of place.

Looking further, we realized that this place was a rather large cave with a lot of the above plots being just deep enough to not cave through. Kalimba glanced over at one casket in particular. On it's shell was the cutie mark of her departed mother. The father and daughter looked to one another, fearing the worst. Meanwhile I had clenched my jaw shut with uncertainty. "Ugh, there's always a bad omen with disturbing the dead. But Count DuMoneé was way fucking worse."

Somber groaned with disgust. "Ugh, you're telling me. He blackmailed members of my campaign staff."

"Campaign staff?" I questioned.

He gave me a respectful nod. "Perhaps we've not formally met. I'm Senator Somber Spiral, I'm a member of the Equestrian Egalitarian Party. You probably don't get the chance to see who's all in the parliament during your summons. Well I'm one of the guys on the other side of the room who an opposite to the Neo-Traditionalist party."

"What's the difference?" I asked.

"We've been lobbied to commence the efforts of removing archaic laws that have no relevance to today's society, laws that hinder the rights and privileges of all citizens regardless of social class."

Kalimba grunted as she walked beside us. "If I could make a suggestion, can we not talk about dat and talk about where we are?"

I looked down to the coffin that laid closed before us. "Or... maybe we need to make a decision on this one before I call this shit in."

"A decision like what?" Kalimba asked.

"...Your mother."

The two ponies looked towards one another, closing their eyes with a heavy heart. "All of what I've witnessed to today has put me at unease. Captain, if you would please assure us that my wife, her mother, our family is uncompromised."

I frowned in the face and muttered to myself. "You know, I've watched foals die. I think those nightmares are a lot worse than the shit I'm about to get from today."

I used my magic to dust off the coffin from the dirt, slowly opened the casket and nervously peeked inside while holding my breath. All that was inside were the skeletal remains of a pony. I drew a deep sigh and closed the casket. "Forgive me, ma'am. Have a good rest."

"Mbira?" Somber questioned.

"She's at rest." I quietly replied.

The two gave a terrified sigh of relief. Kalimba just cried as she shook her head. "Who would do such cruel things?"

I pursued my lips and answered her question. "The Doctor is in."

Within the hour, the location was swarming with guards, all of whom were tasked with taking the information of the missing bodies. Shining and Blueblood joined me and Somber Spiral. Somber had been questioned by the two on the spot about what all he knew. Once we verified his information, the four of us proceeded to look into the case of the missing bodies. Kalimba was never questioned, I had her moved off site for the time being. Once everything had come to a conclusion, we had tallied a total of seventeen ponies unaccounted for, including two foals.

The four of us stayed behind to talk about it. "Count DuMoneé's surprise, part deaux?" Blueblood questioned.

"Maybe, but you guys aren't related to the bodies we called in as missing." Shining stated, holding a clip board with the list of the victims. "The last time was an adversary of Nondis, found in the human world as a cruel mob gag."

"There was a body found in your world?" Somber inquired.

"Count's." I replied. "And remember, you don't say a peep about this until this situation is thoroughly compartmentalized and dissected."

"Not a word from me, captain." He replied with a salute. "I'm just glad my wife is resting where she belongs."

"I thought you were married to Soiree Serenade." Blueblood interjected.

"First, ain't a serenade to be found for that one. I come home to a headache between her and my mother. If it wasn't for my little girl Gala, our marriage would just be another financial juncture. And second, Mbira is my first wife, the one I legitimately fell in love with."

"How did she pass?" Shining questioned.

"Fell ill and never came out of it. She was always anemic, so I had to take extra care of her after she gave birth. For a while she appeared to be on the up, but then she caught a terrible case of pneumonia. Took her from us at the age of thirty-six."

"Sorry to hear that." Blueblood responded while looking to the coffin of the aforementioned mare. "So you say that the ground just caved in when you were standing here?"

"That's pretty much what happened. I was suddenly reunited with my eldest daughter after ten years of separation, we both gathered at the headstone when the ground fell through."

"Well, we're glad to hear that you've reunited." Shining said with a hopeful tone.

"Well, enough of my marriages. How's your wife, sir prince?" Somber asked Shining.

"She's well, the baby's coming along a little quicker than expected, but she's developing a healthy form. The doctors think she'll be a pegasus like her mother. The wings give it away in the ultrasound. She was originally scheduled for June, but we think she'll come around April at this rate."

"A nine month gestation, it's unheard of." Blueblood noted.

"Actually, nine months is about right." I replied, getting all of their attention. "For us humans, it is nine months. You ponies, it's like eleven. It may be unusual for you, but that's the going rate for us. We hear nine months, that's what we expect."

"In speaking of humans, how's the others?" Shining asked me.

"I don't know. I don't want to know. The less I know, the better. Old dude is already changing the game up, two assassins came for me and Kali last night."

"Kali, my Kalimba?" Somber asked worriedly.

I glanced around, seeing no eavesdroppers. "With all due respect sir, your daughter can fuck up a guy's life. I mean she'll end his fucking bloodline. I trust her with my life." I then pointed to Shining. "Really good guard material, she'll jump the ranks real quick. Street smart, resourceful, tactically equipped, and physically unsuspecting. She says she's sick, but I've watched her move through the flu like she had nothing wrong with her. Damn good candidate for a specialist position."

"Didn't you say you found her in Canterrot?" Blueblood questioned, causing Somber to shriek.

"Some guy named Prod owned her like a slave. I helped her take care of that. Since then, we've been working together."

"Uh, can we not keep my daughter in harm's way?" Somber pleaded shyly.

I turned my head to the older stallion. "Do you really wanna go that route, sir?" I sternly asked him, reminding him of what he did. "I can at least find a few offenses that not only can be proven with hard evidence, but also personal testimony that could put you away for a long time, especially in the eyes of a jury of your peers. You forget, I was here for the whole argument before the grave collapsed. It's not with disrespect that I say this, but you both metaphorically and very literally don't have a ground to stand on in that regard. I'm sorry, but it's far too late for you to be a concerned father. Doesn't mean that you can't be, but you forfeited that right. And now it's a privilege you will have to work with Kalimba to earn. That being said, don't come at me with that request again."

The stallion fell mute shortly after that.

"So here's the deal. The guy we're dubbing as The Doctor, or more infamously through his nickname Ummie, he and I now have a running wager. I live for the next month, all information is ours to use. That means crackdowns in every sector. This is why I made changes to the security detail. Any other changes would break my pattern, and compromise our operation. I have a feeling that these crackdowns would sooner involve him, especially now that there are multiple bodies being reported as missing. We know what they do down there in Rotty, we saw the stunt they pulled in my world, so there's probable cause for an investigation."

"Getting a warrant there is damn near impossible. How the hell do you run that without causing a ruckus like Celestia did on last Friday?" Blueblood asked.

"Better question, is Padrig still in lock-up?"

Both princes looked to one another in silence, not exactly unaware of what I may have in mind. "Definitely." Shining answered.

I started to asses our overarching situation and started to feel some good about it, in spite of the mess I was in. "The others are still hidden, I've still got a feed to the castle, there's an investigation on missing bodies in pending, and we have multiple agents at our disposal. Gentlemen, I think it's time we make our next move."

"Where to start?" Shining questioned.

I turned my head over to my right. "I think we start with our newest friend with some shady history here."

Somber looked around, noticing that all three of us had looked at him. "M-me?" He pointed to himself nervously.

I pointed at him directly. "You're an active member of the parliament, I can use you to draft up a sneaky addition to a bill or two, a la an amendment to Processu Approbatio, hidden in the February budget bill that's due by mid this month."

"Eugh, that law?" Somber gagged.

"I like this guy already." Blueblood quipped.

"You're gonna need a lot more lobbyists." Somber replied. "And not to mention the budget for said lobbyists."

"I've got Friday to settle that. I can even make the move tomorrow. Ensure the paying party is happy, and we're good on the lobbyists. All I have to do is... yeah... that." I said, giving both princes a side-eye glance.

"Make a certain someone's daughter smile." Shining guessed correctly.

I gave him a nod in reply. "I learn from the best."

The Next Day...

After our cleanup, we made our way back to the castle, Kalimba was safe in Ponyville, and I was back in my room locking down a potential mode of approach. Albeit the fact that we had to make a move, there was still a small problem that needed to be addressed to move forward. Only one question burned throughout my mind as I laid in my bed, staring at the ceiling.

Where do we begin?

The moving of the bodies was something else entirely, that investigation would take a least a least two days before we can start digging into the gritty stuff, there's still the requirements for search warrants and the like. But what we needed to do was hit fast and come with something that would at least offer some space to maneuver. I had the pieces in place, but no definite knowledge of how or where to move them. The only thing that came to my mind going into my next round of nightmares was the possibility of speaking with Hermes. At least there I could get a start.

As one would predict after a day in the graveyard, nightmares and recollections of bad memories tormented my dreams, not even Luna could fight them off for me. My psyche had already been damaged because of Umbra's prank, all of that other stuff just compounded it. And much like I had the time to stare into the darkness before dawn, I had the time to call in Hermes for a brief conversation.

After a quick phone call, I phased over to my home world. We met up inside of Mel's apartment, where I'd let him into the awfully cold apartment unit. He walked in, noting the low temperature. "Holy Faust, where's the heat when you need it?"

I simply made the reference to what happened and explained what I was doing. "Well with Count paying us an unexpected surprise, I had to air out the unit so that Mel wouldn't have too many complaints over the smell. I've had the slide door open to her back patio for a while to get some fresh air flowing in. I also cut off the heat to save Mel some money on her rent. They'll ding you pretty hard for high energy use."

"Seems like a fair assessment." He replied, looking over to the side of the room where the gag coffin was laid. Hermes walked over to the area and started glancing at some minor details. "Hmm, I take it this is where they had him."

"Yeah." I confirmed, but pausing before saying anything else. I quietly watched as Hermes bent down and picked up a few strands of hair. "Yeah, that's his mane color alright."

"Ew, you're seriously picking that up?" I questioned somewhat disgusted.

He shrugged as he did so. "I can still wash my hands after this, you know. It's not as if I'm toting around his corpse. Get me a sandwich bag or something."

"You wanna put it in a sandwich bag?" I asked as I made good on his request.

"Trust me." He said as he took the small item I forked over to him. "You wouldn't call me over here if you didn't have any intent to make your next move. I also believe you don't have a clue as to where to start on next."

"That's the thing. I wouldn't know where to begin." I confessed. "It's one thing planning for a fight, it's another to plan for a political skirmish. I'm not exactly savvy to the jargon they use in stuff like this."

"Well the beauty of it is that you can be taught or guided through it, it's not like you're trying to be some pro athlete walking in from a regular 9-to-5 desk job. Anyone can become a politician, not everyone can be a professional athlete. You have the charisma already to have a massive following, you just don't have the moral compass." Hermes said as he handed me the bag.

"What do you mean I don't have the moral compass?" I asked.

"I mean that you don't have the cold nature of putting on a warm smile for the masses while trying to shake an old lady for her life savings." He replied in a deadpan voice.

I pointed to him and nodded. "You know, you have a point. Canterrot's one thing to deal with, I can at least lean back on the fact that I do enjoy the taste of meat. I can't just clean out anyone's bank account. It would be different if it was a gift."

"But have you ever tried to negotiate the amount for that gift? Have you ever pushed for more than what would be needed to cover the costs? What about making a profit off of that?"

"I take it you're going into Count's usual patterns on the campaign trail?"

"That's not his usual pattern. It's everyone's method, the proven method." He answered with a shrug. "Scare the elderly into believing the other side is some radical anarchist movement, show passion for the young voters and lie about their future, pretend to relate to the common workers of the varying demographics. Things like that can get you donations of a smaller size, but it's the perpetual draw of fear that gives you the ability to keep draining from that disposable income of the elderly. If you sell yourself to a suitable donor, 'grease a few palms' is how you humans would say it, you get larger investment groups to sow into your campaign, all while those billionaire investors are certified of their benefits. Rinse and repeat that whole process, and you just bought yourself a seat in the parliament."

I chuckled to myself, thinking of where exactly I was in that whole process. "Wow, I guess I'm pretty close to making the gig then."

"Far from it. Your character is too clean." He replied a little more bluntly. "Where's the corruption, where's the fighting dirty, where's the bootlicking, what corp are you selling yourself to, how many lobbyists and lawyers are in your corner?"

I shook my head, admitting defeat. "Yeah, I don't find myself being that kind of guy. Pulling speeches out of my ass is hard enough. I have enough nightmares with all the bullshit I've done the past two weeks."

"Well you've got the right hoof of Count DuMoneé himself. All you need is his temporary pet and you've got the same pull to make the next move."

I pocketed the bag with the few strands of hair and sat on Mel's couch. "So what are you suggesting?"

He lingered over into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets until he pulled out a can of ground coffee beans. "What I'm suggesting is that you finish off what your brother had started in his representation of you."

"You mean when I was out cold from the Arimaspi assignment?" I questioned. "I know I had a summons and Alex filled in for me."

"That investigation into Count was never concluded, so his case remains in pending. As a result, all income from his day job remain frozen until he clears." He answered, opening the fridge to pull out a jug of milk, only to find out that it had expired a few days ago. "So in the course of that, the officer responsible for signing off on the name list was never punished either. That means that guy and the other guy causing the security breaches could be bought off by someone who's a member of that little social club in Canterrot, the one you're currently in."

"Creamer's in the back of the cupboard." I informed him before carrying on with my thoughts. "So in short, the investigation was never finished, Count never got paid, I guess he couldn't pay his dues, and a coordinated effort from both Alabaster and Umbra locked him down from there. Umbra doesn't get paid, but Alabaster gets the opportunity to watch his father slowly die from mental deterioration."

"You're a brave one to be name-dropping." Hermes muttered under his breath. "So yeah, bring that investigation back to the forefront."

As he started to prep his coffee, Hermes reached over to preemptively grab some sugar. "What's the hair for?" I questioned him.

"DNA evaluation." He replied. "I want you to get Blue Royal tested for a match with the hair I just provided. If you can prove her bloodline, that would make things a lot easier for you."

"How so?"

"Because you won't be investigating Count DuMoneé himself. You'll be investigating his estate." He answered, grabbing a mug from the dish rack near the sink. He quickly poured himself a cup of coffee and applied his creamer and sugar. "His estate is the thing that will remain in pending. Since there is a final source of income to his name that needs to be closed out, concluding the investigation can posthumously pay into his accounts, a mode of probate if you will. That means all debts in his name, all investigations in pending, all accounts, all assets, all financial transactions that were previously locked can be unlocked if you can successfully point the investigation to the Count. And of course, you will with my help. You will need the testimonies of at least two who were present for some of those transactions. I will get on the preemptive and solidify my account of his doings."

"So who else does that leave?" I asked.

"Who other than his temporary pet?" He replied as he stirred his mug and took a sip of his coffee. "Eugh, this creamer is terrible. Who even uses powder for creamer?" His complaints, however, didn't stop him from drinking his coffee. "Of course, you may want to take advantage of your collection of informants. Spike happens to be a solid ringer, I'm sure his disclosure of those files spurred the investigation in the first place. Speak with him, he's the one who made the transfer between the two. He could point him out for you."

"Goddamn, that little bastard is actually of some use to me." I grimaced while shaking my head.

"If I recall some rumors, I do believe you're a fond coffee drinker. Care for a cup?"

"No thanks, I had a cup of Black Ivory once. I can't go back to Folgers anymore."

After our meeting, Hermes went back into his hiding place and I crossed back over to Equestria. The first thing I did was head to the armory, grab my bike, and took a quick trip down to Ponyville. Upon arriving I quickly made my way through to the castle. By the time I arrived, it was around nine in the morning. I walked into Twilight's castle and started my search for Spike.

I started in places where I felt he would probably be, the kitchen starting off. Even if Twilight held to a strict schedule, there was always the off chance Spike would be in there making a lunch for Twilight to take on the go. He wasn't there. Next, I took a visit to the library, hoping that he would be inside helping Twilight and Starlight with some lessons. Instead, it appeared to be empty aside from the portal Sunset uses. The portal was on, but I didn't think it would be appropriate if I had just took a sneak peek, though I was increasingly curious of what I would find over there. I tried the portal room, to see if Twilight had ever changed anything up since my last visit, so far nothing. I locked up the castle on my way out. Perhaps they went to town.

I wandered out of the castle and found myself riding over to the town square. I checked in with Mayor Mare, seeing if Twilight had come by the Town Hall, no luck there. I revved the engine up again to check in on how things were going over at Sugarcube Corner. I walked in to see Mr. and Mrs. Cake steady at work. It seemed they were filling out a number of orders for a large event taking place tomorrow night in Canterlot, no sign of Pinkie though. I rode out to check another location, Rarity's boutique. She was nowhere to be seen, the doors were closed, the lights were out, nobody was home. I made my way on out to Sweet Apple Acres, not really seeing anyone except Granny Smith sitting on her front porch. I asked her if she had seen Applejack and the others, she said that they had gone out to Canterlot for a day out.

That means I just wasted gas riding around town. Awesome.

I drove straight back to Ponyville and bee-lined for the train station. By the time I got there, I checked in with the front desk and asked if the train from Ponyville had come in. No dice, I legitimately beat the train riding to Ponyville, riding around town, and back to Canterlot. I guess that two hour venture got a little delayed. But on cue, the train whistle sounded in the distance, the conductor and his crew assessed the condition of the train, and proceeded to unload the passengers in an orderly fashion.

And just like that, the seven ponies plus Spike had walked out into the terminal with smiling faces and giggly chatter. I couldn't help but to watch the group interact with one another. It was natural to watch them toss back and forth a few comments about some things, a few digs at one another, and even a joke at someone's expense while the others laughed. It was fun to see, but it had me feeling left out.

The past week was nothing but work and more shit to pile on to my growing stash of nightmares. I even missed a counseling appointment dealing with Kalimba and the discovery of her father. Even this past week's method of approach required me to be a bit isolated. And I couldn't help but to remember the times with my own group of friends, my brothers, how we'd talk shit to each other and how we'd laugh at what we did in the past. Being locked in a room looking at cameras did take me away from that life.

But they looked happy without me jumping in. It was almost as if everything about me had interrupted their dynamic with one another. I couldn't bear to inject myself in a place that seemed so natural without my presence. Then again, I had to get Spike to work with me on this. So there was little else for me to do but accept that I was going to be in their business, just to rip their friend away for a moment.

I waited outside of the terminal, trying to look as normal as I could possibly be. But that wasn't a very easy thing to do considering my height, that and the rumors being spread about me. The stares and murmuring had gotten the group of mares' attention. Of course, and always the first one to do it, Pinkie noticed me standing idly by.

"NONNIE!" She screamed with an overtone so piercing that I swear dogs would start howling. I wasn't even half a second reacting to her voice before I found myself damn near about to fall over from the weight of the mare crashing into my chest. Instead, I was pressed into a wall while Pinkie giggled jubilantly. "I am SOOOOOO glad you're here! Did you know we were coming here today? I bet you knew we were coming here today? I bet you missed seeing me, didn't you!? Of course you did, you miss me screaming for you at a pitch so high that dogs would start howling."

Honestly, this bit of interaction was so warming to me. I couldn't help but to hug back. "Hey Pinkie, how's the baked goods?"

"Ugh, busy! Mr. and Mrs. Cake had a catering engagement for the Filly Formal tomorrow night. I was heading up here to check on the space of the place they'll be renting out so I can tell them where to put their stall."

"I'm glad it's going pretty good on you guys' end." I answered with a smile.

Pinkie stopped smiling for a second and clenched her eyes shut. "Oh Non-Non, you're hiding again."

I chuckled to myself. "What do you mean? I'm out here."

Pinkie repeated herself, nuzzling the side of my face. "You're hiding a lot. There's a lot of pain in your smile."

I took a deep breath, not really in a mood to be emotional. "I'm good. You don't need to worry too bad about me. Just a little busy is all, got a lot of security stuff to do throughout the day."

The others followed up and each of them surrounded me with a group hug. "Nondis, it's so good to see you again." Fluttershy said softly.

Rainbow Dash quickly pointed at my face. "Whoa. I know you got work and all, but have you checked yourself in a mirror lately?"

"What's wrong with my face? I think I look fine." I appeared confused, pulling out my phone to look at my face.

Applejack walked up to me and muttered. "Sugarcube, Ah think ya need a mirror."

As soon as my front camera pulled up on screen, I started seeing the look on my face. Immediately I took notice of what they were seeing. As soon as I stopped smiling, I saw exactly what they were looking at. My eyes had a cold glow, a sharpness I never saw in myself. The whites had essentially glowed in contrast to the darkness on my face. My corneas had almost gotten darker in comparison. The slightly darkened circles around my eyes showed a lack of rest. My jaw was tense, without even knowing it, I was actually biting on my tongue. I wasn't exactly clean-shaved, but the stubble was enough to add to the appearance. It was like I was looking at someone who had more than a long day, who could use a stiff drink. And it was only morning.

I laughed at myself. "Wow, I look like shit."

The others didn't laugh with me, just staring at me for a moment. The only one who didn't was Rarity, and she looked away from me. Starlight even walked up to me and said in a somber tone. "Hey, you wanna talk about it?"

I shook my head. "Nah, don't worry too much. I didn't really sleep too well. Just a rough night in dreamland."

Twilight was the next to speak. "Um, if you're not too busy, we could always go get something for you to eat. Did you eat breakfast?"

"I kinda skipped out on that." I confessed. "I actually went to my world for a bit to speak with someone, came back and rode to Ponyville. I heard you guys had taken off on the train, and I came here to beat you to the punch."

Rainbow Dash continued to stare at my face. "You look like life's been beating you."

I smirked in return. "Well sometimes you have to smile back, let em know you're not down for good. Right?"

Rarity walked up to me and scowled at me. "So... you're not sleeping, you're skipping meals, and you're not talking to anypony about anything. Where are your friends?"

"I honestly don't know where they are right now." I answered.

"And you don't want to know." Applejack concluded.

"In all honesty, I just know that they're safe." I looked skyward. "I pray that they are."

Twilight levitated my hand to her cheek. "You say you didn't sleep well, have you been to your therapist?"

I chuckled lightly. "I... I kinda got busy with a little investigation yesterday that I forgot about it. But I should be alri─"

Rarity didn't take my answer as lightly as I tried to play it off to be. "So you're not even seeing your counselor? Nondis, you're locking everypony out, you've isolated yourself from your friends, you're trying to internalize all of this, you're not eating, you're not sleeping. You. Are. Not. Well."

"Nonnie, you're gonna die if you keep going like this." Pinkie added. "Please tell us what's wrong, talk to somepony. Clue us in sometime."

"We shouldn't have to go and ask Kalimba how yer holdin' up." Applejack said firmly. "We only know that yer friends got sent to where they got sent, not so much of why ya sent them there. They're worried about you too, sugar cube. Ya can't keep everypony out when all we're tryin' to do is make sure you're good and walkin'. Now speak up sometime."

"I know the rumors about you are bad, but we all know the real you." Fluttershy argued. "And you know us, you can trust us with whatever you're feeling."

The next thing I felt was a slap on the back of the head, I glanced back to see Rainbow hovering behind me. "You need to stop going at it all by yourself. You've got friends, use us, at least try to tell us what stupid idea you've got turning in those gears of yours. I already told you this, stop going in alone for our sake. Where's your faith in us?"

"I know I'm new here, but I know you're in a dangerous place. Just tell us where you are right now. Please. Don't internalize this. You will only lose more sleep, starve yourself, and work yourself to death. Just keep us in the loop." Starlight said as she glanced around, casting a bubble of silence over our gathering. "Now. Tell us what's got you feeling like you can't take care of yourself."

I watched as the group of ponies, including the small dragon, gathered around me and waited for me to speak. I started to think on what I would say to them, but before I could, a memory of yesterday had flashed before my eyes. Starlight backed herself away as she noticed that I had instinctively covered my mouth. Looking at them, I couldn't help but to remember the sight of the wagon from months ago, the dying ponies reaching out to me, then the empty coffins filled with nothing but the acute stench of decay and death. My stomach churned at the thought of opening the casket of Kalimba's mother, apologizing to the skeletal remains that hid within. Count's decaying face flashed before my eyes.

I quickly bent over, trying to keep it in. But my stomach had already started pushing against my diaphragm. I lurched over and succumbed to my body's response. "Huraaaak!" Nothing much but acid was all I could give. The others watched silently, waiting for me to finish unloading what I had tried to keep to myself for the past day. By the time I had emptied myself, I was staring back at the puddle on the ground, thinking to myself what all had occurred. "...A new investigation opened up yesterday. Or should I say it started on Friday."

"Something that's so bad that you had to puke out your guts?" Rainbow questioned.

I shook my head in honest disbelief. "There are eighteen bodies in the Canterlot Cemetery that have gone missing or have been unofficially reported as displaced, including two young foals. I say unofficially because we haven't gotten word from the master of the mausoleum."

The group gasped, Rarity being the first to respond verbally. "That's absolutely horrid!"

Rainbow swooped down to help me up. "Easy there, big guy. So you can confirm that the bodies are missing for now, right?"

"One of them turned up." I muttered to the rainbow maned mare. "We found it in Mel's apartment, in my world."

"WHAT!?" Twilight screamed. "A body from Canterlot Cemetery was found in YOUR WORLD!?"

"Yeah... Count's."

"You mean that awful, tried to get you and Rainbow killed, tried to manipulate my poor little Spikey-Wikey, the one who sabotaged Twilight's birthday party, THAT one in the same Count DuMoneé?" Rarity questioned loudly.

"Reconfigured skull, glued horn, and all the gimmicks." I replied. "That was targeted to both me and her, a way of saying that they knew how to get around. That's why I had to relocate everyone, why I'm still airing out her apartment, it was why I had to personally check the coffins of every deceased person in the western sector of the cemetery. So forgive me if I skip a meal or two while the rotting smell is still fresh to my brain. Forgive me if I haven't had the time to purge my brain of the guilt I have for digging in people's resting place. Forgive me for missing my therapist appointment because I have to verify a few facts with the managers of the mortuary and the mausoleum. I'm sorry for trying to quarantine all this shit to me, myself, and I, because I know that my friends are soft targets. Forgive me for trying not throw up in front of you, in spite of what I've experienced."

The group of mares lowered their heads in silence while Spike cringed. "Yeah, I don't think I'd be eating anything after all of that."

After a moment of reflection, I refocused myself and steeled my resolve. "So with that said, I am currently investigating the matter of security, more specifically if the castle is compromised by a mole from the association down in Rotty. To do that, I will need to re-instigate the case of Count's little effort to get Rainbow's name on the list to Arimaspi Mountain. If I can close that out, I can find whoever is the drafter of the list and see if they connect to the recent breach of the portal."

"Aren't you the one in charge of the security on castle grounds?" Rainbow questioned. "Shouldn't those breaches be on you then?"

"I've made the schedule known to everyone, even my superiors. The problem is that someone higher up on the ladder went in after me and changed the schedule of certain security details without my consent or knowledge. And because it came from higher up, I can't do a damn thing about it."

"Okay, that's a pretty serious issue." Rainbow replied.

"Exactly. So I'm gonna need the account of someone who worked with Count during that time frame." I stated as I looked to Spike. "Which means... Spike, as much as I can't believe I'm saying this... I need you on my team."

The other ponies parted way for the young dragon to stand alone before me. "Say what now?"

"I need you to help me close this investigation. Single File is already on board." I stated, standing back up to my feet. "If you can help me with this, my friends can be safe, your friends can be safe, the princesses stays safe."

Twilight stood between me and the young drake. "Nondis, I know you're going through a rough time. But if you do something to get Spike involved in this underground mess─"

"This is completely legal work. I have no intent to involve him in anything that is remotely dangerous to his person. All this is is a summons against the parliament. All paperwork and testimonies, no Canterrot business. That's a promise." I assured the purple princess.

Spike looked back at Twilight and grimaced. "Do I really have to do this again?"

"Spike." Rarity walked beside the young drake and spoke sternly. "Now I know you and Nondis aren't exactly on the greatest of terms."

"Especially since you and him are dating." He mumbled with an eye roll.

"That may be, but you still have a lot of work to make up for here." She responded, putting a hoof to his shoulder. "You see he's not at his best, you've just seen a fraction of what he's going through. I think you can say he's suffered enough. So can you please help him this once? For me, dear?"

Spike looked over to see Rarity giving him a set of puppy-dog eyes. And just like that, he broke. He looked to me with a sigh of defeat. "I'm only doing this because Rarity asked me to."

I had to admit if Rarity wasn't here, this would've been a lot harder to do. Thank God she was, or I would've had to beg the little bastard. Still, I hope what he can give to me will help me enough to where I can track down who did the signings. I still have to show my appreciation, in spite of him not really wanting to do it. I knelt down and gave him my best smile. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

The dragon started walking off as he brushed me aside. "Yeesh, stop smiling already. You look like you've got a body hiding in your closet."

I rose to my feet again, pointing down the street. "Before we can get started with you, we need to take a quick trip to the City Hall, there's a member of the City Council I'll need to get a hold of. We're pressed for time today, so we'll need to be there within the next five minutes."

Rainbow Dash scoffed at me. "See that right there, that's an unreasonable time to be at that place if you're not flying. Walking speed is at least half an hour from here. You're not making it there in five minutes on hoof, especially on foot."

I hopped onto my bike and started the ignition, which startled most of everypony, even causing Starlight to drop her bubble of silence spell. Spike looked back to see what I was sitting on. "It takes me under an hour to get to Ponyville, same coming back. This trip is five minutes or less on Main Street. And we're sitting here on Main already."

Rarity levitated the young dragon behind me and winked at him. "Spike, please do consider holding on. It's going to be quite fast."

Rainbow quickly shadowed the fashionista, whispering back at her. "Okay, how fast are we talking?"

I revved the gas and flicked the kick stand. We started to move at a slow speed. Meanwhile Rarity smirked as she looked at the nearest street clock. "And they're gone in five, four, three, two."

I popped the clutch, pulling the front end upwards and kept a solid surge of speed. Spike hollered as he held on for dear life to my sides. We rode at least a full block on a wheelie before I snapped it back down and sped down the open middle lane of the street. Ponies who stood idly by watched as I took another run down the main street of the city, mostly unimpeded. The group of mares just stared in silence while Rarity smirked with the pride of being a previous rider.

Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration. "Seriously, why do the humans always have the coolest shit?"

Our ride came to a smooth stop directly in front of the steps of the Canterlot City Hall. Spike still had his claws dug into my sides while I pulled out my phone and went to my timer app. I stopped the timer and held it up for the dragon to see. He looked at the screen with disbelief. The time I had logged in was actually two minutes, forty-seven seconds going at around fifty miles an hour.

"Five minutes includes us walking through the door, talking to the clerk, and meeting with our guy. Let's get a move on."

Spike slowly removed the claws embedded into my sides. I looked on myself, checking if I had any injuries from his clutching on to me. So far, not a scratch. We walked in, met with the secretary, waited for Alabaster to come visit us at the front desk, and played games on my phone until he showed up. From there we had a quick walk down the hall and had a nice discussion about our plans.

"So you're reopening the case against Count DuMoneé? Isn't he dead?" Alabaster questioned me.

"I'm not pursuing the case against him, I'm pursuing it against his estate. Suing him is about as useful as milking blood from a stone."

"Didn't you say you were doing this because of a security breach at the castle?" Spike jumped in.

"That's the main part of it." I replied.

"That's all good and whatnot, but who's going to represent the estate?" Alabaster questioned. "I can only give you so much help in this."

I rubbed my chin and glanced over to the stallion. "Well... maybe we can discuss this in a more suitable environment. Perhaps the walls are a bit thin here."

"The walls here are solid through and through. Though there are rumored members of the Canterlot elite hiding in places such as these." He replied with a similar rub to his chin. "I suppose an office would be a better option."

"Yours?" I asked.

"Indeed." He replied.

Spike watched as the two of us continued on our walk. The young drake stopped and stared for a second before catching back up with us. While we walked, I started to point things out, just to keep up an unsuspecting conversation. "You know, this place has some really nice architecture. I wonder who the contractor is."

"This place was designed maybe around seventy years ago by a group of stone masons. They took great pride in their work. I want to say that their construction firm is currently based out in Manehattan. Still a marvelous work." He replied.

"Now, what I want to know is who built that brilliant castle of a house you've got on the back end. That place is amazing." I said as we started to approach his office door.

"I believe it was an estate that was built shortly after the merger of Royal Estates Realty and Mountainside Realty Suitors was finalized. After that, my mother moved right on in. It's been our family's home since." He said, opening the door and guiding us inward.

When we stepped inside, Spike noticed the pictures on the walls of the stallion standing next to a number of key members of the Canterlot infrastructure, including a photo of him standing next to a towering Princess Celestia. Spike pointed at the picture of him with the princess. "It's amazing how short she makes everypony seem."

"Yeah, that's always a trait of hers." Alabaster said as he closed the door behind him. He walked over to his desk and took out a small family photo, of course with the image of his father scratched out with ink. "Our family was awfully happy."

"Happy, or miserable on the account of your dad?" I questioned.

"My father, he can rot in hell for all I care." He answered vehemently. "My mother was a beautiful being. My father always complained that she was too homely and plain-looking. He took it out on us almost every day."

"Your dad must be a pretty insecure pony." Spike said with a chuckle.

"Not insecure. Ugly is more like it. He liked everything to go his way. And if it didn't, he'd go to hell and back to make it play out that way." Alabaster replied to the young dragon. "I guess the good thing about all of this is that he stays in hell this time."

"Was your dad really that bad to you?" Spike asked.

Alabaster gritted his teeth in thought. He reached in his drawer to pull out a set of darts. He levitated one of them up to eye level before he took aim for a pin cushion board hanging on the wall behind the young dragon. He flicked a dart using his magic, landing a solid shot at a picture hanging at the center. Spike turned around and jumped at the sight of Count's picture having a sole dart sticking out of his eye socket. "Yeah, he was the same monster you know of, if not worse."

I then took the time to formally introduce the two to one another. "Spike, I would like you to meet Alabaster Charm, member of the City Council, Canterlot Elitist, heir to a fortune, and the son of Count DuMoneé himself."

Spike sheepishly waved to the young stallion. "Uh... hi."

"Alabaster, this is Spike. You've seen him with us when we were doing the magic lesson over at Celestia's school. He's Princess Twilight's number one assistant, Rarity's number two assistant behind her own sister, and briefly the number three to Count's line of legal debauchery." After the brief introduction, I handed the sandwich bag I got from earlier to the young heir. "And this is a sample of your father's DNA."

"The last thing I need is a reminder of him. Why do you bring this to me?" The stallion asked furiously.

"Because I need legal proof. I know you're busy and you can prove your weight. But I'm gonna need some paperwork to back me up on this."

Alabaster sharply replied. "So you're intending to get my sister to represent the estate? Is that what you're cluing me in on?"

"Blue's the best possible choice to represent the estate tomorrow. I need your seal of approval to verify the results. You getting tested would be a bonus." I stated.

"And you'd out my sister as his daughter?" He replied. "You know how Blue feels about our father."

"And I'm sure she would be more than happy to see him get brought down a peg, even if it was posthumously. If anything, you'd be open for the same idea." I rebutted quickly. "This helps me weed out whoever he worked with in the E.U.P. ranks."

"If you wanted that information, you'd look right beside you." Alabaster stated as he kicked his hind legs up on his desk, aiming another dart for his father's eyes. "But I don't think that's the only thing you'd want in all of this."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Alabaster glanced back at me with curiosity. "What, no one's told you of it?"

"No, what do you mean?" I asked.

The stallion chuckled as he landed another solid blow for his father's eyes. "Well if no one told you what could happen if you do that, then maybe I can pull up some political history. I do know that Damper Trot was the ringleader in that new bit of fiscal legislation that was stuffed in the pages between the numerous topics that needed a funding boost before the deadline, something that pertains to Princess Cadance and her unborn foal."

"You're not mistaken. Go on." I said, intrigued by his statement.

"My father authored a bill like that in the case that something like that would happen."

"That seems to be an awful lot of recent history to know about your father's dealings." I said, leaning back against the wall.

He leaned over the desk and quietly switched to a more effeminate tone. "Honey, you've seem to have forgotten my association." The stallion bucked his eyes wide before he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry. As I was saying, please keep THAT in mind."

...Well okay then. I looked over to Spike and questioned him. "Hey, what do you know about Count's night life?"

"I been to Canterrot once." He replied quietly. "We went to some arena while he wanted to talk about getting someone to alter the list of the deployment. That's where he met up with Major General Hard Hoof."

"Major General? Oh that is a good measure above my pay grade." I stated with a curious tone. " So you said he only brought you there once?"

"That means he was trying to find some new help." Alabaster added. "One guy being there for most of his dealings, you know how the club works. Find a good replacement, test the waters. If he's useful, keep him and the other guy until it benefits you to remove them. If not, find a way to get him removed from the picture."

"So you're saying that he was quietly trying to replace Single File with me?" Spike asked the young council member.

"That, and possibly erase his history if need be. All he had to do is make a visit to some ponies, say the word, make a payment, and Single File gets thrown off the side of the mountain for flying lessons. No wings, I'm sure you know how that works out."

"Clean house, eliminate anyone who knows his dealings in Canterrot. Dead can't talk or testify against you." I replied before turning to Spike. "It's a good thing you bailed when you did, even better that you went back to Twilight and the others. Single File is currently in witness protection, there was an active assassin looking to kill him off. I myself damn near got gutted in a Ponyville bathroom for that information."

"You mean these guys are coming after me?" The young dragon questioned, starting to fear for his well being.

"You're what we call in the business a hard target." Alabaster explained. "You're too high of a figure because of your association with Princess Twilight. Always in view, always protected."

"Meanwhile I'm a hard target, but had an assassin come for my ass more than once." I said with a disparaging groan. "It's funny how that works out."

Alabaster pointed over to me. "In speaking of assassins, let's get back to you. To get back on subject, you suing my father's estate would mean that you could enact a few crucial loopholes in the recent expenditure bill signed last month. This means you could open that investigation against the estate, have them further evaluate any documents and policies he sought to implement, bills he authored or co-authored, and even some articles of law that could've been passed with his name on the footnotes."

The world at that moment seemed to have slowed down around me. I could've sworn some imaginary record player had scratched in my ears as I listened to his explanation. My eyes expanded as I turned to the young heir to fortune. "So wait a minute, you're telling me that if I sue you guys, the bullshit they snuck in the spending bill actually gets repealed?"

"Not repealed yet, but it will be suspended. And it will remain inactive until the ruling is passed down, much like his final paycheck being deposited into the estate. Translation: You sue my family tomorrow, that bill goes out the window."

At least for the first time in days, I had a genuine moment where I couldn't help but to smile, I slammed my hands on his desk and asked him. "Deadass, you serious!?"

The stallion chuckled. "You might want to give me a little more space, captain. You know how I am." As I did as he suggested, he went on with his explanation. "Again, you do that, that bill gets suspended. Now since my sister and I are the ones over the estate, we have even more information about the transaction with the assassin that was sent to kill you on your Arimaspi Mountain deployment. This means that if you brought out that charge, with evidence─which we will easily provide, you will not only have that bill unwritten, you will have every last one of his financial transactions for the last six months of his life under review. By default, that voids every bill, spending measure, and amendment with his name to it under Equestrian Code 342 § 86B."

Spike started drumming his claws against his cheek as he thought aloud. "Equestrian Code 342... subsection 86... paragraph B... Oh, you mean the corruption clause implemented in the year 798 C.D.V.."

I craned my head over to the dragon. "Say what now?"

"Twilight took a legal course as one of her electives in her second to last year at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I used to hold the flashcards for her, and she'd triple quiz herself for weeks leading to the final exams."

My jaw dropped as I grumbled to the young drake. "You mean Twilight's been holding that information inside of her for the longest time without even telling me?"

"Kinda hard to remember with your own life on the line while the fate of Equestria rests squarely on your shoulders for the umpteenth time." The dragon snapped back. "I didn't even remember it until he said it."

Alabaster then explained. "It's an old law, but you can tell that many lawmakers would rather you not use that to your advantage. If everyone knew about it, then you could even argue that your deployment would've been nullified the moment it was introduced. You know the reason why, it's standing right next to you."

Even Spike had to facepalm himself. I just shook my head. "Holy fuck these laws are all over the place."

"And that's why I work in City Council instead of a courtroom or the Parliament." Alabaster said with a smirk. "Now of course, this information doesn't usually come free."

"Name your favor." I said quietly. "This is actually huge for us, I can't let this go unpaid."

The stallion scooted towards his desk. "Well, I'll have to tell you when we meet tomorrow night. And I'm sure my sister will have some words with you on what she would want as well if she's going to represent the estate. Again, it'll be for tomorrow. Young dragons shouldn't find himself in a grown person's business."

Oh boy... Something tells me that tomorrow is going to be one of those experiences I would rather not talk about.

The Next Day...

While my sleep wasn't the best, I had to admit that this week had ran past me at lighting speed. Here we were on Friday morning, my mind was relatively clear on my sense of direction, and I forced myself to eat something instead of going a whole two days without food like I just did earlier. The chef made sure that I was filled with enough broth to keep me energized and enough fluids to keep me hydrated. After that, I headed back over to my world and gathered the smell of Mel's apartment. I left the screen door open again to continue airing out the place until I could successfully smell more air freshener than death. Crossing back over, I made a visit to my mailbox, seeing the lab results sitting in the envelopes. I went over those documents to verify the results and made my way to the parliament chamber.

From there, I waited until the floor was open for me to plead my case. Shining Armor, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Prince Blueblood were all present and accounted for. Spike was also present for my presentation. The only one we were waiting on was the representative of the estate, who should've be coming in within the next few minutes. I made sure that all my paperwork was in order and stood by while the session carried on.

Finally, it was my turn.

"The next order of business, a report of grievance summons has been made by Captain Nondis of the Royal Guard against the parliament." Blueblood glanced at me and scoffed. "He states that there was no conclusion of the case against him and the late Senator Count DuMoneé. We hereby open the floor at this time for the presentation of the summons."

Blueblood walked off from the center podium, standing by the presiding princesses. I cleared my throat and enunciated myself to the crowd. "Good morning." Some members of the parliament returned my greeting while others did not. "As you have been made aware, I bring to you a grievance. Sometime in November, I had a case that was brought to my representation, they stood in my defense as there was a summons made against me for my actions during the deployment. I am also aware that there was a subsequent investigation made against late-senator Count DuMoneé. Though the investigation against me has been concluded, I could not help but to notice that the investigation against the then-plaintiff had gone unresolved."

In typical fashion, a representative from the right side of the court loudly rebutted my claim. "Your highness, if I may interject, the conclusion of that case has been resolved and brought to a close. There is no case to be brought against the late senator."

"With all due respect, senator, I have evidence to the contrary of your claim." I replied, turning to the opposing senator. "To continue with my prior statements, I have to inquire as to the finalization of this case. I wish to know when a conclusion was made, what verdict was reached, and what punishment was administered."

Another representative stood up against my case, citing another baseless claim. "Captain, you're chasing a ghost. There are no investigations being made into Senator Count DuMoneé, as he is currently deceased. There is no need to pursue this any further."

Another representative stood in line with his compatriot. "Motion to decline summons on the merit of a non-existent defendant! All in favor, say aye!"

"Vote deferred!" Celestia called out. "Case has not yet been proposed by the plaintiff."

I looked back and nodded in neutral appreciation. "Thank you, your honor." I turned back to the crowd, namely the dissenters who remained standing. "To further explain my purpose, I will need to elaborate further on the findings of an independent investigation. Records show that the bank statements have remained unchanged from the date of November 12th to as recent as yesterday afternoon. The banking account with his direct deposit policy installed was also a joint account with his offspring. Furthermore, that account had shown substantial amounts of withdrawals, as well as the drought of incoming statements."

Another representative stood up and called out. "Captain, I should also explain to you that in the instance of an investigation, all assets and income are to be frozen to thoroughly investigate the dealings of the defendant. This means that all sources of income are withheld until further notice."

One of the prior hecklers chuckled as he hurled a light insult my way. "It appears the captain is legally inept in matters of political proceedings. Perhaps it would be better to enroll him in a civics course." Half the room erupted with a similar response.

I feigned a chuckle of my own. "I see you guys have a sense of humor, at least you're a lot better than Count in that regard." I said before continuing on. "Furthermore, I shall point out to the parliament that the instance of 'further notice' is to apply to the ongoing investigation. However, in the instance that the inquiry reaches a conclusion, all assets are thawed and green-lit for continued use. Assets such as the final paycheck for his employment, have not been thawed. And as such, I believe that the matter should be pursued until the conclusion has been made and the matter closed out indefinitely."

"So you are filing a counter-suit against the defendant for the matter of what exactly?" Finally done with letting his lackeys speak, Damper Trot spoke out in a seemingly neutral tone.

"The matter of the changing of the list, the list of guards that was entrusted to me for the deployment. I am bringing this case against the defendant." The heckler from earlier who tried to push a vote stood up once more, but I quickly interrupted him. "More specifically, since the defendant is not able to speak for himself on this matter, I will bring my case against the estate of the departed Senator Count DuMoneé."

Murmurs and whispers filled the chamber, many on the left side had spoke among one another, a few even tapping each other and pointing to me as if they were watching and waiting for me to pull something else out of my bag of tricks. The silent Damper Trot outwardly acknowledged my request, while inwardly filled with disdain. Another lackey of his hollered out to me. "The estate? Who here represents the estate? His son, his son is dealing with a grieving period and has advised that all matters be deferred to his family lawyer."

That was certainly a lie. I started opening the envelopes filled with the test results, pulling out Alabaster's results. "Then allow me to certify the individuals representing this estate. I currently hold in my hand the birth certificate and DNA confirmation of the son of Count DuMoneé."

"Again, he's not available for comment. You're wasting our time!" The same heckler shouted out.

Admittedly, I was drawing for time here. I needed Blue to be present for me to present the case. And I wasn't going to start asking or answering questions until she was here to represent her father's name. So I continued to eat away at the clock. "The son had expressed his desire to represent the estate, but admitted that his unavailability had placed a moratorium on that endeavor. However, he did send me a more suitable representative for his case." I slowly tinkered with the document, sliding a letter opener between the lips of the envelope.

Same heckler, same swansong. "Here he goes, wasting our time with this! I've seen more entertaining filibusters!"

"I am being cautious as to not damage the sensitive documents contained in this envelope, sir." I lied, slowly slicing the envelope open. I looked over at my phone, tapping the home button to glance at the time. I looked over to see the door opening, Blue had walked into the room wearing a gold visitation pass, also escorted by a pair of guards. I glanced up to see Damper's reaction. It wasn't total disbelief, but he was genuinely surprised that she would be here. I opened the document and raised it slowly into the air. "This, this is a birth certificate and a DNA confirmation of the second offspring of Count DuMoneé."

"OBJECTION!" The usual candidate shouted loudly. "No official records have showed the existence of an heir aside from his only son!"

I also opened up another envelope. "This is further evidence to my claim of a second heir to the family, namely a copy of the finalized will and testament from the family estate, a mare by the name of Amber Grain Royal who was the former wife of Count DuMoneé prior to her death."

Looking up, I could see the highly vocal opposition slowly sit themselves down aside from their primary cheerleader. Meanwhile on the other side of the chamber, there were some giggles and nods made in my direction. I glanced back at the presiding royals, Blueblood appeared unimpressed but was secretly cheering me on.

I started reading off the will. "It says here that beneficiaries of her departure would be her two children named here. One being the confirmed son of the estate, who is unavailable for today."

"Name the son! What is his name!?" The loud heckling senator shouted before being tapped by Damper to sit himself down.

I looked back at the mare who represented her father, she gave me the nod. "The name of the son is Alabaster Charm, a member of the Canterlot City Council. The name of the second heir to the family estate, Blue Royal, CEO and owner of Royal Estates Realty LLC. She will be representing the estate in this case."

The mare walked to the center of the room, in an unusual show, proudly bearing the name of her father on her shoulders. Members on one side were completely flabbergasted, the other side was more in disbelief than anything. Blue spoke out to the chamber. "I am Blue Royal, owner and corporate executive officer of Royal Estates Realty, and second born daughter to the late Senator Count DuMoneé. I alone shall represent the estate of my father."

The cheerleader couldn't help himself and stood right back up. "That's preposterous! How can you represent the estate when he never had a daughter!?"

That was when Damper had enough of his subordinate and personally corrected him. "Yes, that is his daughter." Damper finally stood up and bowed his head to acknowledge the mare. "Ms. Blue Royal, I am pleased to see that you are doing well in spite of the passing of your beloved father some months ago. How are you holding up?"

Blue gave the stallion a bitter glare, possibly out of the disgust of implying that she loved him at any point. "I believe there is some money missing in my account. I am here to close that up, along with this investigation." She turned to me and spoke. "Sir Captain, I understand that you have an issue with my father. But I am here to argue that there is no further need for concern. I will defend my father's innocence." Looking at her, I could tell she wanted to vomit at the thought of that.

I decided it would be better to get this out of the way for her sake, at least for today. "Ma'am, I insist that I'd also pursue another troubling transaction that has occurred in your family's estate. There is verifiable testimony and eye-witness account of your father leaving for Griffonstone to hire an assassin in hopes to eliminate a political adversary. This now calls for a total evaluation of your father's transactions for the six months prior to your father's passing. So I request that all protocols are adhered to in the name of the courts, that all will be known, justice will be done, and we will know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As per the Equestrian Oath of Honor, you will abide by these rules in defending the estate you represent."

Blue nodded her head. "This I swear upon the name of Count Penance DuMoneé, the client whom I represent."

I then turned to the crowd, enunciating to the group of senators and representatives. "With that being said, I'm going to ask that the Parliament adhere to Equestrian Code 342, § 86B."

Some of the lawmakers on one side gawked at me, a few even smiling. Meanwhile many in Damper's camp did not share the same enthusiasm. That was especially to the usual vocal cheerleader of the day. "Equestrian Code 342? That clause is absolutely archaic! What makes you think that anypony still─"

"Law Processu Approbatio is still valid, even after it's initial signing less than a millennium ago. Code 342 was written in 798 C.D.V., which only makes this a little over two hundred years old. My home country's lived for a quarter of the lifetime of the ProApp." I said, directing my eyes to the aforementioned stallion. "If we live by one law, we live by all of them, don't pick and choose which ones to ignore."

Damper nodded with a modest show of him being somewhat impressed. But looking at him gave me an icy cold sensation in my gut. It was because of what he knew about me, and just how easily my own words could come around and cut my own throat if he willed it. I showed no animosity to him for the time being, my focus was on the estate and working the loopholes I was presented with. He, on the other hand, dragged his fellow senator down and spoke up once more. "You will have to forgive him, captain. He's new to the legal process, a fiery intern if anything. In the case of your pursuit of your personal justice, I will have to bring up the fact that you would be willing to undo every expenditure that will be due to your fellow guards on the upcoming week, am I correct?"

I clenched my teeth, following on the very same playbook that Hermes had provided. I looked to Blueblood and then pointed my proverbial sword to the royal family. "I believe that the coffers of the royal family should be more than enough to accommodate the financial needs of the entirety of the E.U.P. budget. If I'm not mistaken, the mountain hosts a number of jewel mines all accredited to the estate of the royal family. This means that we are sitting upon trillions of bits in payouts, enough to sustain the guard for up to three fiscal years."

Blueblood angrily shouted out in response to my statement. "That's absolutely preposterous! The royal family cannot maintain that kind of payout."

Celestia clenched her eyes shut and her horn lit up. "I would rather not have to take that risk. The royal treasury is essentially our country's gold standard. I can negotiate one payment of that, a second would start to put our economy at risk. Keep that in mind." Her voice then began to boom in my head. "You've done your research, I didn't even think to implement that one."

I proudly said to the princess. "One payment for our country's protection, I believe it's worth the gold you're spending. Our guards deserve to get paid for what they do, the sacrifices they make. If you can do it, that will ensure Equestria's future for generations to come."

"Two weeks." Princess Luna stressed firmly. "That is all you have."

I looked over to some of the other members of the parliament. "That means your next spending bill will have to be in by next week, cause that last one is likely to be voided."

"And it will be thoroughly reviewed!" Blueblood interjected. "No more sneaking in fine print between pages."

Damper shrugged his shoulders and conceded defeat for the time being. "That is a fair call. It would be immodest to hold our citizens hostage with a simple misjudgement by one pony in particular. We will work on both sides to come up with a comprehensive spending plan that everyone can benefit from, especially our prestigious guards. It is only a shame that we'd be forced to these measures, but it is for the citizens."

Celestia then spoke loudly. "Very well. The previous spending bill will be suspended until the conclusion of this case, which then will determine if the spending bill shall be nullified or upheld. From there, we shall proceed. I now call the parliament to a recess for lunch." The gavel banged against the counter, the room started to fill with muttering, and I was walking out of the door with a smile on my face the size of Texas.

It's a small win, but we gotta start from somewhere.

Well I know you guys are more than surprised by today's little bombing run. I don't think anyone had anticipated going through 87,071 words of reading. I can only apologize for the individuals who don't exactly have the time to go through it all, and I can understand completely.

This year sucked. I know it sure as hell did for me, and I'm certain you guys had a hell of a run. We went from the possible start of World War III, losing Kobe Bryant, to being thrown in the midst of a pandemic, enduring an economic collapse the likes of the Great Depression, many instances of political division within our own families (if you live in the States), losing our jobs and employment opportunities, losing our loved ones, losing friends along the way, being unable to interact with one another the way we want to, even showing the compassion of hugging one another carries a risk.

Don't get me started about the weather. Australian readers had wildfires off the coasts of their beaches. Some states had snow storms blocking them in their own garages. Earthquakes have stirred our homes. Hurricanes have thrown everything at us. Tornadoes literally picking up our homes and throwing them down the street like we asked for a change of address.

For some, it's not so much of the natural storm, it can be the emotional ones, the ones within our minds. Being separated have made many who are used to the social interaction uncomfortable with their new own home. Some of us lost jobs, in turn losing income.

Many readers overseas may have heard, but we here in the states had a stimulus of $1200 just once this year and our government only thinks we're worth half of that in a second run. A lot of us have made decisions to forgo one bill for the other or rent, in spite of our income not catching up to those things. In many cases around this country, people have been forced to work in hazardous conditions, with reduced wages and hours due to strict mandates. Hospitals are flooded out with patients because our leaders failed to act on time, that or they outright ignored health concerns for the illusion of saving the economy. To this day, many of us have suffered financial bleeding, all while medical costs continue to drain our accounts. And for some, there is no such thing as sick pay.

Then there are the ones who gave what they could and saw that there was no future in themselves. I know I've had a few thoughts like this, some of you have too. Others have ultimately decided that this year was it for them. Suicide has taken it's fair share of victims this year, a lot of them undergoing stress and anxiety over what would come next. A lot of people are scared for their future.

There are marches down the streets for various calls against injustice. For Poland, there's the abortion issue. For Hong Kong, there's still the issue of the people fighting against an oppressive regime. For Saudi Arabia and Iran, it's women's rights. For Israel, it's the rights for the Palestinian people. For Nigeria, the right for a free government and the right to not live in an authoritarian police state. For some, the preservation of a checkered past. For others, the vision of a brighter future. For some groups, they bring attention to civil rights disputes and a lack of liberties that have been ongoing for decades, if not centuries. For others, they seek to preserve the ideals of decades long gone. For all of us, these issues will be there moving forward into next year.

The past two months have begun to grow hope in a lot of people. There's a vaccine out for both strains of the plague. There's some countries who have resolved their violent conflicts with one another. There is even new management set to be installed in some countries looking for change, or notably a return to normalcy. I'm sure there's a good amount of people who are on the outside of this country looking in with a sigh of relief, as well as a watchful eye on our government's affairs. And with that, we also see the new year is upon us. The sun is rising soon, the midnight hour has past, the twilight before the dawn is long overdue.

We can make it, it's not long now.

My family has been struggling with a lot this year, we have been through everything imaginable aside from a loss of our residence. But I assure you that your prayers and well-wishes have been heard. To that, I say thank you.

I know my Christmas ain't exactly cheerful, we ain't got a tree this year, just an urn with my grandfather in it. But that doesn't mean that I can't make myself happy in other ways. In this case, it happens to be dropping all three chapters I had in stock. Hadn't even started the next one yet. This one is actually the one I finished just yesterday. I was originally going to drop the first chapter of this little bombing run last Friday and then drop these two today, but I decided it would've been better in a three-for-one deal. So yeah, we're all caught up to one another... at least until I start typing again.

Hello for now.

Of course, I don't think I can drop another one on you guys in a week, so I guess that makes my quota for the year. 12 chapters in 12 months. All I can say is that we've been going for a while now. Thanks for joining the journey with me again, and thank you for the emotional support. I've read the comments, the inbox, and even the concerns, I'm as much of a fan of the story as you all are. I'm frustrated at some of it, I'm mad at what happens, but I'm satisfied with the results. Truly, I do appreciate every last one of you, including the ones who'll keep asking me when I'll finish.

Can't answer that. Classified: Top Secret. If I end up talking, I'll end up spoiling.

But I do appreciate you for still reading anyhow. See you next year. Try not to catch the Rona. Stay safe, layer up (or stay cool if you're south of the equator). Love your family if you can, but from a distance. And let's keep fighting.