The dry cleaners was open late that evening. Bingo, the chirpy owner of the store hoofed me my uniform, freshly pressed and smelling great. He did a good job here and was the choice for watch ponies for cleaning their uniforms. Reasonably priced too.

“Oh, Mister Fairlight sir ?”, Bingo asked me when I put my hoof on the door to leave, “Your coat and hat are here too”. A little foal appeared through the bead curtain with a huge smile on her face, ”Here you go !” she piped up at me.

I took the parcel and mussed her mane with my hoof, she giggled and ran back through the curtain laughing. “She looks just like you, Bingo. You’re one lucky buck”.

The stallion smiled and fidgeted with his orange mane, “Thank you sir, my wife thinks so too. Please, don’t worry about the hat and coat, your wife has already paid for it.”

Goddesses bless her. “My wife says the repair your wife made to the coat is excellent sir.”

That gave me pause. A memory I’d rather forget surfaced briefly, but with a quick shake of the old Fairlight mane, I pushed it away. Works every time ! I waved to Bingo and his daughter, now stood up on his back, waving happily. “Maybe one day……”, I wondered sadly to myself. Meanwhile, life went on.

My pocket began to vibrate with a low hum, thank Luna there were no ponies around this morning to see that. ‘Discreet’, Easy had assured me. I wished I’d tested the blasted thing first. The alleyway behind the grocers was as handy a place to duck into as any and I nipped round, pulling my collar up. The small device looked like a brass stone with three small crystals embedded in its surface. It was vibrating, loudly, with an insistence that got my back up immediately. I pressed the thing to my ear and hissed into it while looking around me in case some pony was looking, “What ?! For Luna’s sake, no pony is supposed to use this during daylight”.

Just in case, for example, the owner was out in the high street collecting their dry-cleaning.

“Fairlight ?”, the Chiefs voice crackled back over the device. Oh bugger it all, the boss.

“Where are you now ?”

“Near Bingo’s Chief.”, I told him, one eye on the end of the alley.

“Stay there, for Celestia’s sake. I’m sending a carriage round for you now. Meadows safe, she’s with us.”

“Chief ? What do you mean Meadows with ‘us’ ? Whats going on ? Chief !?”

The damned thing was silent and shaking did nothing to bring it back to life. My mind was reeling from what Mitre had said, something was going on and it sounded bad. I took comfort in the fact he had told me Meadow was with him, so whatever else was going on, that was of secondary importance.

I leaned against the brickwork, my heart thundering like a steam train. “Deep breaths Fairlight”, I thought to myself, “deep cleansing breaths.” A moment later I was face down in alley mud, spitting blood from where my teeth had broken through my lip with the impact.

Training kicked in and I rolled, tucking my legs under me before springing up and away from the cream earth pony swinging the bat. His eyes narrowed, I took a fighting stance taught in the watch, senses alert for danger from the front and…..aw, shite…there was another one. Too far to be an immediate threat but they’d be on me any second, I’d have to move fast.

The cream pony swung low. My hind legs propelling me up and over the ponies head, I landed behind him, bringing my hooves up for a skull cracking buck to his jaw. Something shiny flashed passed my eye, but in an instant, I’d pulled up my attacker with my hooves around his neck. There was a dull thud and I felt him shudder, then go slack. Blood and air sprayed out of his nose and mouth, spattering my face and foreleg.

Dropping the unmoving body, I charged at the other pony, magicking out the dagger from his comrades side at the same time. The young magenta mares eyes went wide as her own dagger flew towards her. She was fast, youthful reflexes deflecting the blade with a metal shod foreleg. Another blade whirled into her mouth as I crashed into her. She may have been younger than me, but I was heavier and had the experience advantage. Grappling with her for the knife, the blade bit into my foreleg painfully. A quick knee to her stomach drove the air from her lungs and the knife splashed into the mud.

She managed a kick right into the most sensitive part of any stallion. I cried out in pain, loosening my grip just enough for her to jump away and draw yet another dagger. Pulling myself to my hooves, I looked around for something, anything, to use as a weapon. Luna must have been smiling on me. Spotting the fallen dagger, I levitated it out and close to my side. Magic wasn’t really my speciality unfortunately, but it would be effective enough for close in work.

The mare, barely more than a filly, hesitated when she saw the purple glow of my magic.

“Put the knife down kid”, I growled at her, hoping my intimidating posturing would make her realise her mistake in attacking me. She backed up a step, huffing around the knifes hilt. Celestia, she was still going to do this wasn’t she ? I was right, the young mares leg muscles flexed as she charged at me. I barely had time to dodge her first attack when she fell, sliding several feet on her side along the slick muddy ground . “What the…..?“, I looked back to the alleys entrance to see a large cloaked shape blocking out the light. Oh Luna fuck me, look at the size of him !

The shadowy figure transformed into Chief Mitre as he stepped into the alleyway, “Looks like I got her just in time Captain.” He announced, looking at the fallen earth pony. I noticed the unloaded crossbow he held in his hooves.

Behind me I heard the faint sound of more approaching hoof steps. Goddesses, not another one ! Staring into the shaded space….”Bingo ?”. The orange dry-cleaning shop owner wore a black coat now, but his bright fur was unmistakable. So was the crossbow he drew from its depths.

My legs tensed, but Mitre put a hoof on my shoulder stopping me. Bingo lowered the crossbow, squeezing the release, its bolt slamming into the head of the cream earth pony at his feet. It twitched, legs kicking several times before going still. I thought I was going to throw up.

“Bingo, take care of the rest.”, the chief said in a low voice, “Sanitise”.

The orange pony nodded and began dragging the corpses down the alley as Chief Mitre turned to watch the street.

Moments later a carriage arrived, pulled by none other than the Chiefs own driver. Mitre didn’t wait, opening the door himself and we quickly climbed in. “Fumbles, get us out of here. Don’t spare the horses.”, Mitre said in a voice a lot calmer than I thought the situation deserved. Fumbles knew his job, the carriage shot forward and I was all but flung across the cab. Mitre shoved me back into my seat, “Get a grip of yourself Captain ! What in the name of the Goddess is wrong with you ? Going soft ?”.

“No sir !” I said gathering my composure.

“Good. Listen, I know this must be confusing right now”, What ? Really ?!, “But you are in danger Fairlight. You and Meadow.”. He had my full attention now, flippancy aside, Meadow needed me.

“Situation, Chief ?” I asked.

Mitre gave an approving nod, this felt like one of our many briefings in the watch house. The Chief Officer of the Manehatten Watch, took a deep breath before explaining.

“Firstly, Meadow is in a safe house under guard. She’s unharmed, don’t worry.”

Thanks be to the Goddesses for that.

Mitre continued, “We had a tip off that your ‘investigation’ was never going to make it to court. You have too many friends willing to testify In your favour Fairlight, the judge is also very well connected. Connected, I may add, with certain friends of ours.”

“Ours, sir ?”

He waved a foreleg at me, dismissing my question, “The situation is fluid Captain. We don’t know who our enemies are or who our friends are right now. I need you to be calm and rational while we sort this blasted mess out.”

Mitre rubbed his head with a fore hoof, his eyes tightly closed, “Princess H Celestia, Fairlight. I’ve been doing this job too long, ponies fighting other ponies, whats Equestria coming to ? Sometimes…..sometimes I really miss Pop’s guidance.”

He stared off through the window lost in thought. The last few days events had been a rollercoaster from hell I’d wanted to get off. Meadow, my only respite in the chaos was in danger. In danger because of her ties to me, I couldn’t let her down now. I would protect her and we’d move away from Manehatten, somewhere safe where we could raise a foal together. The memory of Bingo’s daughter laughing and waving to me brought a smile to my face, she was so cute ! If I had a daughter like that, I’d give her everything I had, spend all the time I could find, to raise her as a fine Equestrian lady. Meadow may have some input, sure, but I would be her Dad and this was my fantasy, thank you very much.

Bingo. The orange pony from the dry cleaners, coolly killing a downed pony. The sound of the bolt smashing through his skull. More unwanted memories I’d have to carry with me along with the night at the wharf. I was going to need some serious counselling at some point, either that, or a nice long holiday with my green mare. Hell, why not have both ? A thought came to mind, intruding on my more pleasant ones….Bingo. Who the hell was he ? He wasn’t a watch pony that I’d ever seen but the Chief knew him.

“Chief ?”

“Hmmm….?”, he stirred from his revelry and focussed those world weary eyes on me.

I took a breath, ‘in for bit Fairlight’, I thought, “Chief, just who is Bingo ?”.

Mitre just stared at me, like he was focussed on something on the carriage wall behind my skull, “Bingo. Bingo is……ah ! We’re here….”. The carriage pulled to a halt and the communication hatch slid open.

Fumbles’ purple eyes appeared for a moment then disappeared. “Fumbles, are we here ? Give me a hoof here, the bloody doors stuck.” There was no reply. Mitre stared at me for the shortest of moments, the look conveying more meaning that I wanted right then.

Alarm bells were sounding in the back of my head as the chief pulled out a pair of short-swords and a multi-shot crossbow each from the luggage rack. Suddenly, a pair of cylinders dropped into the compartment through the hatch which snapped shut with a finality that made my heart skip a beat.

“Flash Bugs ! Cover !”, I shouted in warning as the little creatures did what came naturally. I covered my eyes against the flare, but it was still like staring directly into the sun. The blast which followed blew out my ear drums along with both of the carriage doors. Mitre charged out, his crossbow releasing bolt after bolt at….some pony or some thing. My head felt like I’d been hit with a sledgehammer. Pulling myself out of the carriage door, I flicked off the safety and dived out, rolling.

Thank the Goddess for basic training. A bolt clipped my ear and smashed through the open doors glass pane missing me completely. I brought up the crossbow and shot a bolt into the chest of the pony in the tree line who was frantically reloading. These were no watch trained ponies, but they were a threat none the less. I ran for the cover of the trees, leaping over another dead pony, a bolt sticking out of his eye. Mitre’s work.

A hot burning pain bloomed from my side and I felt something tear as I reached the tree line. The cool of the shade and hard cover the trees would offer, gave me a moment to catch my breath and take stock. I was hit, a bolt buried in my flank. I tried to pull the bloodied thing out with my teeth, but it was wedged in there. Fuck it ! Where was the Chief ?

“Little pigs, little pigs, come out come out wherever you are”. A maniacal voice rang through the woods. I waited, putting down the crossbow and took a hard grip on the bolt with my magic.

“Don’t you want to come and play piggies ?”, the voice called, followed by another cackling laugh.

I groaned and huffed, putted all my strength into my horn. With a twist and sharp pull, the damned thing started to come loose. I was panting, but I had to get the bolt free or I’d be no use to any pony.

The bushes parted with a crash and a tan male unicorn appeared, rearing up on his hind legs, “Here you are ! Here you are !”. The insane shouts of the pony attracted another who appeared beside him a moment later, his pupils so widely dilated they were like black holes in his face. “Time to play ?” he shrieked and began pulling a wickedly long knife from his belt.

The tan one wouldn’t be playing with any pony. With a shout of rage and pain, the bolt came free from my flank, gritting my teeth I span it round looking him in the eye, “I think you forgot something, you piece of SHIT !”. I rammed the bolt under his jaw, I felt bone crack and split as it plunged up into his brain. Like a boned fish, he dropped stone dead at his colleagues hooves.

The other pony stared at his fallen companion but…laughed. What in Equestria was it with these guys ? I reached for my crossbow as his blade cleared the scabbard. He was still giggling as the dark blue foreleg snapped his head back and the sword point burst from his throat. Mitre let the pony drop, pulling his weapon free of the downed creature.

“Enemy numbers ?”, he panted.

“Unknown. I took out one in front of the tree line, theres the two here and another dead by the carriage. Four neutralised.”

Mitre nodded, reloading his crossbow, “What are you like for bolts ?”

“I’ve three bolts loaded, plus the four from our friend here.” I gestured down at the pony whose life I’d just ended. Mitre made a quick search of the bodies, uncovering two transparent parcels of white powder. He cut one open with the point of his sword and tasted it with his tongue. “Damn.”, he sighed, “Ryetalin, they’re jacked up on Fizz”.

“Sir ?” I queried.

Mitre motioned me to follow him and quietly began moving through the undergrowth. “Been seeing a lot of cases lately. Brought in by those smugglers using the portals, goes by the name of Fizz on the streets. Comes in initially as packs with the name ‘Ryetalin’ on them. It’s not Equestrian, Captain. Its effects, you’re seeing now first hoof.”

A pony crashed through the undergrowth a few yards in front of us and I put a bolt through its lungs before he had time to scream.

“Come on !” Mitre whispered and we made off uphill through the brush.

A while later we stopped to catch our breath. The Chief and I leaning against a big ash tree, hides steaming with sweat. “Did you see Fumbles ?” he asked me, nostrils flaring with each intake of the cool air.

“No Chief, no sign of him.”

He just nodded, “Got your TED still ?”. I rummaged in my pocket and took the small brass communications device out. Mitre pressed it to his ear, “Blaze….Blaze are you there ?”

“Chief !”, Blazes voice was strained, “The Watch house has been attacked, its those fuckers with the fire weapons. We’ve got ponies down but we’ve held. Agency ponies are here now giving supporting.”

Mitre spat, muttering to himself, “Fucking Agency ponies”. He held the comms device up, “Lieutenant, listen carefully. We’re up near the safehouse. Captain Fairlight and myself have been attacked, looks like an inside job. We need backup, now.”

“Chief, is the Captains wife safe ?”, Blaze asked. I detected a worried note to her voice.

“We’re on our way there now Blaze. Just get your Ponies out here quick !”

There was a muffled noise on the comms device and a different voice emerged. One I remembered all too well. “Chief Mitre ? This is Agent Sweetie, Celestian Bureau of Investigation. Your command has been passed to me, you are to stand down Watch Chief. I repeat, stand down.”

Mitre’s eyes were full of fury and snarled with a wolf like quality I’d never heard, “Do what you damned well please Agent Sweetie, but I….we have to secure the safe house and the Captains wife.”

Agent Sweetie’s voice was its usual monotone self, “Captain Fairlight is to be placed under arrest, Chief Mitre. Agents will be with you shortly to take him into custody. We will remedy the situation with his….wife.”

“There’s no time Sweetie, we need to move NOW !”, he shouted in exasperation.

“Chief Mitre, in the name of Princess Celestia, I order you to stand down !”.

“Agent Sweetie.,,,,?”, Mitres voice was soft and gentle.

“Yes ?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

An unintelligible blast of outrage was cut short by the sound of a scuffle, Blazes voice shouted at us, “We’re heading out Chief, units are diverting, hang on there for the Goddesses sake. ETA thirty minutes !”

A high pitched scream cut through the forest. “Oh Luna ! Meadow !” I shouted and grabbed my crossbow.

Mitre spoke quickly, into the comms unit, the strain telling in his voice, “We don’t have time, Meadows in trouble. Blaze, get your ponies here, we have to move now !”.

There was another scuffle and Blazes voice crackled, “Hang on Chief…..helps coming, just hang on….”, the device went dead.

Brush, brambles and branches ripped and snagged at my coat as I willed myself on. Celestia give me strength, I wasn’t a fast runner but today I felt like the very wind was fighting me. Foam sprayed from my muzzle, my muscles burned, another scream, plaintive on the breeze, but nearer. “I’m coming, Meadow”, I prayed in my mind, “Please, Luna, Celestia, don’t let anything happen to her…..”

The sunlight grew brighter as I drew closer to the edge of the forest, a small log cabin just visible through the undergrowth. I flung myself against a tree, panting, winded…but here. It was torture to not crash straight out into the open and up to the cabin, but if I had, I’d make a lovely target for any pony watching. As it was, I was sure they’d have heard my head long charge through the undergrowth.

I cocked the crossbow and loaded another bolt into place. Watch training kicked in, all other thought now superfluous background noise. Four shots, close range only. Distance to the house, approximately fifty yards. Hostile units…..

Mitre slid up beside me, crossbow at the ready. The big blue buck tapped his hoof to his eyes, ‘how many ?’. I tapped my hoof and circled my knee, ‘six’. Silently, I
continued to observe and sign the tactical information, ‘Two on the roof. One either side of the door. Two patrolling. At least one inside’. I could tell straight away these weren’t watch ponies, what had happened to the assigned guards wouldn’t bear thinking about right now. Now, I had to focus.

Chief Mitre nodded and signed back to me, the message was clear. He would take position and we would move in.

There was a loud crash of pottery breaking from inside the cabin accompanying the sounds of a scuffle. A cry of pain made the hairs on my back stand up, but I couldn’t stop to let the thought of what they were doing to her intrude now. It was time to go to work.