Sultan Neighezid the Second was not a stallion to be trifled with. His people granted him the title “The Saint” for his patience, not his sense of mercy. Or rather, lack thereof. He was a calm, quiet, and intelligent brown stallion with carefully cropped and oiled hair, which meant little with his white turban hiding most of his head and his neck by solid veil, and his white and golden robes obscuring his body, tail included as he sat in his opulent office, glaring at the letter his captain had delivered. His sharp orange eyes made many both fear and respect him not just from his position as ruler of Saddle Arabia, but the fact that behind his calm and peaceful facade, was a dangerous beast that lashed out at any who dared endanger his people, be they criminals, or foreign threats that made even the Goddesses of the Night and Day worry.

According to the letter, one such criminal had sought asylum from the Lunar Goddess' reach in his country, and he could not abide this. At least...normally he could not. His soldier's report states that this fugitive from Equestria, this Avarice, had taken in a blacksmith mare by name of Demir into apprenticeship to learn a new craft of weaponry. What weapon this was, the reports could not grasp as they were completely unknowing of what they were making, just that they tackled the project with great enthusiasm.

Neighezid had initially grit his teeth in anger. This criminal was sly, providing a potential advancement in weaponry, while also keeping a valuable resource close to his chest. Demir was one of the best smiths in Sığınak, and skilled smiths were hard to come by in a land so scarce of resources as Saddle Arabia. Certainly they had mines, glass blowers that were the envy of all the known lands, but they had no natural prey animals for leather, no normal cultivatable land for crops, and only their coastal locations along the west coat had any crops, and still had to fish for food and fertilizer.

No...he would bide his time. Let this criminal teach this smith his methods, and then swoop in and deliver justice as his Goddess demanded. He would deliver this Avarice to the Goddess Luna in shackles, but until then, he'll just do as he always had to run his country. Be patient.

[ $ ]

“Okay now, careful. Casting is a very delicate process....” Konrad said as he stood nearby with a bucket of water ready in case of any spills as Demir took the stone container of molten iron from the big stone smelter with a long set of tongs to the barrel filled with clay which had a circle imprinted deeply in the center. That was actually a clay cast of Konrad's shotgun barrel which was only about 12 inches deep. He'd used the normal barrel for it, figuring he'd just clean the clay residue out later. This was to simplify the process, and introduce Demir to cast forging. While the iron barrel would be heavy, and hard enough that should the shotshells fired be too much it would shatter rather than disperse the pressure, Konrad wasn't sure of the processes to make a tempered metal that perfectly uniform.

Demir had questioned him on this, and he told her he only knew the construction, and components, not the refining method. In exchange for this she'd teach him how to properly temper metal later, but as she was also clueless of how to do that to a hollow cylinder thus far, they'd have to stick to this as the prototype, possibly toy around with alloys to make this style of forging suitable. Their first attempt at making a shotgun was going to be a single-shot top-break design, which although primitive compared to Konrad's exquisite Chiappa, would literally blow most forms of combat out of the water in the current world stage.

Having a portable cannon was going to change things. A lot of things.

Demir carefully poured the glowing liquid metal into the cast until it began to overflow, and then poured the remainder into an ingot cast, before she set the immensely hot stone cup on the sandy ground. “Whew, that was rather tense. I've not used the smelter to go straight to product before. We only ever made ingots with it for working with.”

“Remember to keep an open mind Demir. Creativity is the basis of all crafts.” Konrad stated before approaching and holding the bucket out to her, which she gladly used to cool her hands and splash on her face to help get the heat out. Gog she looked hot when wet. Konrad then looked at the blank crossbow stocks that Demir had sitting off to the side, unrelated to their work. “I just wish lumber wasn't so hard to come by.” Konrad could only retrieve logs that had fallen in nature, as it was unclaimed. As such, any wood he could provide would only really be useful as firewood until dried, which even in the arid desert took a few days to leech out. Still faster and cheaper than bartering with the caravans for lumber from Equestria. The irony, that the lumber bought here likely came from Dock End on occasion.

“Don't worry, the wood we cut a couple days ago should be dry enough.” Demir said with a tilt of her head towards the drying kiln on the side of her shop where planks and beams of wood of varied size was being kept out in the sun on flat shelves to ensure they didn't warp. They needed the wood to make the stock and grip, the screws and hinges and whatnot they'd made yesterday to mount the barrel to the stock and make a functional setup. “Let's head inside for a break. You've been getting better at working bronze Avarice. Soon enough you'll be able to make your shells properly without my help, and you'll be able to adjust them with cold forging in a jiff when you're re-loading.”

“Thanks.” Konrad said with some humble embarrassment as he looked around the place that served as his home the past few days. While the forge and other dangerous things were out in the open sun, the smaller and flammable things were kept inside. Konrad set the bucket down on the counter before feeling nature call. “Pardon, but I need to use the privy.”

“I'll be making lunch.” Demir said as she began preparing the kitchen. He'd told her he can't properly process plant matter, but she insisted he try to enjoy them anyway, that they were still good for him. He didn't doubt that, it just gave him gas and...other unpleasant things.

After answering nature's call, Konrad returned to the center of the house and sat at the table with the buxom mare who'd been learning from him and teaching him in kind. Since they already had the bases covered, they were helping each other out rather well. Another saucy tomato and grain-based meal. Delicious yes, but not fulfilling for his new body. He still ate it to be polite, but she finally got tired of it. “Why don't you take off that mask?”

Konrad looked at her in confusion, only to remember that; yes, his bandana was still on. It was always on. “Um...force of habit? Besides, I'm one ugly mutha Demir. I may be able to change form, but what you see if I take this off is my true face.” He warned her, and she folded her arms over her bountiful chest and narrowed her golden eyes at him, getting him to roll his solid red orbs. “Fine.” Konrad easily yanked the mystically reliable piece of cloth, and Demir blinked in surprise. “Happy? Ugly mandibles and all on display. Want to see me eat?”

“Yes actually. I'm curious how you can even keep food in with a mouth like that.” Demir's words made Konrad blink. How DID his mouth keep food like blood and sauce in? He didn't exactly have lips anymore. So to oblige her, he took a spoonful of pasta and sauce before putting it to his mandibles, which opened, pulled the spoon in, and when he pulled the spoon away it was as clean as if normal lips had eaten from it. “Huh...odd.”

“Yeah...it is. Hold on.” Konrad's body was enveloped in green fire, startling the mare before he reappeared as a ginger haired white and black paint horse stallion with green eyes, a black spot unevenly covering his left eye and most of his snout, and took another taste, his equine ears perking. “Hm...tastes better in a form more suited to the food type.”

{Huh, it seems our body's needs can change according to our form. Impressive, it means we could more easily blend in if we kept fed on plant matter while disguised.}

“Mm, this is really good Demir. Who taught you to...uh...hello?” Konrad asked nervously, seeing the black mare's eyes glazed, cheeks flushed, and mouth open with a bit of drool. “Demir?”

She snapped out of it and wiped the drool off. “N-nothing. Just wasn't expecting that.” 'OH GOSH HE'S HOT!' “Um...can you change the way you look like that? Or is this the only kind of horse form you can take?”

“I can only take one form per species for some reason. That means no changing looks aside from species. This is basically exactly how I'd look if I'd been born a horse here.” Konrad then erupted in flames again, only now he was a foot shorter, his clothes changed size to fit him, and seemed slightly different. “Earth Pony.” Flames. Now he had a horn, and seemed thinner. “Unicorn.” Flames. Now he seemed even shorter, about average height, and he opened black and white patterned wings. “Pegasus.” Flames. This time he was even bigger than all the times before, even bigger than his true form. He was covered in shaggy black and gray fur, two small horns from the sides of his head and he was a rippling mass of muscle under his thick fur. “Buffalo. List goes on, but doing this is tiring me out.”

Konrad again burst into flames and returned to normal. Demir was blinking and trying to get over the radical changes she saw, and that each one was quite attractive by most standards. “I noticed your voice didn't change though.”

“Yeah, can't change it for some reason. It's part of me, something that's constant.” Konrad said before finishing off his meal. As he was about to get up, a knock at the door frame got their attention, and a meek, poor-looking brown stallion with black hair and eyes was the culprit. He looked poor because he was dirty, and he only wore a thong. He was quite well-built, but that was likely from genetics and him staying fit, yet he also seemed to be underfed, some ribs showing along with his light muscle tone.

“H-hello? Is the one called Avarice here?” The stallion asked nervously, and fingered the small bronze pendant hanging from his neck by a cheap leather strap.

“Yes, that would be me. How may I be of service Stranger?” 'Odd, this is the first time someone's asked for me without a warning or threat attached, or not being from a military official of some kind for once.'

{He seeks our services....}

Konrad's posture suddenly straightened, and he quickly put his bandana and hood back on before standing, and approaching the nervous stallion. “Hello, Stranger. What can I provide?”

“Word from the caravans is that you can acquire...anything.” His nervous words brought forth a momentary second of confusion, before Konrad's earlier musings caught up with him.

'Ah, the ponies of Dock End must've chatted the caravan up about me. My reputation is starting to spread.' “That is correct, however, most of my wares are all “gently used” and have no current owner than myself.”

“Oh...then...you wouldn't be able to help me.” He became downcast, but Konrad's eyes flashed brighter, and he grabbed the stallion's shoulder before he could turn to leave.

“Wait, wait...hold on...tell me what you're looking for first, and then we'll go from there.” 'There's an Opportunity here.'

{A very rare one.}

“W-well...I...I need evidence of the Baig's crimes. To bring him to justice.” At this, Demir bolted up from her seat, yanked them into the building, and slammed the door shut.

“Are you insane?!” Demir asked shrilly with a failed attempt at lowering her voice. “The Baig would have you hung for even suggesting anything of the sort!” At her chiding, the stallion wilted even though he was still several inches taller than the tall, busty mare.

“He killed my sister....” This shut them both up, and the stallion seemed about to fall to the floor as he clutched the pendant desperately. “He visited the brothel...demanded both a mare and a stallion for company. Of course, I and my sister were offered up. We...pleasured him, as is our job but...he started choking her. He choked her until she stopped breathing, even when I tried to stop him. But he's so strong, I couldn't...she...!” Demir grabbed his shaking shoulders and dragged him to her table and forced him to sit before she rushed to the kitchen for some water. Meanwhile, Konrad stood there, his claws clenched and his tail twitching.

{Watch it Fawkes. We're only able to be here because we've got an asset close to our chest. We kill a government official, and our safety is gone.}

'Can you seriously think that after hearing this?! That bastard needs to die! He murdered a mare just to get off!'

{And we WILL do something. But for something of this scale, if we want to succeed...we need to make a deal.}

'WHAT?! Look at him! You heard him! He's a prostitute! He doesn't have anything!'

{He has that pendant.}

'What about it? It's just a bronze hammered disk strung with leather for a cheap little trinket.'

{Fool. Look closer.} Konrad did as Avarice said, and looked more intently at it. His eyes widened when he noticed a faint red magical glow resonate between it, and the stallion. {Do you see it? The raw Value it has to him?}

'What are you saying?'

{You'll see. Make a deal. That pendant, for the evidence to bring the Baig to justice.}

'But how? He's got the citizens scared, they can't provide witness, he's corrupt, he's got corrupt soldiers. How?'

{People like that. Sick, twisted individuals that they are, relish each of their sins. They keep a memento. Mark a diary. Do something to remember it later on in life.}

'But that'd be stealing-.'

{Are you really going to object to taking something like that from someone so wretched? When you were so eager to take his life just now?} …. {Thought not.}

“Stranger.” Konrad's sudden voice startled the poor stallion and Demir out of a quiet bit of conversation, as if remembering he was there since he'd gone quiet for a while. “The Baig, did he take something from your sister's corpse?”

“Y-yes...a lock of her hair.” He admitted with venom in his tone, and Konrad chuckled darkly.

“Then what you asked might just be possible. If I find his little collection, and some confirmation of it being him, then if I get that to say...your Sultan...would justice be served?” Konrad's question made them both gape at him in surprise, but then the stallion snarled.

“Yes! Sultan Neighezid II is an honorable stallion! He may be patient, but he is quick to bring justice to criminals. Please, I beg you, I'll give anything. Help me end the Baig's corrupt tyranny.” The stallion slid to the floor, bowing to Konrad...no, to Avarice.

“Anything? Even that pendant of yours?” At Avarice's question, Demir was about to object when he quickly shot a glare at her, and she went silent as her eyes shined a little. This wasn't her deal. She had no say.

“...Must it be my sister's pendant?” He asked nervously. “I mean...it isn't worth much. It is just a cheap little disk of bronze, you have far more than that here already.”

“Yes, it must be. You have nothing else worth a risk this great. If I obtain this proof, and deliver it, and justice is served, that pendant is mine. Deal?” He held out his claw, and the stallion hesitated only a moment, before taking it, their eyes shining red as Avarice helped him to his hooves. “We have entered a Contract. You will have your proof, your justice done, or I gain nothing from this.” He then looked to Demir. “Keep him here. Likely the Baig will be getting over his little high of murder soon and realize he should've killed the brother too. Where's the Baig's home?”

“He is nearly on top of us. A few streets over, right next to the barracks is the Baig's manor. As you can guess, sneaking about is nearly impossible, and day or night the guards are on constant watch. The Baig has a lot of enemies in the city, and the ones around his estate are on his personal payroll.” Demir said, clearly getting the point across that the poor stallion wasn't the only one wanting the Baig gone, considering she knew that much.

“Hm, hm, hm...you'd be surprised how easy it is to fool the senses.”

[ $ ]

'I swear, I have a death wish.' Konrad bemoaned mentally as he skulked about the shadows of the night near the manor. 'She wasn't kidding, there're so many guards I might as well be wearing them as a suit.' Konrad was across the street, atop a roof. He'd already knocked out the sniper that was up here, tied him up in old rope that smelled of the ocean, and dumped him in a pile of hay down below. Konrad could not ignore that he felt like an Assassin right now, only he wasn't here to kill someone in spite of the scoped large crossbow and bolts he'd taken from the sniper. Hey, if he was going rogue and getting into the habit of taking things, he'd better start practicing, even if it left a horrible taste in his mouth.

The scope made sense, since Saddle Arabia was foremost in the field of glass crafts, what with all the sand, and they export telescopes through Equestria for astronomers and nautical navigation. He was quite thankful for the addition as it let him see further and identify the guard's locations, patrol routes and timing. 'Okay...now!' Konrad clutched the ranged weapon to his chest as he ran and jumped clear across the large gap between his building and landed with a muffled clatter thanks to his cleated boots, and got behind a chimney as the sniper atop the roof approached to investigate, his leather-soled boots nearly silent in spite of the hooves they covered.

“I heard something...come on out....” The sniper warned. “Come out or I sound the-.” Konrad didn't think, he whipped his arm around the chimney, took quick aim, and fired the crossbow. The bolt flew true, stabbing into the guard's exposed throat, getting him to drop his own crossbow and gurgle an attempted scream for attention, but he soon fell to the roof clutching his throat, and choked to death on his own blood.

'FUCK! FUCK! I JUST-!'

{Easy. Calm.} Rather than retort, or freak out like he normally would, Konrad felt odd, like before when-. {I'll take it from here. You just come to terms with your actions. You did what you had to kid. Let the emotionless alter-ego take care of the rest.}

'Just...just don't kill anyone else....' Konrad pleaded, and Avarice quickly grabbed the dead guard and his crossbow before tossing them into his coat, never to be seen again.

{No promises.}

Avarice was in the driver's seat, and unlike Konrad who liked to coast the speed limit, Avarice was going to outright floor the gas. The Verdugo looked up at the highest window of the estate, and without preamble ran and leaped across the courtyard. If this had been Equestria, such a move would've been spotted, since pegasi and unicorns require a lot more security measures and wariness. But here, where horses came in only a single species divided only in their sizes and coloration, such a bold move was completely missed by the patrolling guards below.

He landed with a clatter before he quickly opened the window and vanished into the room. “Who's th-?!” The Baig's voice called in the dark, only for a claw to wrap around his snout, muzzling him and a blade went to his throat, making the very large, portly, and strong stallion freeze under his extravagant bed covers.

“Your murder mementos. Where do you keep them? Better yet, I'll just find out. Have a nice nap.” Avarice used his free claw to squeeze near the base of the Baig's neck on his left side. Like if he were human, the sudden cutoff of blood to the brain knocked the stallion out, giving Avarice plenty of time to use more free seawater-logged rope to bind the corrupt government official. “A little muzzle....” He then used some rope to muzzle the big, fat, heavy bastard. “Ugh, what the fuck do you eat?”

Avarice hoisted him up, nearly had to drag him across the room, and then stuffed him into the closet. “Okay, paranoid, murderous, corrupt, fat....” Avarice quickly approached the bed, and lifted the mattress to find a book with some sort of coat-of-arms on the front. “Bingo.” He picked up the leather-bound book...wait.... “This is Horse Hide! Sick fuck.” Avarice quickly skimmed the book, finding in each page a pressed and resin preserved lock of hair, each of them black. “So, fuck wasn't random. He hunted mares with black manes.” Along with each lock of hair was a name, date, and a short description of what the kill made him feel. “Okay, enough. I'm sure the Sultan will appreciate getting this shoved in his face.”

'Can we do that?'

{Yes, watch, focus on how this feels.} Avarice then focused on his coat, willing it to lead somewhere, to a specific person, and then held the book through the coat until he hissed at his claw being cracked open by the blade of a sword, and dropped the book to return his claw. “Overly cautious fuck. Better read that and figure things out.” Avarice then decided to display another skill of the coat that trick opened up. “Hey, Kon, watch this.” Avarice pulled his tail in, and then pulled the side of his coat over him, and he disappeared as if he was never there.

Meanwhile, halfway across the country, an upset Sultan was foaming at the mouth of the discovery the floating claw literally dropped in his lap.

[ $ ]

Avarice had reappeared in Demir's home out of thin air the night previous, and informed the two sleepless horses that the deed was done, and now they just had to wait and see if the Sultan could draw conclusions. The next morning, there were soldiers practically flooding the district, forcing the local guards to surrender for questioning, and the Baig's banners displaying his coat-of-arms were burned from the stone buildings with flaming arrows, citizens cheering at the clear display that the Royal Army, headed by the Janissaries, soldiers that only followed orders of the Sultan, were here to deliver swift judgment on Baig Eziyet, and temporarily take over as the stewards of the state until a new Baig was installed.

The stallion was so overjoyed he nearly intended to pay right when he heard of it, but Avarice refused, saying he had to go watch the hanging before he gave him the pendant. It was after a lot of cheering and jeering and sudden breakouts in festivities that the brown stallion returned, weeping joyously as Demir and Avarice were calmly having tea, the streets too chaotic to work in peace. “Thank you! I cannot possibly repay you enough! You've helped so much in this city just to help me!”

“Hey, it was a deal. You're going to pay, so it's all just business, he, he....” {The fact we put down a tyrant is just all the sweeter.} …. {You'll have to accept the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows eventually Kon. Nothing is sacred.}

'I killed someone....'

{Get over it.} Avarice sniped, tired of Konrad's bellyaching. “So, Stranger. As for your...payment....” Avarice held out his left claw, and the stallion took off his sister's pendant. He looked at it sadly for several moments before he hurriedly set it in the Plaga's outstretched claw. When he did so, the stallion gasped as red light flowed from his eyes, and into the pendant, leaving him blinking in confusion. “Payment....” Avarice then chattered his mandibles excitedly. “ACCEPTED!” To both the horse's confusion, the pendant then turned into red crystalline light, before Avarice shattered it in his grasp, and the fragments flew into his eyes, seeming to meld with the red orbs as he chuckled darkly.

“W-what was that?” The stallion asked, and Avarice was still coming down from the high of acquisition.

“That. Was the power you and your sister had bestowed on that little pendant. Items, have power Stranger. Especially items of great, personal importance to a person. That pendant represented happy times for you and your sister, and for the brief time between her death and now, it was your constant Reminder of her. Now, through this special acquisition; I can Recall anything I have ever seen, done, felt, or heard. Something incredibly useful mind you.” Avarice said, and shuddered as he thought back to the night with Ichor. “Mm...very useful.”

“Well...thank you anyways.” The stallion said. “Oh...I just realized, we never exchanged names-.”

“And we shouldn't. I won't need your name to remember you, Stranger. You provided my first, true, beneficial and meaningful transaction. My birth name is not Avarice, know this, so we are even. Consider that exchange, moot.” Avarice extended a claw, and the Stranger shook it with a smile, before nodding to a silent and contemplative Demir, and leaving through the front door.

Avarice would never meet him again. Just another deal, another satisfied customer.

“So!” Avarice's outburst startled Demir, and he looked to her with an excited twinkle in his eyes. “Let's get to mounting the barrel and stock eh?”

Author's Notes:

Avarice discovers more about their coat's abilities, and their own special contract magic and their version of shapeshifting, while Konrad gets his first taste of murder. Things are getting delicious.