I woke up the next morning with a headache, that was the least of my worries though. I needed a few more answers from Twilight. I pressed the gem and she appeared once more.

"Back so soon?"

"I'm afraid so, forgot to tell you last night but Yegor had given us forged police documents."

"I see, well how did you know they were fakes?"

"They used the wrong motto for their police force."

"Makes sense. Now what else is it?"

"The gang they wrote for it seems to add up with everything but their affiliation with Starlight. So I need to ask you something: Who was Yegor?"

"I'm not sure to be honest, he's not big in the crime syndicate. There is one thing though, I didn't learn about you from somepony else. I learned about you because you were suspected in plenty of violent crimes in Ponyville. I assumed you were behind them and sent a scout to watch you. He overheard your conversation with Crimson, which let me know you were in business."

"Then, how did Yegor know who I was. Better yet, why did he say I had built up a reputation."

"The answer is pretty clear Cloud, just think."

I gave it a second, then it clicked.

"Yegor is, well was, one of them."

"Exactly."

"Then, I must be creating quite the ruckus in her ranks. Killing off her primary funds must've crippled any advancements in her political party. A party without money is like a car without gas."

"Yegor must've been setting you up for something."

"I'm guessing this 'gang' that he set me up to kill wasn't another gang. It probably was just a large group of ponies that would be ready to kill me as soon as I popped my head from the hole."

"That's exa-" She was interrupted by the guards punching through the door.

"Princess, we have 20 armed ponies attempting to take the castle! We lost contact with perimeter guards. What are your orders?"

She lifted a hoof to her chest and gave a deep breath.

"You rally all remaining guards in this room for a counter attack, move me to the safe-room."

"Yes your majesty!"

They did as they were told, ushering her out of the room, and rallying 30+ guards in that one bedroom. They flipped tables to set up some cover. That was when 5 masked ponies crossed the door, the guards opened fire on them. Blood and chunks of flesh splayed against the walls and bodies fell to the ground. The five were dead. Then the rest of the masked ponies rushed the room, shotguns ready.

They opened fire and multiple guards fell in a pool of blood. The terrorists didn't have the numbers to beat them, though. They were overwhelmed by M16 and M4 fire and were quickly cut down. The room was painted red.

"Rally the wounded on the patio for medevac! One squad on me for the princess! One more squad move to the bottom floor and gain control of the perimeter!"

The gem cut off, and I was in awe. I underestimated the strength of this group. I knew that they had the potential to manipulate gangs and small town politics, but I never once thought they could have the ability to train soldiers to storm fortified locations. I needed to get my act together and fast.

There was one thing worse, one that stuck in my head long after the shock was gone.

They're on to me.

12 hours before initial attack

"We did research, does the new princess have anything against you?"

A million memories rushed through Starlight's head, Natasha's statement was unnerving to the leader of the Equestrian Communist Party.

"What about her?"

"We have reason to believe that she is paying Cloud Dasher to kill our funds."

"Before you continue, what information do you have?"

"Just after each one of ours died by his hoofs, a large sum of bits would be transferred from Twilight's banking account to Clouds. They tended to be of prices like 30 thousand to 60 thousand."

"When did this start?"

"It started just after the death of Filthy Rich and Fancy Pants."

"That bitch."

"Excuse me?"

"I want her dead! Bring me her head on a silver platter!"

"Your wish is my command."

Present hour

"Octavia, we have an issue."

She was sitting on the couch, trying to get some rest.

"What is it?"

"Twilight's mansion has been breached."

She shot up at this, a mix of emotions in her eyes. Awe, confusion, and shock.

"Is she dead?"

"No, the guards stopped the terrorists advance with a counter offensive. It worked."

"How do you know this exactly?"

"Me and Twilight keep in touch."

With that a bit of envy flashed through Octavia.

"It's professional."

With this she calmed down, but there was an awkward sense of distrust in the room. It flowed entirely from Octavia, it was something about her attitude once I had said that. It had all changed.

The silence was broken by a knock on the door.

I walked towards the door and looked through the peephole. Surely enough, there were five ponies. They were all wearing masks, each more silly then the other. A bit of humor goes a long way, but these punks definitely weren't looking for a joke. They were armed.

In each of their hoofs were a handgun. The weapon could be identified as a Sig Saur P228, the 9mm variant of the Sig P2 series. They knocked once more. I needed to make a split second decision, and I knew just what to do.

"Octavia, go behind the wall that separates the hall from the kitchen, stay there until a pony passes."

She did as she was told, which was odd since she got shot last time she did. I pulled my glock and readied my knife in my jacket, the third time the pony knocked, he received 3 .40 S&W shells to the chest. He fell out cold. The ponies all backed up, and one of them said something incomprehensible. He pulled a small sledgehammer out from his backpack.

"Octy I'm coming!" I yelled as I ran down the hall.

As soon as I rounded that corner I saw Octavia holding a kitchen knife in her mouth, she was ready to kill. The door burst down with a bang, and the ponies boots could be heard throughout the apartment. As soon as the first rounded the corner, Octavia rammed the knife through his windpipe and out his artery. Another pony ran towards her, as soon as I went to help I was cloths lined by a shotgun stock.

I was thrown to my back by the shock of it, and the mare who had hit me had the shotgun's barrel directly in my face. Rather than wait, I swung a punch at the shotgun's side. This threw the weapon out of my face, though the shotgun went off and it did make me def in my left ear.

Without the ability to hear, I swung hard into her jaw, then kicked her in the stomach while she was down. Before she could get up I grabbed her by the throat and pulled her to the door. With her head between the frame, I slammed it shut on her head twice. She wouldn't survive the trauma.

Looking back over at Octavia let me know she needed help. She was getting kicked on the ground by two stallions. Such gentlemen, they sure know how to hit a mare. One of them pulled a revolver from under his sport's jacket, and at this I charged him with knife at the ready.

The stallion had the 5 inch blade delivered through his leg, causing him to limp backwards and miss the shot. The other pony looked over at me and threw a solid elbow to my face, I was thrown to the ground instantly by the force of the elbow against my face. The world spun around me, and he got on top of me. He threw a few swings to the head, which I took well, and then put his arm around my neck. I was choking.

'No, not yet. You're not ready to die.'

I reached for whatever I could, and I found nothing. As I was about to black out I heard another shot. The pony on my back stopped for a second, then another shot rang out. He fell off my back. I looked and saw Octavia, revolver in her mouth, she felt no remorse for them.

She fell to the floor, in a ball of tears. Not for the ponies that died but over the shard of glass in her leg.

I brought her over to the couch, stitched it back together, and we locked eyes. It wasn't normal, but it was peaceful. As if all the troubles in the world, all the sins I've done, all the pain I caused, just rolled away. She locked her arms around me, and I did the same to her. I kissed her forehead gently, and pulled her onto the couch.

For the first time in years, I felt mercy, love, and true joy.

Author's Notes:

and nothing sexual was done